In today’s society, one takes their childhood journey towards where they stand today. Amazing Grace demonstrates this to examine a child’s perspective living in the neighborhoods of New York City that exist around them. Although, these families try to support their children, some families are in distress, since they have a low income status. However, they still can attain the important life skills, which will enhance and benefit them as they later develop. As a result, these apparent life skills may lead them in the right direction, despite how these difficult circumstances that truly affect them. Thus Kozol creates the overall image of children as innocent. Amazing Grace explores the innocence of children who are born in a society of …show more content…
On the other hand, in Amazing Grace, obtaining real jobs was not common. A personal experience is related from the story:
A person who works in a real job at a place like Chemical Bank, she tells me, is a rare exception in the neighborhood. “Almost no one here has jobs like that. Some are too sick. They live on SSI. (Kozol 14)
Social Security is another form of income that a family can receive. Families use this as a solution in order to keep on living. The pursuit to land a quality job is not seen as an advanced option, considering the chances of getting such a job is highly unlikely. Instead, families must take one day at a time.
Drugs also play a large factor. Children are always put at risk in the neighborhoods of New York City. Not to mention, drugs are heavily used: “Crack-cocaine addiction and the intravenous use of heroin, which children I have met here call “the needle drug,” are woven into the texture of existence in Mott Haven. Nearly 4,000 heroin injectors, many of whom are HIV-infected, live here” (Kozol 4). Drugs are a part of their culture and they cannot do anything about that. They will be surrounded by it, but do not understand why it is there. Drugs are dangerous and should not be seen by the eyes of children. Also, all children in this neighborhood an aware of people having AIDS, since many heroin users are HIV-infected. HIV infection leading to AIDS has been a major cause of death and illness amongst children, teens,
The book “There Are No Children Here” by Alex Kotlowitz details the challenges two young boy’s face by being raised in the inner city housing project (Henry Horner Homes). These challenges stem from racism, discrimination, the social construction of reality, social location, social class, and the deviance theory, which is due to their location and influences (social control) at which causes many youths to lead a life of crime. The book focuses on the Conflict and Symbolic Interaction theories of sociology. What is the true cause of their struggle? Is it the run down smelly housing project completely taken over by gangs, where murders and shootings are an everyday thing, is their family, school, society, the system, race; or maybe it's because of the economical disadvantages. While others may argue, I believe that it isn't just one of these reasons; it's all of them all together.
At first glance and after reading through Amazing Grace, it seems that Jonathan Kozol is going to take us on a journey through the lives of the underprivileged, but similar to the ones you read about, or hear in the news. However, this is not the case; the real underlying theme seems to be how the life and society they live in is very alike to a life in a prison, not because it talks explicitly about prison conditions in this area, but also because their lives are portrayed as being a prison. Kozol uses the views of children and adults throughout this book to emphasize this theme through their living conditions and personal lives, background and struggles.
Jonathan Kozol's book, Amazing Grace, analyzes the lives of the people living in the dilapidated district of South Bronx, New York. Kozol spends time touring the streets with children, talking to parents, and discussing the appalling living conditions and safety concerns that plague the residents in the inner cities of New York. In great detail, he describes the harsh lifestyles that the poverty stricken families are forced into; day in and day out. Disease, hunger, crime, and drugs are of the few everyday problems that the people in Kozol's book face; however, many of these people continue to maintain a very religious and positive outlook on life. Jonathan Kozol's investigation on the lifestyle of these people, shows the side to
Sonny has a “rough” time where he finds himself in “jail” for “narcotics trafficking” (208). Skloot reveals how not having a guardian and guidance leads someone to turn to occupations they would have never committed to before. Also, she emphasizes how authority is needed in a child so they may stay in the right path of life. Also, Deborah becomes so upset she cries out for help: “‘...Just being sad and crying to myself..Why, Lord, did you take my mother when I needed her so much?’” (218). Deborah changed from a happy child to someone in desperate need of a parent when she lost her mother. Skloot reveals how the requisite fostering of a parent lifts the children up in awful
The opioid and heroin addiction is affecting the upcoming generation drastically. There are babies being born with an addiction to alcohol, opiates, heroin, alcohol, or multiple different things. These drug addictions at a young age take a toll on the children 's bodies, they shake violently and cry uncontrollably. 1 in 10 children born in a hospital are addicted to one of the above mentioned drugs. The babies aren 't the only youth affected, there are also teens/young adults that who are addicted to these drugs. This
When reflecting on one’s childhood, one either views it as a blissful time in their life, or a hellish society in which they suffered greatly. While both scenarios are very different from one another, it is arguable that both parties experienced a loss of innocence in this time frame.The loss of innocence is something which happens to everybody, sooner or later. Growing up in society, children are exposed to many different concepts. While these concepts play an important role in everyday life, some of them may end up destroying a child’s innocence. Dealing with other people and communicating properly play an essential role in everyday life, but people with malice on their agenda may end up destroying the innocence of others. Even something as simple as learning the countermeasures to deal with the malevolence of others causes a person to lose their innocence. In order to be successful in everyday life, it is necessary for one to confront the harsh reality of our world, which would destroy their innocence.
