Social Justice Inquiry Based Essay

In the book that I just finished, Never Fall Down, by Patricia McCormick, the Khmer Rouge takes Arn along with his village captive in Cambodia. To survive, Arn plays music for the Khmer Rouge so they won’t kill him. Later on, Arn is forced to be a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge fighting against the Vietnamese. Various characters have power in different ways. Arn has power and he uses it to help him stay alive.

Early on in the book, the Khmer Rouge ask for volunteers for the band. Arn volunteers thinking he will get a little more food or the Khmer Rouge will like him and not kill him. He learns the music so well and leads the band, everyone knows him around the camp. When he steals food, the Khmer Rouge notice but do not say anything because they need Arn to lead the band and play music. This gives Arn power. He can bend the rules more because the Khmer Rouge will not be so quick to kill him.

Later in the book, Arn and everyone else in the camp become soldiers for the Khmer Rouge. Many of the other kids look up to Arn. This gives him power over the Khmer Rouge. In order to win, the Khmer Rouge need the children to fight and as spies. The Khmer Rouge need Arn to set a good example and be loyal so the other children will follow and they can do better in the War.

At the end of the book, when Arn is in a refugee camp, he is one of the wealthy donators favorites and gets extra food and clothes. This gives him power over the other kids because he has a way to leave the refugee camp and escape to America. The other kids have nothing.

This relates to humanity because although it may not be this extreme, everyone does things to better their life or stay alive. As humans we want not only to live but also to have important meaningful things that make us happier. In Arn’s case, it is to escape to a better place and reunite with his family. 

Social Justice in My Reading Life

There are many social justice issues all around the world and especially in books of all genres. The book I am currently reading, Never Fall Down, is about how Arn, a young boy living in Cambodia is sent to a labor camp and forced to work against his will. All around him, he sees children his age die from starvation, malaria, or sheer exhaustion. Although I am not finished with this book, it is clear that it has a lot of social justice issues. The main issue is about social injustice- Arn and his village are in labor camps and many are being killed.

There are many examples of how this book is about social injustice. Arn and other children along with him are forced to work all day under the blazing sun in labor camps. This is completely unjust because they hadn't done anything wrong to deserve this treatment. Everyone at the labor camp is in horrible conditions and so many people are being killed because the Khmer Rouge think they have "poor character." The soldiers have no right to do this. They are taking away peoples lives because they believe in a different way of living than the citizens of Cambodia. This is only one story out of millions and millions of stories of social injustice in the world.

This book has really opened my eyes to the struggles that people face in their everyday lives and made me feel lucky about my life. What really amazes me is even after Arn has gone through so much and has been a child of War, he is still able to give back so much to his community and has dedicated his life to humanitarian causes around the world especially young people in need. He has founded Children of War, an organization that helps aid children of war and violence. He is also the founder of Cambodian Living Arts, a group that helps preserve the traditional art of Cambodia. Seeing how much someone could do to help others after being through as much as he was really makes me want to make an effort. I want to do more things around my community like help out at shelters and soup kitchens. But this also makes me want to go outside Brooklyn and New York. I want to go to Africa and build a school or join Doctors Without Borders. My mom and my brother met Arn and he has influenced them too. We were thinking about doing a volunteer vacation and do work helping others. I feel like I have many opportunities and am privileged but others are not. I want to help others that are facing social injustice.

Non Fiction Article Summary

In the article “ Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood”, by Sherman Alexie, published in the Wall Street Journal, the author responds to Megan Cox Gurdon’s article, “Darkness Too Visible” and takes the opposing side. Alexie thinks that teens should be able to read about dark subjects because teenagers should be able to read about the experiences they themselves, or someone they know, may be going through. In the beginning, of the article, he explains how he speaks with many kids who went through similar tough situations and were inspired by his book. He continues by explaining why Meagan cox Gurdon is wrong when she argues teens shouldn’t be exposed to dark subjects. He explains that he wishes he could have read a book as a teenager similar to the one he wrote because it would have helped him feel less alone. He concludes by stating that he writes for teens so they don’t have to face their troubles alone because he remembers what it feels like. He writes in blood because he remembers what it felt like to bleed.

