Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace is a book that describes the everyday horrors and struggles for survival, for a group of elementary girls and boys who are growing up in the South Bronx, the poorest congressional district in the United States. "When you enter the train, you are in the seventh richest congressional district in the nation. When you leave, you are in the poorest." This unimaginable way of life seems normal to these children because they really don't know any better. Normal to them is sickness, drug abuse, pollution, death, welfare and violence. Throughout this book, Kozol interviews many children so the reader gets the open and honest answers for the community. It is continuous dialogue between Kozol and many residents. Many of them speak about how they feel abandoned or forgot about by our nation. "I believe that what the rich have done to the poor people in this city is something that a preacher could call evil. Kozol wanted to get close to the individuals he got his information from because he wanted to get the true feeling for the environment he entered. He tried to uncover some reasons why people live these horrifying lifestyles or what could have lead them to this. The amount of drug users is extremely high; the dangerously large number of gangs, the poor and high unemployment rate and the most shocking is the number of people who have been infected with AIDS. Kozol is an extraordinary interviewer that has such a special connection with these kids that he reveals another side to these kids from the ghettoes. He reaches deep inside and hears them crying out for help and hears their hurts and sorrows. Although when first meeting them they seem to be so cheerful but eventually they starve for atte... ... middle of paper ... ... and unbreakable. Every week the church was full of desperate people trying to fulfill their needs with God. They felt safe inside and danger free. The story was very inspiring and just leaves me feeling guilty because I really don't realize how awesome I have it and how terrible others do and how unfair the world is. The book goes perfect with the class because it coincides with the lectures we've had over the semester. The only thing about the book that I wasn't crazy about was the repetition that Kozol used. Although it got a little annoying to read at certain parts I feel that it was effective because of the repetition. Overall it was a great book. Thanks a lot for everything you have taught us this semester. I have really enjoyed your class and I'm glad that I had the chance to actually think about these topics, some of which I rarely think about!
Elli talks about daily life in her neighborhood. Her mother does not show any compassion for her. When Elli complains of this, her mother brings up excuses that are unconvincing. Elli believes her mother does not care for her and that her brother is the favorite. Hilter’s reoccurring radio broadcast give nightmares to Elli, whos family is Jewish. The nights when the Hungarian military police would come and stir trouble did not provide anymore comfort for Elli. One night, her brother, Bubi, comes home with news that Germany invaded Budapest, the town where he goes to school. But the next morning, there is no news in the headlines. The father sends him back to school. He learns the next day that a neighbor’s son who goes to school with Bubi has said the same. The day after, the newspapers scream the news of the invasion. Bubi arrives home, and the terror begins.
Kozol makes several trips to Mott Haven and speaks with a myriad of people, children and adults alike. For instance, Kozol develops a rapport with a twelve year old hispanic boy named Anthony. Anthony is clever and loves to write stories. Some day he hopes to become a novelist. He also has a great faith in God. He makes some very poignant remarks pertaining to his neighborhood and life in general. For example, one day Kozol and Anthony are discussing if anyone in the neighborhood is truly happy and Kozol pints out that some of the children seem cheerful playing in the school playgrounds. Anthony quickly points out that cheerful and happy are not the same. Then as they are walking, Anthony stops and waves his hand around him in the neighborhood. Then he asks, "Would you be happy if you had to live here?" The only answer can be, NO.
Many neighborhoods are inhabited only by the most hopeless of poverty-ridden people while others downtown or across the park do not care, or are glad to be separated from them. Such is the problem in New York City today and in Mott Haven in Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace. I have lived in New York City all my life and I had no idea that these problems were going on so close to home. If I live about three miles away from Mott Haven and I am not aware of the situation there, then who is? Chapter 1 of Amazing Grace opens with a startling fact.
While reading Amazing Grace, one is unable to escape the seemingly endless tales of hardship and pain. The setting behind this gripping story is the South Bronx of New York City, with the main focus on the Mott Haven housing project and its surrounding neighborhood. Here black and Hispanic families try to cope with the disparity that surrounds them. Mott Haven is a place where children must place in the hallways of the building, because playing outside is to much of a risk. The building is filled with rats and cockroaches in the summer, and lacks heat and decent water in the winter. This picture of the "ghetto" is not one of hope, but one of fear. Even the hospitals servicing the neighborhoods are dirty and lack the staff that is needed for quality basic care. If clean bed sheets are needed the patients must put them on themselves. This book is filled with stories of real people and their struggles. Each story, though different in content, has the same basic point, survival.
