Malala Thesis

MLA Informative Essay

Many times, human rights activists have to face problems when they try to solve an important issue. Extraordinary people had to face the unimaginable to become successful in helping a world problem. Cesar Chavez helped improve working conditions for farm workers, while Mother Jones tried to help pass child labor laws. And Malala bravely spoke out for girls” education in the SWAT valley. All of these strong individuals had to face challenges and persevere through them to help the human rights issue they cared about.
Cesar Chavez was motivated to fight for justice after he personally learned the struggles of a field worker. Cesar faced the challenges of losing his farmhouse, and then going off to attend many different

schools only to drop out, and work in the fields. The Cesar Chavez foundation states, “Throughout his youth and into adulthood, Cesar traveled the migrant streams throughout California” (Chavez Foundation). This developed his sympathy towards other field workers, and it gave him the courage to begin speaking out. With the hardships he faced, he persisted in keeping a strong spirit, and a positive attitude through everything he was challenged by, and also by not trying to depend on objects or useless things. Consequently, Cesar made a vast impact on workers in helping to enforce workers’ rights laws requiring better working conditions. However, Cesar was very peaceful about speaking out, and he liked to inspire people to believe in themselves. The Cesar Chavez Foundation includes, “Cesar made everyone, especially the farm workers, feel the jobs they were doing in the movement were very important”. Cesar made major working improvements, and greatly helped the cause of workers’ rights. His accomplishments are described as, “Cesar succeeded where so many others failed for 100 years to organize farm workers. He was able to do the impossible by challenging and overcoming the power of one of the country's richest industries in California” (Chavez Foundation). By staying persistent and hopeful, Cesar was able to make an impact on field workers for years to come.
Another strong activist, Mother Jones is a lesser known hero, but like Cesar, she had to find a way to overcome her challenges. Mother Jones had a deep love for children and she was profoundly affected her when she saw the horrors of child labor. Judith Pinkerson adds, “By the turn of the century, almost two million children under the age of sixteen worked in mills, factories, and mines. Images of the child workers Mother Jones had seen stayed with her—the torn, bleeding fingers of the breaker boys, the mill children living on coffee and stale bread”. After visiting workplaces full of small children, Mother Jones decided that child labor needed to change. Mother Jones started forming marches and protests. She even ushered newspapers to start writing about the horrors of child labor. The newspapers replied, “they couldn’t, since the owners of the mills also owned stock in their newspapers” (Pinkerson). Mother Jones came back with, “Well, I’ve got stock in these little children,” she said, “and I’ll arrange a little publicity” (Pinkerson). Staying true to her word, 73 year old Mother Jones created a mile long march to the white house to try and get the president to sign child labor laws. But, Mother Jones started being overlooked, and underestimated. This grew more and more difficult, considering that child labor was hardly ever noticed. However, this did not waver Mother Jones’s strength. When people in her march gradually stopped protesting, and went home, Mother Jones stuck with the three children left, and they finished their march. Mother Jones is still known as an advocate for child labor laws, and she has helped spread the idea of the issue of children working all day.
An activist today, Malala Yousafzai is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, who was brave enough to stand up to the Taliban, and risk her own life.

Growing up, Malala’s father was a school teacher in the SWAT valley. This helped introduce Malala to the problem of girls education. Many schools for girls in her village were blown up by the Taliban, and girls were too afraid to go to school. This caused Malala to start a blog writing against the Taliban, and especially for girls’ education. Malala states, “ I was writing from the privacy of my bedroom, using a secret identity, but thanks to the internet, the story of what was happening in Swat was there for the whole world to see”(77). Malala showed immense bravery when she began writing out for what was right. Consequently, the Taliban gave her and her family death threats. In I Am Malala, Malala claims, “Let them kill me. I will die for what I believe in” (119). Coming close to death, Malala was shot on her sixteenth birthday in point-blank range by a Taliban. Miraculously, she survived, and she still speaks out for the right to education today. Malala shows us what a person can accomplish with courage in the face of danger. She claims, “This is my dream. Education for every boy, and every girl in the world” (193). Malala stands for what she believes in, and uses courage in times of peril to benefit girls all over the

world.
Cesar Chavez, Malala Yousafzai, and Mother Jones stayed courageous, and positive during times of danger and despair to help influence the motives they cared for. Even if all of them did not face the issues they tried to solve directly, they still had to overcome difficult tasks to achieve what they knew was right. In all, everyone who tries to make a difference comes across problems, and the ones who are successful will do anything to get over them.
Works Cited
“ First Read: Cesar Chavez.” Studysync: Reading & Writing Companion, BookheadEd Learning, LLC, 2015.
Pinkerton Josephson, Judith. “Mother Jones: Fierce Fighter For Worker's Rights.” Studysync: Reading & Writing Companion, BookheadEd Learning, LLC, 2015.
Yousafzai, Malala, and Patricia McCormick. “I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood up for Education and Changed the World.” I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood up for Education and Changed the World, Thorndike Press, 2017.