Category: Stories

Reflective Analysis of ‘The Screaming Staircase’

Flower Dandy

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud is the first installment of a thrilling paranormal series, Lockwood & Co. that is targeted towards children in middle school. In the book, England is struck with an epidemic of ghosts that appear at night and are only visible to children who have psychic senses called “Talents”. Consequently, psychic investigative agencies hire these talented kids to recognize any paranormal activity and aid in investigations. Lucy Carlyle, a 14-year-old girl with highly sensitive psychic abilities, is hired by Lockwood & Co, a private agency run by an orphaned teen and his friend. Contrary to other agencies which require an adult supervisor at all times, the trio—Lucy, Lockwood, and George—take pride in their independence and investigate cases alone, one of them being a murder case in which they swiftly destroy the victim’s ghost and eventually identify the murderer. However, in doing so, they accidentally burn down the house at the crime scene, for which they owe €60,000. Lockwood & Co. begins to seek more customers to pay their debt, and they become recognized in the region despite the continuous ridicule they receive for their juvenile age and non-normative practices, much to the disdain of their popular rival agencies, Fittes and Rotwell. The counter-hegemonic ideologies revealed in The Screaming Staircase, along with reception theory, explain why this media text resonates deeply with young teenagers more than adults who may share an equal—or even more—interest in paranormal thrillers.

The journey of Stroud’s main characters, Lucy, Lockwood, and George, to prosperity, despite defying adults and authority, constructs the counter-hegemonic idea that children are capable of becoming successful without adult guidance or management. This is counter-hegemonic because the dominant ideology in the world is that children are required to stay under the constant protection of experienced adults who know how to react in any emergency, especially in dangerous circumstances like ghost-hunting. The world revolves around adults holding authority over children and guiding them by using their own experiences, as indicated by the social and legal rules in Canada that deem a child under the care of a guardian for eighteen years (“Do I Need a Legal Guardian”). Growing up, the ideology I was taught in school and at home also centred around the same premise of obeying the elderly and trusting their instincts, for they always know what is best for us as inexperienced children whose prefrontal cortices are still undeveloped. However, the book’s plot challenges this principle, as the three kids believe that “adults just get in the way” (Stroud 14) of their explorations and that they are completely useless in psychic investigations because their “senses had long ago grown dulled” (52), indicating that their insights cannot be trusted. This counter-hegemonic idea of children not needing an adult to regulate their activity because they hinder their aspirations appeals to a young audience, as they recognize the freedom and individuality they are often deprived of due to authoritative figures and their strict rules. Hence, their acceptance of Stroud’s intended message results in many young readers having a dominant reading of the text, which is also fueled by the story’s approval of teenage behaviours.

When I first read “The Screaming Staircase” in early high school, I also interpreted it as a dominant reading because I agreed with Stroud’s unique representation of children. In his paranormal world, kids’ instincts are considered a vital component to the salvation of the country, and kids are even preferred as investigative employees over adults, causing “whole generations of children, like [Lucy], [to find] themselves becoming part of the front line” (48). To appeal to children even further, Stroud demonstrates how teenage traits like impulsivity and seeking validation, which are traditionally labelled as immature behaviour, can in fact yield positive results. For instance, Lucy refuses to delay the murder case for just one night even though she and Lockwood’s lives are endangered, simply because the owner of the haunted house “thinks [they’re] too young” and that if they do not “crack the case by tomorrow, she’ll take [them] off it and put Fittes or Rotwell’s on the job” (32). The kids’ determination to prove their strength and gain recognition supersedes their self-preservation, mimicking the typical adolescent mindset I also had when I would forcefully lift heavy objects to display my strength, knowing that I would pull a muscle, or when I would swallow incredibly spicy food to prove my tolerance but ended up with fiery ears and ulcers.Segue unclear

Although this adolescent trait of acting impulsively to gain validation is typically considered unsensible behaviour, Lockwood & Co.’s constant eagerness to prove themselves in society pushes them to complete tasks briskly, resulting in the prestige of the young agency. In fact, Lucy reflects that ever “since [they’d] begun [their] explorations, [her] confidence had slowly risen… [They’d] been careful, rigorous, even competent,” and it all “showed [her] what Lockwood & Co. might one day become” (207). Their hastiness and resolve to prove their talents and independence despite their juvenile age make them “competent” and encourage them forward. Hence, when I read this book as a fourteen-year-old, I greatly admired Lucy and her colleagues, and I agreed with Stroud’s representation of adolescent traits as tools to succeed in the teenage phase. His acceptance of my age-appropriate behaviours acknowledged me for who I naturally was. However, my reception of the book differs now, for my age has developed, and I no longer share many adolescent behaviours with Lucy, Lockwood, and George.Good segue

