Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking at the World Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 1

      I read the article “The Battle For Hong Kong” by Patricia Smith in the New York Times Upfront Magazine and it is about protesters in Hong Kong demanding for democratic elections, but authorities are giving them a hard time. I consider this an injustice because the citizens of China want to choose their leaders, in other words, the people who run the government in which they live in. I believe that they should have a choice in that, and obviously the protestors believe that too. These people are going to affect their lives majorly in every decision that they make, and I think that it is wrong for them to have no say in who those people are. Of course, not everyone would be happy with the decision even if they did operate with democratic elections, but the majority of the country would feel that they were in good hands. 

      What this makes me think about in my own life is how lucky I am to live in a country where the people can choose the authorities and representatives of our governments, and we don’t have to settle for people chosen for us. But, this also reminds me of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. In both places, authorities are spraying protestors with tear gas, and pepper spray, and are arresting people. In fact, the protest in Hong Kong is also called the “Umbrella Revolution” because protestors have to hold up umbrellas to block the tear gas that authorities are spraying at them. These two situations are similar because in both places, the people want their rights, and they want to be heard for the things that have happened to them. Overall, I think that people in Hong Kong should get to vote for their leaders, and their situation makes me feel very lucky that I live in a country where our citizens can do just that.

Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 7

A television program that I watch regularly is Full House, a comedic, goofy, show about a father and his three daughters, whose mother recently died in a car crash, and their uncle and father’s best friend who came to live with them, and help them get through this time. I have noticed a few stereotypes about this show that have been reoccurring throughout the show as I have watched it. For instance, “normal teens” are portrayed as almost always white, and if they are of a different ethnicity, thought this very rarely occurs, they will never be major characters, just something to present an illusion that this show is ethnically diverse. In addition, this particular family lives in an enormous house, and is extremely wealthy. After all, all three adults in the household have had quick and easy career paths to success.

This makes me thing about the vision that our society has (or had, for this show was made mostly in the late 1980s to 90s) for the perfect American family. This is portrayed as a wealthy white family surrounded by other wealthy white families just like them. And, this helps me to know about what the creators of this show might have thought would appeal to the majority of viewers who would watch this. This show the type of life that most people would want to have, so they will its in from tot their television for an hour or so, pretending that they can have it. This then makes me feel that people are still very not accepting of other cultures, or were not at the time, because this shows how people thought that to be happy, and perfect, a family needed to be a certain ethnicity. And I think this is because white people are so rarely ridiculed for their ethnicity because they have been on top of society ever since the Europeans came to the Americas.

Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 6

I recently listened to the song “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. I think that this song is about how you can do anything, and so you can stand up for yourself, mainly to bullies. For instance, in the verse, "You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

Or you can start speaking up,” I think that it refers to how someone can be a bully and can really affect someone negatively with their words, while someone else can be the victim, and can let themselves be ridiculed because someone else has their own problems, and feels that they need to let their anger out on other people. In addition, I think that the bridge, “And since your history of silence

Won’t do you any good,

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don’t you tell them the truth?” means that being quiet about being bullied won’t stop it, and the victim needs to stand up for themselves and tell this person who is hurting them how much pain this is causing them, or else nothing will get better. And then, the chorus, “Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave,” states how you need to be brave and say what you need to say or else nothing will change and you will still be miserable. 

Overall, this is a very uplifting song, and it touches on one of the most important issues of our time. After all, bullying is a very large problem that has been occurring since at least 1693, as that is how long the term “bully” has been around. This song really encourages people to stand up to whatever problem they are facing, and it is not only really about how you can stand up to your bullies, but also how you don’t have to be a bully yourself.

The full lyrics are as follows:

You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do

When they settle ‘neath your skin

Kept on the inside and no sunlight

Sometimes a shadow wins

But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

Everybody’s been there,

Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy

Fallen for the fear

And done some disappearing,

Bow down to the mighty

Don’t run, just stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

And since your history of silence

Won’t do you any good,

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

See you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

Reading and Writing for Social Justice: Looking Through a Lens of Justice and Fairness 5

My mom is a professor at Brooklyn College and she teaches students to analyze, break down and think deeply about different types of media literacy such as television, advertisements, internet articles, videos, social media, conversations, and so much more, and I think that this is affecting the world every day. I interviewed her about some of the types of things that she does in her classes:

“What kinds of activities do you do in your classes?”

