Sunday, February 2, 2014

Amazing Grace: Jonathan Kozol- Quotes

In the article Amazing Grace, Kozol talks about how "When you enter the train, you are in the seventh richest congressional disrtict in the nation. When you leave, you are in the poorest."(Kozol 3) After reading this I was completey amazed and intrigued which lead me to read more. How is this even possible? This just goes to show how soceity is really screwed up. I don't understand how these wealthy human beings can live so close to a neighborhood that is so poor but yet are completey okay with it, and never thought to help these poor people out. While reading this article I came across a quote which was said by a father of four children. He claimed, "You just cover up...and hope you wake up the next morning." (Kozol 4) After reading this statement I sat back and realized how lucky some of us really have it. This father of four children live on the streets and is lucky enoug to get another day to live. These people are living in fear and will probably never have a normal life. This is very relevant to what the author is talking about because of how segrated some areas in America are, espeically in New York where some of the poorest people come from. Also another thought that I found very interesting was Kozol stated, "I think they hate you because you are not in their condition. I am in hell and you are not and so I hate you and I have to try to bring you down to where I am."(24) I couldnt agree anymore on what was just said. This jus goes to show that many people who are at lowest of the low, bring people down who are wealthier or even have something that is worth more value to them. These people feel like there lives may never be as good as the people who are rich or even have a little more than them and because of this they act out on it, which causes shootings and deaths and stabbings. Not all black people are poor and not all white people are rich. Sometimes its not all about the racial segreation which was talked about in the beginning of this article but the values that people have.
South Bronx, New York 2013
 
South Bronx, New York 1990

Washington Heights, New York 2013

Washington Heights, New York 2012

4 comments:

  1. I totally agree with all of your ideas and each quote you talked about. The one that the father said about just going to bed and hoping to wake up really made me think too. Sometimes we don't realize how lucky we are and may take it for granted while others are basically praying to live another day. SO SAD. It's crazy to think that no one sees the struggles that each individual in this town face everyday. It's almost like they are just invisible!

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  2. I agree with all the points you made in your post. It also makes me realize how good that I have had it growing up. It bothered me as well know that Mott Haven was located right near a richer town, and they didn't even bother helping the struggling town that was just a train ride away. It is saddening that their struggles were almost ignored.

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  3. Hey Courtney, it's viv, so you read it again! Kudos to you as it had me in tears. In fact I struggled over which paper to choose, and was surprised when after writing my thoughts down it suddenly made sense to me what "amazing grace" meant. There is so much tragedy inflicted on human beings by others all over the world, we have to hang on to where we can make a difference. Nice to meet you! (and I keep telling google I am not a robot. . . )

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  4. Hey Courtney! Each quote that you chose really stuck out to me while I was reading the text. Especially the one with the father. This father of four isn't even sure if he (or his children) are going to wake up in the morning yet he just tries to make the best of it. It makes me really appreciate everything in my life. I shouldn't complain if it's too cold or too hot. This father would dream to live in our shoes for a day and it's heartbreaking. I think you did a great job touching upon each of the quotes! My exact thoughts!

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