Rereading The Screaming Staircase while nearing legal adulthood changed my former dominant reading of the book into a negotiated one, for I now acknowledge the grave consequences of the sophomoric behaviour praised in the book. To be specific, Lockwood & Co.’s unfortunate burning of the house is considered a mild inconvenience because, as Lockwood puts it, “[the] house will have burned down, but at least it’s ghost-free” (43). The kids do not realize that their impulsivity results in the loss of a person’s house, and they believe that they will “totally offset the fact [that they] burned that woman’s house down” by simply “uncover[ing] the murderer and get[ting] justice for the girl” (125), who was the ghostly victim. This means earning €60,000 within a month, which, realistically, is not achievable. Because of this debt, Lucy Carlyle is not paid for a month (160), a significant circumstance that is brushed over in the text. Had this occurred in reality, bankruptcy would have struck the agency, and the employees would have had to quit—all because of the teens’ poor judgment and impulsivity. As an individual who will soon have to take legal accountability for my own actions, my interpretation of the book does not completely agree with Stroud’s intended message that adolescent traits like impulsivity should be considered favourable. However, I still find the story thrilling and captivating, and I believe it is an accurate representation of young teenagers. Stroud’s representation of children as strong and individual entities who use their adolescent traits as tools for success is a powerful concept that is not often portrayed in the media. The books I grew up with did highlight young protagonists and heroes, but there was always an element of parental or authoritative influence. The plot either followed children who explored the world and eventually sought protection from other adults after being kept in the dark by their own guardians, like The 39 Clues, or children who fought villains with the help of their guardians, like The Copernicus Legacy. However, Stroud presents a unique counter-hegemonic plot in which the characters defy authority and use their adolescent characteristics to progress in society, creating a story that empowers young teenagers to explore themselves and the world without limitations. Like me, young readers feel validated and acknowledged by Stroud’s representation of teenagers, as they are frequently shamed in reality for acting juvenile, even though that is who they are. The Screaming Staircase’s acceptance of children appeals to younger audiences and imprints feelings of worthiness, making it an unquestionably significant recommendation for young teenagers to read.

Work Cited

“Do I Need a Legal Guardian.” Ontario International College, https://www.oicedu.ca/show.php?contentid=184. Accessed 11 December 2023.Stroud, Jonathan. Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase. EPUB, Disney Book Group, 2013

Are Electric Cars an Ethical Solution to Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions?

Flower Dandy

In 2020, the world emitted 34.81 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 21% of which were from transportation (Tiseo). In an effort to protect the environment from further deterioration caused by greenhouse gases, the Canadian government has decided to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars; only zero-emission (electric) vehicles are to be sold by 2035. The irony, however, is not lost, as in the pursuit to become greener, the government is indirectly causing further environmental damage, infringing Indigenous rights, and supporting the abuse of children and workers.

To begin with, the manufacturing of electric batteries is detrimental to the environment and to people’s health. Electric cars rely on batteries that are made up of rare earth elements (REE) like lithium, cobalt, and copper. These REEs require extensive mining to extract quantities large enough to sustain the demands of electric cars. It is well known that the process of mining contaminates water, destroys glaciers, damages habitats, and endangers the health of people and animals. Jaya Nayar, in an article from Harvard International Review, states that “for every ton of rare earth produced, the mining process yields 13kg of dust, 9,600-12,000 cubic metres of waste gas, 75 cubic metres of wastewater, and one ton of radioactive residue.” The release of these toxic substances from mining procedures affects many components of the environment; the soil becomes unsustainable, water becomes undrinkable, and the air becomes unbreathable due to high concentrations of radioactive materials. The ensuing question is: Are electric cars really green considering their batteries are manufactured via an environmentally toxic process?

Not only is the REE mining industry dangerously affecting the environment, but it is also encroaching on the rights of Indigenous communities. Most REE mining sites are located in Indigenous-populated areas. In a rising competition of electric vehicles, governments and mining companies are neglecting the rights of Indigenous communities. According to an article from The Verge, mining the largest lithium reserve in the US would require digging up a gravesite sacred to local Indigenous tribes, and a proposed copper mine in Arizona would desecrate the land sacred to the San Carlos Apache Nation (Calma). The Puna de Atacama region located at the intersection of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia is known as the global “Lithium Triangle” for its 58 percent of the world’s supply of REE. This region is home to millions of Indigenous people, for they have lived and farmed the Puna de Atacama region since at least 10,000 B.C., “but their millennia-old practices are being upended by the mining industry, stoking tensions that sometimes precipitate violent altercations with police and state officials” (Wilson). Indigenous communities around the world have fought colonizers from illegally occupying their lands, and mining their lands by desecrating them will further aggravate their relationship with governments. It is hypocritical for governments to publicly advocate for the rights of Indigenous people while also condoning the violation of their property rights through mining. 

