Nonfiction Reading Response by: Jacob Cedar

In the article “How the MURDER of Four Teens Started a WAR,” author Patricia Smith writes about the four boys who were killed, how Hamas and Israel fought, and how the tension between Israeli’s and Palestinians came to be. The author describes how problems between the Palestinians and Israeli’s started because the U. N. gave Jewish people land in Jerusalem, with a plan to split the Palestinians and Jews into two states, which the Palestinians rejected. The Palestinians and Israeli’s have had run-ins since 1947 but the most recent one was after 3 Israeli boys were found dead, (June 12 they were captured) and a Palestinian boy was murdered (killed on July second). This prompted Israel to launch air strikes at Hamas. These murders were tragic but the outcome shouldn’t have been war.

            Patricia Smith tells the story from each side, making it difficult to pick a side to defend. One example that shows this is after a Palestinian boy is killed, his brother says, “His life was still ahead of him, and here in one minute, extremists who hate Arabs, who hate peace, came in and cut short his whole life.” This quote shows the grief of a brother who’s feeling the strife of his country in his home and the hatred and disharmony that exists in Israel. This boy and his family don’t deserve to suffer because someone supposedly from Palestine killed three Israeli’s. Furthermore, the author quoted the Israeli Prime Minister in response to the three Israeli boys being abducted and killed, “They were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by beasts, Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay.” It’s difficult to defend either group, because Hamas or some un-connected Palestinian could have killed these three Israeli kids but at the same time they may not have. There was no clear evidence. Furthermore, this by no means should have started air strikes and bombings. This was simply tragic.

            The author makes a big point to talk about the “birth of Israel,” and how it came to be, and more importantly why there is a problem in Israel. Patricia Smith taught me that the U.N. voted to split Palestine apart writing, “According to the U.N. plan, the territory, then known as Palestine and governed by Great Britain, would be divided into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. But the Arabs rejected this plan,” this shows the main reason why the Arabs and Jews have been fighting. This makes me think that the Arabs attacking the Jews was not totally uncalled for, because their land was split in half against their will. Additionally, the U.N. probably shouldn’t have given away land that wasn’t theirs to give, although Great Britain did control Palestine at the time. This shows a very large reason for why there is still a problem in Palestine.

            After reading this article I have begun to understand that sometimes neither group of people who are fighting are wrong. This article also makes me want to look more deeply into problems surrounding Palestine and the Jews. I’m intrigued by why the U.N. just gave away half of Palestine to the Jews and I want to find out why Hamas was blamed for killing the 3 Israeli boys. I would like to know more about this because at the moment what it looks like to me is that, three boys were killed by someone or a group, the reason is fairly unknown and then some Israeli radicals went out and killed a Palestinian boy for “revenge.” These are terrible, unreasonable actions that people should never commit.

Upfront Magazine October 27 2014 issue

What the trip to the Museum of the City of New York made me think, feel, know, and/or wonder

The trip made me think about how many people have taken a stand about what they believe in. For example the first protest was about rights for Quakers. This was really interesting because it was one of the first protests and it was so basic but so important. This trip taught me that non-violent protests are generally the most important ways to protest, but that only in the worst times, is violence necessary. This trip taught me a ton about activism and taking a stand, but I wish there was more.

            During the trip I wondered about why there were so many missing pieces of history at the museum. For example, I don’t recall there being anything on the Vietnam war, which is a very controversial subject and was protested about in New York. The only reasons I could think of were that there wasn’t enough space in the exhibit and that the creators of the exhibit were worried about there being too much controversial information in the exhibit. Additionally during the trip I wondered why the exhibit wasn’t up to date. There was nothing on Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street has had major protests about the economy and the “1%.” This has been a major protest in New York City, and it’s not included.

            Overall, this trip was a great trip, and it taught me a lot about activism. It made me think about taking a stand and what that actually means. It also made me wonder about what other people thought of Occupy Wall Street and the Vietnam War. The trip was very informational and interesting.

Reading Response on the Kite Runner By Aled Hosseine

Reading Response on the Kite Runner

            Aled Hosseine’s Kite Runner has been challenged and banned in places all over the world for violence, as well as child abuse and rape. This book is about a boy named Amir who hurts and tries to fix his best friend Hassan’s life to the best of his ability. Eventually after Hassan dies, Amir goes from America back to Afghanistan (where he was born) to find Hassan’s son to adopt. Even though Amir is the main character of the book, Amir is by no means the driving force of the story. The driving force of the story is Hassan, because he is the character that always saves Amir from his troubles. 

            Hassan, Amir’s servant, forces Amir to think about himself and see himself as he is. In the book, Hassan finds himself catching a very nice kite that his master cut the string of. His master cut it because he was in a kite tournament where each kite user must cut the other kites strings until only one stands. Once Hassan gets the kite, Assef, Wali and Kamal (bullies of Amir and Hassan) corner him and he is raped. Amir finds Hassan being raped and instead of stopping them, he runs. After this Amir says, “I ran because I was a coward.” This proves that what happens to Hassan makes Amir think about himself and see himself for who he is, a coward. And, it shapes the person Amir becomes. This shows that Amir doesn’t really drive the story, he just goes with it and Hassan is the person who drives the story and protects Amir from trouble.

            Assef is the antagonist of the story, so he often forces Hassan to act and move the story along. Near the beginning of the book, Assef and his goons corner Hassan and Amir and begin to talk badly about Hassan and his people (Hazara’s) and say that Amir was a disgrace to Afghanistan. Assef is about to attack Amir when Hassan holding his slingshot says to Assef, “Please leave us alone, Agha.” Until at which point Assef is forced to give up trying to hurt Amir and Hassan for the time being. This shows us that when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, Hassan is forced to defend Amir. Amir again has shown us that Hassan is the character who drives the story because Hassan saves Amir.

In the book, Assef is the antagonist who tries to hurt Amir and all of his friends, Amir finds himself saved by Hassan and Hassan’s son more often then not. Near the end of the story, Asssef and Amir get into a fight concerning who gets to keep Sohrab (Hassan’s son). Assef is about to punch Amir again, “Sohrab had the slingshot pointed at Assef’s face. No more, Agha. Please.” In this moment, Sohrab asks Assef to stop hitting Amir, at which point Sohrab is forced to shoot Assef in the eye because Assef is about to attack Sohrab. This tells us that Assef tries to hurt Amir and Sohrab ends up protecting Amir. Although this is Hassan’s son not Hassan, the driving force is still Hassan because Sohrab is Hassan’s son and the apple doesn’t far fall from the tree. This shows us again that Hassan is the driving force of the story because his son is very similar to himself and they both try to save Amir.

This story helped me understand that running away isn’t necessarily an escape.  It may help in the short term, but you always need to come to terms with events in your life, regardless of whether you want to or not. In Amir’s case, what happened with Hassan shaped his life. Amir’s life years later was still being affected by what happened with Hassan. Thus, Hassan was the driving force of this book.