Blog Post #3
Amazing Grace
By: Jonathan Kozol
After reading Amazing Grace , I was able to reflect on how blessed I am in life to be where I am now. In my opinion, Kozol did an outstanding job with shedding light on the horrors of South Bronx and the depressing lives of its inhabitants. While reading this piece I was quickly hooked, as I have never read about the appalling things that happen in the Bronx in such detail. Something that really stood out to me in this piece was something I was able to relate to, "Many cannot sleep. Asthma is the most common illness among children here. Many have to struggle to take in a good deep breath. Some mothers keep oxygen tanks, which children describe as "breathing machines," next to their children's beds"(pg.4). Growing up with asthma I can relate to the struggles of breathing, but I couldn't imagine what life would have been like if I didn't own an inhaler growing up. The stories Kozol talks about really bring to life the problems with South Bronx. I couldn't have been more blessed to have grown up the way I did and where I did, rather than a drug infested area. I will never understand why the world just allows this happen, action is clearly needed more than ever. More people in the world today should be grateful and appreciative that they don't have to live like the people in South Bronx live.
-Here is a link to a first person video of someone walking around South Bronx.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFJnjicQ2aA
Hi mason, I like how you used the reading to reflect upon yourself. Like how you pointed out the main things Kozol talks about to reflect on yourself.
ReplyDeleteKozol and Kristoff did make me think more about my life. I am also lucky to have been given the life I was given. I know first hand what it's like to grow up in a lot of minority classes, but poor was never one of them. So I never really considered poor as a minority social class until reading those two articles.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you connected the reading to your own life. I also had asthma as I kid and cannot imagine how hard it would be to not have the proper medical care or devices.
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