“We have discussions and sometimes they work in small groups when we do workshop days. Workshop days are when groups work to come up with a research question about whatever topic it is in that class, and gather data to answer the question and support their reasoning. Also, they sometimes do some role play, in which they pretend they are illiterate and can only communicate through talking and hearing.”

“Why do you do these activities? What do they help the students to learn?”

“Having them do these activities puts more responsibility on them for their learning, and it helps them to learn how to gather research and break down media without having me tell them how to do it.”

“What kinds of assignments are your students given? How to do they connect to the activities that you do in class?”

“They do media analysis assignments and they do media research projects, which includes contact analysis, survey analysis, and focus group analysis. These assignments are the culmination of what they learn in the classroom.”

I think that what my mom does affects the world every day because media literacy such as television, the internet, phones, and electronic advertising are such a huge part of this time and by teaching students to analyze and think deeply on what the website, organization, show, song, advertisement, or video is trying to really say, and what is put into it to make it more desirable to the public, is really important. It makes them smarter and more sensible about what they find on the internet, or what they see generally on a screen in their everyday lives, and I think it is important for people to really understand what they are looking at. Overall, what my mom does is really important and affects the world everyday because it allows people to become smarter about modern media.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

     In a lot of cases, though siblings can fight, and make the other their enemy, they are always there for each other, and many will stick up for their sibling because they are their family. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, brother and sister Jeremy and Jean Louise Finch, known as Jem and Scout, live in Maycomb County in southern Alabama, and they spend their days playing in the warm weather, going to school, and wondering about the Radley house next door, rumored to behold the frightening murderer, Boo Radley. They go through a series of events, many of which have to do with the Radleys and a certain court case of their fathers’, which subjects them to ridicule. And throughout it all, Jem and Scout have stuck together. Through the many experiences that Jem and Scout have shared, the author shows that their relationship is close, and loyal.

     The author shows this about their relationship through all of the experiences that the two have shared together. For example, (Pages 61-64) when Jem and Dill, a friend of Jem and Scout’s who visits Maycomb County in the summertime, decided to go to the Radley house and attempt to deliver a note to Arthur Radley (commonly know in the town as Boo Radley), Scout knew it was a bad idea, and knew that if they got caught and she was with them, she would get in trouble too, but she chose to go with them to make sure that Jem didn’t go too far and that their plan wasn’t dangerous. This shows how she wanted to protect her brother, and cared about him, even though she knew what a stupid decision both he and she were making, and how this could negatively affect her. Another example is, (Pages 78-84) Jem and Scout found a knot hole in a tree that had tiny treasures hidden inside of it, and even though Scout could have kept it all to herself, she showed it to Jem, and they both agreed not to tell anyone else about it. Also, while they walked after finding out that their knot hole had been filled with cement, home, Jem reassured Scout, “‘Don’t you cry, now, Scout… don’t cry now, don’t you worry.” This shows how Scout trusted Jem with her secret, and Jem knew better than to trust anyone but Scout, and though Scout could tell him about it, she could not tell anyone else, and they agreed that they could only trust each other. They have had so many experiences together, and they have stayed close.

     Furthermore, another instance of this is, (Starting on page 99) their father, Atticus is a lawyer, and believes in defending anyone who needs it in court, and when he takes up a black man as a client, it is his children who get ridiculed for his actions by the other children at their school. Jem and Scout have to go through the same difficulties and they take solace from each other in knowing that they do not have to go through this alone. This shows an example of what the two have to go through together, and how they know that they always have each other. Moreover, while they walked after finding out that their knot hole had been filled with cement, home, Jem reassured Scout, “‘Don’t you cry, now, Scout… don’t cry now, don’t you worry.” This shows how Jem knows this is upsetting to Scout because this was their special secret, and it had been ruined, and he was very kind to her, letting her know that everything would be okay. Finally, (Pages 132-149) Jem gets very upset with an old, sick woman who scolded and scorned them whenever they would pass by her house on her way to town, and he gets so upset one day, that he cannot control himself, and completely vandalizes her entire front yard before her eyes. His father makes him go back to her house later and apologize, and he comes up with an agreement with her that every day after school for a month, he would sit in her house, by her bed, and read to her from one of his books out loud for two hours. Scout knew, and was told, that she did not have to go with him, but she did anyway, and stood by his side when she knew he didn’t want to be alone, even though she hated going along. This shows how Scout would help Jem even if she really hated it, and she would stand by his side in the worst of times. All in all, Jem and Scout had so many experiences together, and they were able to get through them, but only because they had each other.