The issues of mining REEs are not just confined to the environment and Indigenous people; rather, children and workers across the globe are also impacted by it. Primary consumers of REEs like China have several mining companies across continents (Nayar). These companies take advantage of the poor labour conditions in foreign countries and get away with establishing unsafe operations in addition to paying subpar wages. According to Amnesty International, miners have no safety equipment— no masks, gloves, goggles, or mining tools. Health problems like hard metal lung disease become more prevalent among workers under these conditions. In 2015, there were at least 80 artisanal fatalities in such mines, not including the burials in tunnels from numerous unreported accidents. Worker abuse is just one negative aspect of mining; child labour is another direct outcome of the growing demand for REEs (Amnesty International). In Southern DRC alone, there are at least 40, 000 children working in mines, most of whom are involved in mining REEs. These children spend up to 12 hours in poisonous, lethal, and toxic environments from the mere age of 7 instead of going to school (McKie)! By depriving children of their right to education (UNESCO), we are opening doors to their exploitation, early marriages, and low-income pay jobs. This “limits the future for their own children, thus repeating the cycle of poverty—the cycle that leaves an individual stuck in poverty—generation after generation” (Dubay).  To put this in perspective, our desperation to manufacture electric cars to solve a problem we created causes children who have barely learnt how to read and write fluently to suffer through the continuous cycle of poverty! Their abuse does not just end there; these children suffer severe physical and psychological issues from the lack of proper infrastructure and safety practices. A study by World Visions states that 19% of the children they surveyed said they had witnessed another child die on an artisanal mining site, clearly inducing permanent trauma and fear in them (Reid). For carrying heavy loads and working long hours just to keep up with the demands for REEs, child miners are paid only $2 per day at most.! In many cases, mine workers at these sites continue to work under life-threatening conditions, as it is the only employment available to them. The irony of it all is that these miners risk their lives to supply electric cars that they themselves are too poor to own! 

In addition to problems associated with mining, another issue with the batteries of electric cars is their disposal. According to an article in Forbes, these batteries contain non-biodegradable heavy metals such as cobalt and nickel. They also contain manganese which pollutes water, soil and air. Just 500 micrograms of magnesium in a cubic metre of air is enough to induce manganese poisoning in most people. Moreover, the degradation of lithium batteries produces pollutants such as hydrogen fluoride. The disposal of batteries of electric cars is a growing problem linked to a so-called environmentally friendly replacement of gas-powered vehicles. China, for instance, had to get rid of approximately 200,000 tons of electric batteries in 2020, a number expected to grow to 800,000 tons over the next four years (Ezrati). Worst yet, only 5% of the lithium batteries are recycled adequately at most (Woollacott), the other 95% are disposed of in landfills which further increases toxic waste in the environment. 

With the demand for REEs projected to a 6-fold increase over the next 18 years (Nayar), threats to the environment, dissatisfaction of Indigenous communities, and poor working conditions for children and workers are bound to rise as well. Electric vehicles need six times more minerals than gas-powered vehicles (Nayar). Given the negative consequences associated with electric cars, I believe it would be best for countries to sustain current modes of transportation until a truly environment-friendly option is discovered. Electric vehicles are not the right solution just yet because of the numerous environmental, economic, and social issues they yield. Perhaps in the next few decades, advances in technology will lead to alternative methods of mining and disposal which will allow electric vehicles to be less problematic. In the meantime, instead of focusing on electric batteries, the government should emphasize improving public transportation as a means to reduce the number of personal vehicles on the road and the related effects of gas emissions. Furthermore, the government should introduce additional policies and incentives to promote behavioural changes among citizens such as carpooling, minimal consumption of single-use plastics, water preservation, and tree plantation, to list a few. The proponents of the exclusive availability of “zero-emission” vehicles in the market should reflect on the following question: how can you label electric cars as eco-friendly when they cause further damage to the environment, promote violation of Indigenous rights, and encourage the abuse of children and workers worldwide?

