Warriors Don T Cry Analysis

In Warriors Don’t Cry and in the two TedTalks, they all share the importance of fighting for educational rights and social injustice. The Little Rock Nine students, Malala Yousafzai, and Shabana Basij-Rasikh all show resistance and self-reliance in each of their unique stories. Also, in Warriors Don’t Cry, there are many events that relate to the real world.

First, a theme that is in all of the medias is resistance. In Warriors Don’t Cry, the Little Rock Nine black students are constantly being bullied by the whites in Central High School. Of all the LR9 students, Ernest Green, a senior, was the only one who graduated from Central High. In fact, only four of the LR9 students made it through the entire school year, “Four of us, Thelma, Elizabeth,

Melba, a LR9 student in Warriors Don’t Cry, suffers from students verbally or physically bullying her. When the 101st soldiers come to assist the LR9 students, Melba often relied on Danny, her soldier, to protect her at all costs. However when a pep rally comes, Melba realizes that she has to be brave after what Danny said to her, “You’ve gotta learn to defend yourself, you kids should be given some training in self-defense” (Beals 154). Melba learns that she needs to fight and be her own soldier to the other students to survive. Malala also shows self-reliance. She knew that if she wanted to get her voice heard, she would have to take action and defend herself against the oppression of the Taliban. Malala has tried to get her voice and opinion heard everywhere as Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala’s dad describes, “At the age of 10, Malala stood, and she stood for the right of education. She wrote a diary for the BBC blog, she volunteered herself for the New York Times documentaries, and she spoke from every platform she could” (12:41). Rather than succumbing to the Taliban power and ideals like many scared Pakistanis, Malala chose to be self reliant, put herself in risky situations and carve her own path for equality and justice. Finally, Shabana also portrays self-reliance. In fact, she says, “That's why I am a global ambassador for 10x10, a global campaign to educate women. That's why I cofounded SOLA, the first and perhaps only boarding school for girls in Afghanistan, a country where it's still risky for girls to go to school” (Rasikh 5:32). Like Malala, Shabana does believe in conformity and being overpowered by the Taliban. Risking her life by getting an education and openly fighting for the educational rights of other Afghan women, Shabana continues to rely on her own power and ideals to make the change she