     I can understand why thing book is a classic. I have read it once before, and reading it again is not only just as enjoyable, but I am able to pick up on a lot of things that I missed in reading it in the sixth grade. I feel like it is a wonderful book that can be enjoyed by many different people. In conclusion, through the many experiences that both Scout and Jem faced together, good and bad, Harper Lee expresses how they will always stick together no matter what, and how they are very loyal to each other, and will go through the worst for each other.

Slam by Nick Horny Essay

Every year, there are so many teen pregnancies, and a lot of those kids have to give up their dream, or their pretentious future for their child. The book I read called Slam by Nick Hornby, is the story of a fifteen year old boy named Sam who meets a girl, Alicia, and they start dating, but Sam ends up getting Alicia pregnant. The book is about how Sam dealt with being a father at such a young age, and during this time, a poster of his idol, Tony Hawk, famous skateboarder, seemingly “whizzed” Sam into his future life on multiple occasions so he could see what it would be like. Later, Sam actually lived those experiences, and though he made different choices then, the outcomes were the same. But, the whole time, Sam never understood the true meaning of why this was happening to him. Through the theme of the struggles of teenage pregnancy, Nick Hornby expresses how people who have endured this must become more responsible and must give up many things.

Through the theme of the hardships of teenage pregnancy, the author shows how Sam struggles with having to become responsible. One example of this is when Sam found out about Alicia’s pregnancy, he fled to Hastings, a place quite a long distance from his home in Southampton, England, and planned on never returning to his home. In fact, he tossed his cellular phone into the ocean so he could be thoroughly disconnected from his old life. This shows how he is not feeling ready to have the responsibility of becoming a father and growing up at such a young age. He does not want to jump in to such an enormous commitment yet, and he feels as though he can run away from it. This also shows how immature he is, thinking that he can do this, and how much more he needs to develop to become a father, and he is scared that he must do that so fast.d Another example is, when Sam had to take Rufus to the doctor to get his shots, Rufus got nervous and cried no matter how many times Sam told him it wouldn’t hurt. After a while, Sam thought, “She [Alicia] can take him. I don’t want to deal with this.” This also shows how Sam doesn’t want to deal with the responsibilities of having a child, even if it is just taking your child for a checkup to the doctor. This also shows how he has not grown enough because it shows how he does not understand the importance of doctors’ appointments, and he does not want to have to deal with a whiny child. Overall, all of these responsibilities make up why having a baby as a teenager is hard for many different reasons.

Through the theme of the hardships of teenage pregnancy, Hornby communicates how the characters in this story who have experienced this have had to

give up a lot of things. One instance is, after Sam and Alicia told Sam’s mother that Alicia was pregnant, Alicia’s parents expressed their worry for Alicia saying, “‘But at the moment we’re more worried about Alicia’s future.’

‘Not Sam’s?’ said my mum. ‘Because he had a future too.’

I looked at her. Had? I had a future? Where was it now?” This expresses how young and full of experiences to come Sam and Alicia used to be, but after they were together, they became like raisins. At first, they were grapes, full of life, but then the sun (Rufus) drained all of their other future, and replaced it with one it created; Being put into little red boxes, and then crammed into the lunch boxes of children around the world. Or, in other words, taking care of a kid. Furthermore, a long time after Alicia has had her baby, and she has to take care of him, she is talking to Sam, and she says, “‘And I know I wasn’t ever going to be, you know, a rocket scientist or a great writer or any of the things my parents think I can do. But I was joint to be something. I don’t mean something incredible. Just something. And what chance do you think I’ve got now? Look at me.’” This shows just how much having a baby took away from Alicia and Sam. Even though she didn’t want anything magnificent, and she didn’t want to be amazing, she wanted something. Something better, at least. All in all, the baby took a lot away from Sam and Alicia, and that was only one of the many struggles they had to endure.