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La Pluie

Flower Dandy

Un fin de la semaine, deux amis ont jouent au basketball dans le parc. Le temps a beau; il y a beaucoup de soliel. Une amie, s’appelle Laura, a marqué dans le panier avec un swish. L’amie autre a essayé de la copier, mais elle ne peux pas. Laura et Sarah ont continué la jouer pour un long moment… jusqu’à ce qu’il y ait un fort boom. Effrayées, elles ont arrete et regarde a le ciel. Le ciel a ete tres foncé… et il a commence la pluie beaucoup! Laura et Sarah ont couru rapidement pour trouver un endroit pour se cacher. Après avoir attendu longtemps, il a arrete la pluire finalement, et les deux amis sont sortis jouer à nouveau.

Importance of Salah

Flower Dandy

Abu Hurairah RA narrated that he heard the Prophet SAW saying, “ If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day, would you notice any dirt on him?” The Shabah replied, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” The Prophet SAW then said, “The same goes with the five prayers, which erases evil deeds.”

Abdullah RA narrated that he asked the Prophet SAW, “Which deed is the most dearest to Allah?” He SAW replied, “To perform the necessary prayers at their fixed and proper time. Abdullah RA asked again, “What is the next (dearest deed to Allah)?” He SAW replied, “To be obedient to your parents.” Abdullah then asked again, “What is next?” Rasulullah SAW said, “To participate in Jihad (fighting) for the sake and pleasure of Allah.”

Funny Story: Eggshells in Ice Cream

Flower Dandy

On a sunny Monday, David wanted to eat ice cream for breakfast. He took out a yummy pistachio green ice cream, but some of it came on his hand. David found a tissue on the kitchen table. It looked new as if no one had touched it. He picked it up and……… out came eggshells! It started raining eggshells on his ice cream! His siblings burst out laughing. David felt so mad. He was angry at his brother for leaving a tissue full of eggshells on the table. He was angry at his siblings for laughing at him instead of helping him. Out of anger, David took the ice cream scoop and mixed the ice cream with the eggshells. He flipped the ice cream box upside down, and threw his bowl in the garbage. His siblings could not contain themselves; they started rolling around in laughter. This made David even angrier. His face turned red and he started crying. He got up and ran to his room.

When he came out a few hours later, his older brother repeated the incident to him. He looked at his silliness and started laughing crazy too. He ended up rolling and crying in laughter each time his older brother imitated him. And… I’m pretty sure he will laugh when he reads this….

*This is a fiction story based on a non-fiction story.

Reward

Flower Dandy

Reward
Faatemah رضي الله عنها was married to Ali رضي الله عنه by the Prophet SAW. They had five children: Hasan, Husain, Abdul-Muhsin, Zainab, and Umm Kulthum رضي الله عنهم. Ali رضي الله عنه was not a wealthy person; he had to work a lot to earn money. The Sahabah رضي الله عنهم gave charity whether they were rich or poor. When Ali رضي الله عنه could not find any work, his family would remain hungry.
One day, Faatemah رضي الله عنها gave Ali رضي الله عنه some thread, saying, “ Sell this in the market, and, from the money you receive, buy some flour so that I can bake some bread.”
Ali رضي الله عنه went to the market and sold the thread for six Dirhams. As he went to buy some flour, he heard someone say, “ Who is there to give something in the Name of Allah?!”
When he heard that, Ali رضي الله عنه gave the beggar all the money he had with him (6 Dirhams).
A while later, a man passed by Ali رضي الله عنه and asked him, “ Do you wish to buy this camel?”
Ali replied, “I have no money with me.”
“No worries,” the man said. “I can sell it to you on credit.”
Without saying another word, the man handed the rope to Ali رضي الله عنه and left.
No time later, a villager came up to Ali رضي الله عنه and asked him, “O Ali! Will you sell me that camel?”
“Certainly,” Ali رضي الله عنه replied, handing the rope to the villager.
The villager took the rope, gave him 300 Dirhams, and left.
Ali رضي الله عنه then looked all around for the seller; he could not find him, so he decided to go home.
When he reached home, he found Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم with Faatemah رضي الله عنه, waiting for him. He was about to relate the incident of the camel when Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم asked, “Do you know who those men were?”
Ali رضي الله عنه answered, “Allah سبحانه و تعالى and His Rasul صلى الله عليه و سلم know best.”
The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said, “Those men were angels and the camel was from Jannah. Faatemah will ride on this camel in Jannah. When you gave those six Dirhams to the beggar, Allah loved it so much that He gave you reward in this world and will give you in the next world too.”