The reason that someone should be offered those benefits is because if there are no job offers and you have a family then you may not be able to take care or feed them if you are making no money. Some people may take advantage of social programs even after they make the money needed. Social programs are great for people who just need some help for a little while for example looking for a job, just getting out of the hospital, or providing older people with the safety net of retirement (social security) and healthcare
big cities just to get heroin. Suburban teens’ desire for a more powerful high has allowed
Many Children in the world face challenges that most people don’t have to. For example, two of his people face very hard challenges, Abdul, and Kundila. Two people who have it harder in life then us.In these stories, Doris Pilkington, and Katherine Boo amazingly show the challenges these two people face. In Katherine Boo’s story, Abdul has to work for his family to raise money to move to a better neighborhood. In Doris Pilkington’s story, Kundila has to protect his family from the white raiders.
Sometimes they lose a job because of cutbacks. Working hard does not always guarantee someone financial security.
The loss of innocence is often synonomous with growing up. Children are pure and innocent and, once they are shown the atrocities one can experience in life and gain awareness, they lose their innocence and move from “innocent” to “experienced.” In “Rite of Passage,” by Sharon Olds, the central theme is the loss of innocence. Olds uses imagery, similes, and extended metaphors to help convey the theme of the poem to the reader. The poem has a serious and mature tone for its content.
Many topics that have been examined, taught and discussed in RS 121 correlate with the main themes in Jonathan Kozol’s Amazing Grace. These topics in Kozol’s novel relate to many ideas taught in relation to sociological, philosophical and theological theories. For these reasons, Kozol’s novel is a novel that is effectively used as a learning tool in association to the idea of “the other” as well as the content of RS 121.
getting jobs, there are still a lot of families that fit the mold of the
However one article caught my eye. It told a story of a 24 year old Hilliard Darby graduate who had been to 14 funerals of friends who died related to heroin. He himself had been a heroin addict, “Heroin wasn't hard for him to find after his path to addiction began in an increasingly common manner: He was prescribed expensive painkillers for a sports-related injury, and the effects of the medication could be replicated with cheap heroin” (Heroin Battle) The pain caused by heroin is calamitous in Hilliard, the 14 funerals he went to, had 14 families, and 14 groups of friends in agony. The families of drug addicts go through a lot of pain. Go to any hilliard school and you will find numerous children of heroin addicts, and it not only affects the children's home life, but their school life. Many children of drug addicts are abused, and grow up to be drug addicts themselves (How Children). In Hilliard, the next generation of heroin addicts is growing up, and within 20 years, Hilliard will be like many cities that have been destroyed by
Amazing Grace is not a good movie, it is a great movie. Films on History can be lengthy and tedious, but that sure is not the case in this fascinating movie about the famous abolitionist William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. Contrary to what its title suggests, “Amazing Grace” isn’t really about the inauguration of the Christian hymn. Set in the 18th century England, it focuses on William’s political career to abolish the slave trade by arguing against it on the floor of the House of Commons, which placed him at odds with some of the most powerful men of the time. William is a motivated man with one purpose; endeavoring to terminate slavery in the empire.