School Of Hate

“School of Hate” by Sabrina Rubin Erdely and “Atonement” by Dexter Filkins are, at a glance, polar opposites because of the subject matter they deal with. In her essay Erdely discusses how an unsupportive environment can negatively impact the well being of children during formative years where it is important to have role models. In Filkins essay we have the story of a war veteran who was put in a position where all he was worried about was bring himself and his friends home, but because of a complicated situation an unjust series of deaths ends up haunting him. With review of the themes of these two essays we can see that they are different with how the people involved attempt to ease their pain, yet they both manage to convey their messages

Almost immediately we are faced with the conflict of everyday life for Brittany, and as she enters the main setting of the story and a place that should be a safe environment she is immediately besieged. The author, using simple diction, describes another morning at school for Brittany where we see how her classmates attack her verbally with derogatory terms such as “Dyke” and “Whore”(Erdly 253). Because of this and other more physical bullying we see a safe setting become a source of anxiety and fear, and instead of combating the problem the school district does nothing. In clearly understandable writing Erdely deciphers the situation and relates to us how the school district passed a regulation effectively stating that staff “shall remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation” (Erdely 264). Effectively preventing children in need of guidance and role models from reaching out. The author uses an easily relatable setting, common vernacular, a clear point of view and familiar events to highlight the issues in this essay. Those issues detail the conflict that LGBTQ children face from people that don’t empathize with them, and understand that just because of who they are doesn’t mean that they aren’t still children in