I think that the author, Nick Hornby, did a very good job achieving the goal that I can infer that he strived for when writing this book. I think that his goal was to explain how hard having a child as a teenager can be, and the toll it can have on people. In conclusion, Nick Hornby used the theme of the hardships of teen pregnancy to communicate how those who have been through this certain issue have to become responsible, and have to give up many things such as their time, their adolescence, and their future.

Ashes by Susan Beth Pfeffer Analytic Essay

    It is not unusual for teenagers to have mixed feelings about their parents as they get older. In the story “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer, a girl named Ashleigh, nicknamed Ashes, has a father who is unreliable and gives Ashes only empty promises, and is the opposite of her mother, who is down to earth, and thinks in the long term. Ashes loves her father very much and is always happy to see him, but when he asks her to take money from her mother, she has to make a terrible decision. Through symbolism, the author of this story shows show Ashes feels about her father in different parts of the story by comparing her feelings toward him to the sky.

    In the beginning and middle of the story, the author expresses how Ashes is always cheerful and excited to see her father with a sunny sky. One example of this is, the story is introduced in the perspective of Ashes with the line, “That winter, it felt like every time I saw my father, the sun cast off just a little more warmth than it had the day before. I don’t remember a gray day when I saw him.” The sunny day represents how good weather means a good day. In other words, Ashes is ecstatic to see her father, and she feels like he makes everything better. Another example of this is, in one instance when Ashes and her father are reunited on one of the days that Ashes sees him, the scenario starts with, “‘Ashes!’  he cried, as though it had been years since we’d last seen each other, and not a simple week of overcast skies and bone-chilling weather.” This shows how much Ashes loves her father and how happy she is to see him because when they are apart, the sky is dreary and gloomy. Also, in the middle of the story, when Ashes is describing her mother, she says, “She’s the most practical person I know, always putting aside for a rainy day. With Mom, there are a lot of rainy days and she takes a firm sort of pleasure in being ready for them.” This shows also how when Ashes is with her mother the sky is miserable and disgusting. And, the sunny sky represents the hope and happiness that Ashes associates with her father, while the dreary weather is what she associates with the time that she is away from him. But, only when she sees her father is the sky blue and magnificent again. But, as the story develops, Ashes’ feeling begin to waver.

    Near the end of the story, the author expresses how Ashes resents her father, and is no longer as happy to be with him. One instance is, when Ashes was sitting in the car with her father driving, she looks up at the sky out the window and thinks, “For a moment, a cloud drifted past the moon and the sky turned greenish gray.” This shows that now that Ashes knows about the money her father wants her to take, and the difficult decision she has to make, I can infer that she is beginning to resent her father for putting her in this position. I can tell because the sky is no longer sunny and bright, instead it is reflecting Ashes’ emotions, and it is turning dismal and dark. Finally, one more example of this is when Ashes is inside her mother’s apartment at the end of the story, dividing whether or not to take the money for her dad, she notices, “I looked out the window and saw only ash gray sky.” This shows how Ashes is no longer feeling dull, as she had when her emotions towards her father were only wavering in the car, she is now miserable. The sky is no longer only “greenish gray,” but it is now completely gray, which shows how unhappy she is. And, she is contemplating a difficult choice that she must make.

    In the end, I predict that Ashes did not take the money because the sky is completely gray, which symbolizes how she is now completely enraged about her father. In conclusion, the author shows how Ashes is feeling about her father at different parts of the story through symbolism, the symbol being the sky. In the beginning, the blue, sunny sky represented Ashes’ hope and happiness that she associated with her father. And, the cloudy sky represented Ashes’ feeling when she was away from him. But, at the end, the dark sky was a symbol for how Ashes resented her father, which is what led me to believe that maybe she did not take the money.