Sherman Alexie uses a lot of craft moves to strengthen his argument. He gives many real life examples of teenagers going through the situations Megan Cox Gurdon believes are not appropriate for children to be reading about. Alexie says after reading Megan Cox Gurdon’s “complaints about the “depravity” and “hideously distorted portrayals” of contemporary young adult literature,” he “laughed at her condescension”. This shows he thinks her ideas are so ludicrous that they are comical; making the reader want to also think her article is ridiculous. He gives his story when he was a teenager, saying that he wishes he could of have YA books to read when he was going through hard times like many teenagers are now, convincing the reader that it helps teenagers with hard situations to read YA books

I completely agree with Sherman Alexie. It is important for kids to be able to read about topics that are relevant in their lives. It is ok to write about a topic for a certain age group especially if that age group is experiencing those hard topics in their lives. At the end of the article, Alexie says, “I write to give them weapons-in the forms of words and ideas- that will help them fight their monsters.” This quote stands out to me. It shows that the reason Alexie is writing is he wants to help teenagers fight and read about similar fights their fighting so they wont have to experience what Sherman Alexie experienced. So they won have to fight their battles alone. 

Reading Response Blog- Faithful Elephants

The definition of love is an intense feeling of deep affection. In the story Faithful Elephants, the elephant trainer truly loves Tonky and Wanly. In the sad but beautiful story, the elephants at the Ueno Zoo have to be killed. Bombs might be dropped on the zoo and it is too dangerous for the citizens if the animals escape from their cages. All the other animals are poisoned but the elephants know what food is poisoned. Eventually the zookeepers decide that the elephants must be starved. Although the zookeepers love the elephants, they have to let them go. A theme in this story is that even if you love something, sometimes you have to let it go.

In the book, the elephant trainer is closest with the elephants and loves them dearly. The elephant trainer couldn’t bear to see the elephants in so much pain. He caved in, and gave them food and water, even though he was't supposed to, crying "Eat your food! Please drink. Drink your water!" This shows that the elephant trainer loves the animals. Even though his boss told no one to feed the elephants, he went against his boss’s wishes and went the extra mile to put the elephants out of their misery. This is what real love is, sacrificing for what you love. What the trainer did was risky. But he was willing to take the chance for the love he has for the elephants.

Eventually, the trainer realized that it is better for the elephants and civilians if the elephants were put down. "Seeing his beloved elephants dying this way, the elephant trainer felt as if his heart would break.  He had no more courage to see them. All of the other keepers felt the same, and they too stayed away from the elephants’ cage." This shows that the trainer and all of the keepers loved the elephants so much but they knew they had to be put down. The zookeepers loved Tonky and Wanly but they had to do what was best. He had to think about the bigger picture and not just about the elephants. It was unsafe if the elephants got out of the cage. In the beginning of the story it says, "What would happen if bombs hit the zoo? If the cages were broken and dangerous animals escaped to run through the city it would be terrible!" With this in mind, the trainer realized he had to let them die. In his heart he loved the elephants and wanted them to stay, but in his mind he knew he had to let them go.

A few years ago, I used to have a lovebird named Stella. When I first got her, she would fly around the house and perch on my hand. Like the elephant trainer loved the elephants, I loved Stella. A few months later, my parents got a dog. When Stella flew around, the dog would chase her. This terrified Stella. I could see the fear in her eyes. Stella didn’t come out of her cage any more. My family and I decided it would be best for Stella if we gave her away. Even though I wanted to keep her, she was unhappy and I had to do what was best for her and not me. Like the elephant trainer loved the elephants, I loved Stella. And like the elephant trainer let the Tonky and Wanly go, I let Stella go.

This story teaches an important lesson about love. Sometimes you have to let something go, even if you love it dearly. Tonky and Wanly are great examples of this principle.

Many times in life you may come to a hard decision and end up having to let what you love go, like the elephant trainer. But that’s part of what love is. It’s not just an intense feeling of deep affection, it’s putting what’s best for the thing you love before what’s best for you. Thats what love really is. 

Summer Reading Response

     Over the summer I have read various books but one book specifically stood out to me. This book was Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It's about a teenager, Charlie, that is starting his first year of high school. While trying to cope with his friends recent death, Charlie starts writing letters to someone he has never met but trusts. The book is a combination of all the letters Charlie writes that tells Charlie's intriguing story.
     There a few special characters that help contribute to Charlie surviving his first year of high school. One major character is Charlie's English teacher Bill. They immediately have a special bond and throughout the year Bill gives Charlie different books to read and Charlie writes a report on each book. This is meaningful to charlie because of his strong affection towards books. Bill helps Charlie both as a friend and teacher, Charlie feels like he can talk to him about anything.
     Another tremendously important character is Charlie's friends Sam and Patrick. They teach charlie about music, school, parties, and the most important thing, friendship. throughout the year they all become close and have many memorable experiences. Sam, patrick and Charlie have a genuine bond.
     At the end of Charlie's first year of high school, sam and Patrick Graduate but leave Charlie with many important lessons and memories.
     During the book Charlie learns about friendship, sex, drugs, and many other things, including discovering he was abused by his aunt.
     This book has taught me a lot and is an overall great read.