Starting off the discussion we will start with chapter one. Chapter one is about Decent and street families. Decent families are families who live by society’s norms and try to avoid violence, drugs, confrontation, whereas street families embrace violence and fear because it is a way to stay alive within their neighborhoods. In the chapter they discuss how many families in the inner city actually have the decent family values, but can also harbor the street values. For example in the chapter they actually discussed an instance where Marge a women they had interviewed had a problem with others in her neighborhood. Her story s...
The West side of Chicago, Harlem, Watts, Roxbury, and Detroit. What do all of these areas have in common? These areas, along with many others have become mine fields for the explosive issues of race, values, and community responsibility, led by the plight of the urban underclass. Issues such as violent crime, social separation, welfare dependence, drug wars, and unemployment all play a major role in the plight of American inner-city life. Alex Kotlowitz's book: There Are No Children Here, confronts America's devastated urban life; a most painful issue in America. Kotlowitz traces the lives of two black boys; 10 year old LaFayette, and 7 year old Pharoah, as they struggle to beat the odds growing up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Their family includes a welfare dependent mother, an alcholic-drug using father, an older sister, an older brother, and younger triplets. Kotlowoitz describes the horrors of an ill-maintained housing project completely taken over by gangs, where murders and shootings are an everyday thing. Kotlowitz does a fine job at portraying ghetto life; those who are outside the American dream. He succeeds at putting a face on th people trapped inside the housing projects with virtually no hope of escape. One can truly feel a sense of great loss for the family, and a great deal of hope for the two young boys. You can truly feel yourself hoping that things will work out for them, and you can really feel like you know these young men on a personal basis. Kotlowotz spent a great deal of time with the boys so he could portray the world from the eyes of a child growing up in the ghetto, and he does an amazing job.
In this book, the children speak openly and honestly about feeling 'abandoned', 'hidden' or 'forgotten' by our nation, one that is blind to their problems. Studying the people themselves would only get us so far in understanding what their community is really like and why they feel this way. Jonathan Kozol really got to know the people individually. We can take his knowledge and stories to try for a better understanding of the environment in which they live. By doing this, we can explore the many reasons why the people have problems, what some levels of intervention could be, and possibly find some solutions to making the South Bronx a healthier and safer place for these children and others to live.
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.
Thank You, professor for amazing class. I never get up this early, and I failed a class this early back 3 semesters ago. But with your class, I looked forward to coming and letting myself speak on the topic and see what everyone had to say also. Thank you again!
Kozol writes about the trials and tribulations of everyday “normal” life for the children and people who live here. Normal for them however is quite different than it is for most of us. Living with drug dealers, pollution, poor hospital care and an abominable education system not to mention the social system of the city, is the “norm” for these children. In his interviews with the children of this squalid neighborhood, we find that the children speak honestly and freely about their feelings. Forgotten, hidden, abandoned, are just some of the words that come to mind. One boy named “Malcolm X” wears his hair in a style referred to as “25 years to life”. His sister asks “Like in prison..? This is how you want to wear your hair?” His reply ”You don’t have to be in jail to be in prison”. This is just one of many examples given to show the reader the effects that this environment has upon youths.
Overall, I would give this class on a scale of one to ten an eight out of ten. The progression from the introduction of discourse communities to the power point on a specific discourse community went smoothly. The course was well thought out and I felt that it touched all of the necessary material for a composition one course. The only issue that I had with the class would be the cancellation of the classes. I know this may be out of your control but It made it difficult for me whenever I had a question, however, being able to email and get a quick response helped fix the issue.
Thank you for your lectures. I learned a lot from you in class. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
...novel, “deeply subversive,” “scripturally incorrect” and “dangerous.” Whereas Minister Steve McVey says, “A person discovers grace when you come to the end of your own self-sufficiency and realize you have been made acceptable through Jesus Christ and him alone. You can't score points with God."
Overall, I have learned so much in English 111 and I have really enjoyed being in your class. Everything I have learned will help stay with me in my continuing years of college. I hope I have proven to you that the things you taught actually did help, and I gained so much knowledge about myself as a writer and a communicator. Your lectures were very interesting and you made them pleasant to learn. Thank you for a great semester.
Aside from all of these, I loved your class and would recommend it to anyone who asks which American Government professor to take. Thank you for everything that you have done for us! Hope you have a good summer.