1. According to Kozol, what are the prevailing attitudes toward the homeless?
While reading this essay, I began to notice the negative ways that people view the homeless and it made me realize how often I have seen this in my life. Whenever you see a homeless person on the street you tend to have a sense of sympathy towards them yet you try to avoid them. People are afraid of the homeless because they think they are diseased and scary, keeping a good distance from them. We here many stories of how some homeless people take drastic measures to get money or like, the incident of Elizabeth Smart, they go crazy and kidnap children. I think it's stories like these that build up this fear in society towards homeless people, creating a generalization that all homeless people are "bad" and "scary."
2. In paragraph 38, Kozol says that we are afraid of homeless children. What are we afraid of?
In paragraph 38 it talks about how people in society are scared of homeless children and how Kozol doesn't know the exact reason. The reason might be because they are sick and may carry disease but I think that it is more than that. As humans, we seem to go to the extremes, believing that if the child is raised in a homeless environment that they might be homeless their whole lives. Society's minds begin to wander and they start to believe that one day these children will be the ones causing crime on the streets. People fail to understand that these children, are just like any other innocent child. It is not that they chose to be apart of this lifestyle, it just happened. Little do people know that these "homeless children" have the potential to be successful if they are raised in the right environment. They forget that these kids are simply just kids.
3. Are any examples particularly moving? Which ones? Why do they affect you the way they do?
There were many examples in this essay that were very moving and changed my viewpoint on the situation of homeless people. One example that really set me into viewpoint when he told the story of the man who was set on fire while sleeping on the park bench. Not only was I emotionally drawn back at the fact that someone would do such a thing, but also the fact that people walked by and watched this happen and didn't inform anybody. They just watched the man burn. This took me back and kind of made me realize how people genuinely believe that homeless people are not people. They think that they are some unwanted species. It made me more sympathetic to homeless people and changed my viewpoint on the situation.
4. Has your perception of the homeless changed as a result of reading "Untouchables"? Explain.
My viewpoint of the homeless has changed after reading "Untouchables." Like most people, I would have a sense of sympathy towards them yet I would keep my distance and avoid them. I have realized that like the people in the essay, I have treated them like they are not human beings. Yes I still believe that some homeless people could try harder to make some money. Yes I still believe that some homeless people could have prevented being homeless. However, reading this essay has made me realize that not all homeless people are the same. It made me realize that not all homeless people are like Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper. I have become more sympathetic to the homeless and have this urge to help them in every way that I can. They author must have done his job right because he has changed my view on the homeless situation here in America.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Blog #3: My Narrative Essay Will Be About...
My narrative essay will be about a time when I was a little girl and disobeyed my mom by not wearing shoes. It was the summer between the third and second grade and I was playing at my friends house after a long day of softball. We were going over to feed the neighbors dog and I decided not to put on shoes because it was only the house next door. I ended up stepping on a piece of glass which left my foot bleeding and sore. When I went to the doctor, it didn't seem that anything was inside my foot but we came to find out that the piece of glass remained in my foot for five years and I didn't get it removed until the ninth grade.
This experience is something I will always remember and has taught me very valuable lessons. One thing it has taught me is to always wear my shoes outside, no matter where I am going. I now have this sense of paranoia about not wearing shoes outside and will not leave the house without them. Another lesson that this experience has taught me is that it is important to go to the doctor. After this all happened, I was too scared and nervous to go to the doctor so we didn't end up going to the doctor til about two weeks later when my foot got infected, causing more pain. It taught me that sometimes I don't always know everything and need to seek help from others. Lastly, it also taught me to fix my problems in the beginning and not wait to get them all figured out. If I would have gone to the doctor in the first place, I wouldn't have had to live with the piece of glass in my foot for an additional five years, causing much discomfort throughout those years.
This experience has really made an impact on who I am today and taught me many lessons. I feel that this is one of the most influential, formative experiences I have had throughout my life and has shaped me into the person I am today.
This experience is something I will always remember and has taught me very valuable lessons. One thing it has taught me is to always wear my shoes outside, no matter where I am going. I now have this sense of paranoia about not wearing shoes outside and will not leave the house without them. Another lesson that this experience has taught me is that it is important to go to the doctor. After this all happened, I was too scared and nervous to go to the doctor so we didn't end up going to the doctor til about two weeks later when my foot got infected, causing more pain. It taught me that sometimes I don't always know everything and need to seek help from others. Lastly, it also taught me to fix my problems in the beginning and not wait to get them all figured out. If I would have gone to the doctor in the first place, I wouldn't have had to live with the piece of glass in my foot for an additional five years, causing much discomfort throughout those years.
This experience has really made an impact on who I am today and taught me many lessons. I feel that this is one of the most influential, formative experiences I have had throughout my life and has shaped me into the person I am today.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Blog #2: Responding to Chapters 4 & 5
While reading chapters 4 and 5 in Patterns for a Purpose, I began to learn a few things about writing that I didn't seem to realize before. In the beginning of chapter four, it talks about the importance of description. It emphasizes the importance of description and the way that something is written can change the way a reader interprets the words and creates a vision. I have always known the importance of description when writing a story but I never really focused on the topic when writing a formal essay. In the book, it talks about how using description to show your ideas and points can change and impact the way the reader vies your words. The book also states how often description is used outside the classroom. It listed many ways that description is used in work and the community and it made me realize that description isn't just used when writing a story.
The book continued to go into depth about description and how to achieve a successful description. I began to learn about dominant impressions, supporting details, and the process for writing description. Before reading this section I didn't even know there was a process for writing a description. Whenever someone would tell me to write a description, I would always find myself getting lost. I wouldn't know where to start or where to even take my description. These chapters about description have really helped me as a writer and know more about writing descriptions. I now know what to focus on and how to make it successful. Without reading these chapters, I would have continued to be a blind, confused student writing completely average descriptions.
The book continued to go into depth about description and how to achieve a successful description. I began to learn about dominant impressions, supporting details, and the process for writing description. Before reading this section I didn't even know there was a process for writing a description. Whenever someone would tell me to write a description, I would always find myself getting lost. I wouldn't know where to start or where to even take my description. These chapters about description have really helped me as a writer and know more about writing descriptions. I now know what to focus on and how to make it successful. Without reading these chapters, I would have continued to be a blind, confused student writing completely average descriptions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)