Bless the Beasts and Children (Enriched Classics)

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Summary: Bless the Beasts & Children: One of the Best Books Ever
Review: "Bless the Beasts and Children" is a very good book. It is very well written. As soon as you read the well-constructed introduction as well as the first page, you'll be ingaged in the book.You want to read it even when you can't! It's like once you get hooked to it, you won't want to put it down. This book tells you, in some ways, about human conditions today. It also has a very unique vocabulary, and you'll laugh at the way these young boys use profanity. This book will also make you laugh! This is a very good book, and I suggest you check it out and other great books written by Glendon Swarthout.

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Summary: The Bane of Students Everywhere.
Review: Back in the 60's when student leaders had as one of their standard chants "Don't Trust Anybody Over 30", they were specifically refereing to English teachers who, trying to relive their glory days assign insipid, heavy handed books like this that beat readers over the head with symbolism to make up for basic lack of plot or any entertainment value. The assigning of this book to students, rather than achieving the teachers of goal of trying to instill a 60's mindset in their studetns will more probably result in loathing for that teacher and in the English language as a whole for producing words that could be put together in so unappealing a form as this story.

The book is typical, misfits and bedwetters, go to camp, get picked on, see Buffalo slaughtered, sneak out, try to let them go, then of course since the author wants to make SURE that we understand the viewpoint that Group A is bad and Group B is good, has one of the children shot while trying to free the buffalo. Yeah, thats worth skipping class for.

Buy this book if you want to become a misfit bedwetting animal activist.

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Summary: Bless the Beasts and Children review
Review: I chose to read Bless the Beasts and Children as a novel in my English II class. I chose this book not knowing what I was going to be reading. After I began to read the introduction I knew I would enjoy this story.

The way Glendon Swarthout chose his words for each individual character made it seem like they were appropriate for the characters age. He didn't seem to put himself in the characters, it seemed realistic. I enjoyed the way Swarthout put flashbacks, a little more detail and thoughts in italics. I thought that was new.

The book didn't seem boring to me at all. I know how some books the tempo of the book goes up and down, up and down, but this book seemed to keep its rhythm. The way the kids worked together in the worst of times and how Cotton took the lead when the "bedwetters" were uneasy, was a great thing to see throughout the entire book. There were many lessons that you could learn from the "bedwetters". I really enjoyed this book and I would definately read it again.

This book is good for teenagers. I felt a connection to the characters becuase they were around my age and the things they did would seem like some of the things I would do if I was in that situation in that enviorment.

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Summary: A real life expierence
Review: I read the book in English class and it was very pointless. I did not like the plot of the story or the setting. The say in the book, "You send us a criminal, will send you a cowboy." More like "You make us read this book, and will make you pay a penny for it."

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Summary: This book is pretty interesting.
Review: I read this book for a class at my high school, and as soon as I read the introduction, I knew it would be interesting and a good book to read. I liked the characters portrayed in the book, especially Cotton. He never backed down and he helped the "bedwetters" be able to do without his help. I especially liked the part where Teft shot out sideburns hot rod sliks with a .22. I thought it was pretty funny. I got confused at a couple parts, but overall, I'd say, if you want a good book to just sit down and read, get Bless the Beasts and Children

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Summary: Good, but the Author is a little patronizing....
Review: I'm sick of the whining about the flashbacks. They are put in italics, for crying out loud! Is that so difficult to comprehend? The first time I started reading one, I understood it was a flashback. And, regardless of what some of the whiners here say, the flashbacks are necessary, they reveal why the characters are the way they are, why they do what they do. duh!? It's called character development, people! The only drawback is that the author, Glendon Swarthout, doesn't trust the audience enough: he feels it necessary to go into prose passages to explain the significant events when they happen, and there effect on the boys, and he explains the symbolism for the audience, taking away the reader's chance to interpret it. But, storywise, very sad, but very potent.

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Summary: Somewhat Awkward But Still Surprisingly Relevant
Review: The 1960s and 1970s produced numerous "socially relevant" novels. One of the most popular of these was Glendon Swarthout's BLESS THE BEASTS AND THE CHILDREN, a novel that raised a number of issues re social status quos, its impact on children, and its impact on the enviroment. Few novels of this type have survived the passing years unscathed, and this one is no exception--but sadly, and particularly in light of such recent events as the Columbine shootings, the novel still has a surprising degree of relevance even today.

The story concerns a group of misfit boys who have been dumped into a summer camp by largely unconcerned parents and who find themselves ostracized and reviled by both camp instructors and the other boys. Constantly berrated and harrassed, they are designated "The Bedwetters" and are relegated to the fringe of camp activities. During a field trip, the boys are taken to see a corralled herd of buffalo--and are horrified when the buffalo are slaughtered before them. They resolve to escape the camp overnight, return to the corral, and free the remaining buffalo before they too can be killed. As the story of their trip unfolds, the novel flashes back to revel the background of each of boy and describes how they evolved into the personalities they have become--and in a real sense, the adventure they undertake ultimately validates the worth of each, as the differences that the status quo perceives as weakness actually becomes the strengths that motivate and aid them on their journey. But their determination to free the buffalo will come at a terrific price, a higher price than any of them can imagine.

As literature per se, the novel has several weaknesses. The actual story feels contrived, the symbolism is heavy handed to say the least, the shifts into flashback are a bit awkward, and the author never really achieves a good flow or a distinctive tone of voice. But even so, the book still speaks with remarkable power about the dangers of equating "being different" with "being undesirable" and of a society that has little use for anything outside the most pragmatic boundaries. It is most likely to appeal to teenagers and young adults, but more mature readers will find much food for thought within it as well. Recommended with the stated reservations.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Awkward But Still Surprisingly Relevant
Review: The 1960s and 1970s produced numerous "socially relevant" novels. One of the most popular of these was Glendon Swarthout's BLESS THE BEASTS AND THE CHILDREN, a novel that raised a number of issues re social status quos, its impact on children, and its impact on the enviroment. Few novels of this type have survived the passing years unscathed, and this one is no exception--but sadly, and particularly in light of such recent events as the Columbine shootings, the novel still has a surprising degree of relevance even today.

The story concerns a group of misfit boys who have been dumped into a summer camp by largely unconcerned parents and who find themselves ostracized and reviled by both camp instructors and the other boys. Constantly berrated and harrassed, they are designated "The Bedwetters" and are relegated to the fringe of camp activities. During a field trip, the boys are taken to see a corralled herd of buffalo--and are horrified when the buffalo are slaughtered before them. They resolve to escape the camp overnight, return to the corral, and free the remaining buffalo before they too can be killed. As the story of their trip unfolds, the novel flashes back to revel the background of each of boy and describes how they evolved into the personalities they have become--and in a real sense, the adventure they undertake ultimately validates the worth of each, as the differences that the status quo perceives as weakness actually becomes the strengths that motivate and aid them on their journey. But their determination to free the buffalo will come at a terrific price, a higher price than any of them can imagine.

As literature per se, the novel has several weaknesses. The actual story feels contrived, the symbolism is heavy handed to say the least, the shifts into flashback are a bit awkward, and the author never really achieves a good flow or a distinctive tone of voice. But even so, the book still speaks with remarkable power about the dangers of equating "being different" with "being undesirable" and of a society that has little use for anything outside the most pragmatic boundaries. It is most likely to appeal to teenagers and young adults, but more mature readers will find much food for thought within it as well. Recommended with the stated reservations.