Moral of the Story

In the story "Ironhead," Aimee Bender presents the readers with a well known lesson about acceptance in a very new and interesting way. Since the time we were little we have been taught not just to accept but to embrace the things that make us all different. We have learned that these unique qualities in each of us are something to be celebrated, instead of something that separates us. Although this message has been ingrained in our heads since youth, our society still uses differences to segregate others whether it be because of race, gender, religious beliefs, ethnic background, sexual orientation, physical appearance or even simply a person's likes and dislikes. Although we know that it is moral and right to be accepting of all, it is not necessarily something that comes easy to us all as humans. By presenting the reader with fantastical differences such as pumpkinheads and ironheads, Bender is better able to emphasize the message she is trying to get across. She catches the reader's attention through her interesting characters and is therefore able to teach us the same lesson we have been learning since youth in a new and exciting way.
-Cailee J 7