Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol Essay - 788 Words

Jonathan Kozols 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 Kozols book face; however, many of these people continue to maintain a very religious and positive outlook on life. Jonathan Kozols investigation on the lifestyle of these people, shows the side to†¦show more content†¦The child tells him of the terrible conditions of the area nonchalantly and is most kind towards Kozol. When Kozol discovers Cliffies heroes are Michael Jackson and Oprah he inquires, Have you read about George Washington? Cl iffie answers, I dont even know the man (Kozol 8). This quote suggests the lack of legitimate education that these children are receiving in school. The teachers in the district are not always certified and the classroom environment is less than desirable. Kozol visited an area where, only 15 teachers in a faculty of 54 were certified. (Kozol 155). The relation between most of the inner-city kids and their teachers results in a vicious cycle. The kids can be unruly and disruptive, therefore the teacher, often times may feel hesitant to put forward effort into his/her teaching. Due to the lack of teaching and discipline, the students may continue to be ignorant and incompliant with authority. With the continuation of this process and the lack of an authoritative figure at home or at school, some children may grow up and become involved in crime related activities. In addition to Kozols educational related complaints, he stresses the healthcare problems that plague the downtrodden people as well. On the book jacket, Kozol states that: One fourth of the child-bearing women in the neighborhoods where these children live test positive for HIV. The hospitals in the area are also substandard,Show MoreRelatedAmazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol690 Words   |  3 Pagesafter 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 childrenRead MoreEssay on Poverty and Child Development1589 Words   |  7 Pagesmuch more about it except for the fact that people existed that were less fortunate, those who lived in this supposed poverty. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Jonathan Kozol’s book â€Å"Amazing Grace† depicts the issues that face families who are living in a world of poverty, homelessness and in a world where less fortunate is an understatement. Kozol writes about his experience in the South Bronx where he comes across some of the most disturbing facts about our fellow human beings. He speaks of familiesRead MoreAmazing Grace Essay795 Words   |  4 Pagesof the children in Jonathan Kozols Amazing Grace. Who defines them as other? How? What makes them feel like nobodies? What makes them feel like somebodies? What is the role of religion in this daily struggle for human dignity? Drugs, violence, prostitution, pollution, infestation, and sickness of all kinds are present in South Bronx, New York. Unfortunately, children are surrounded and involved in all these problems and more. In Jonathan Kozol’s novel Amazing Grace, an evil realityRead MoreEssay about Jonathan Kozols Amazing Grace 1553 Words   |  7 PagesJonathan Kozols Amazing Grace  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      While reading Amazing Grace, one is unable to escape the seemingly endless tales of hardship and pain. The setting behind this gripping story is the South Bronx of New York City, with the main focus on the Mott Haven housing project and its surrounding neighborhood. Here black and Hispanic families try to cope with the disparity that surrounds them. Mott Haven is a place where children must place in the hallways of the building, because playing outsideRead MoreAmazing Grace Essay1448 Words   |  6 PagesJonathan Kozols Amazing Grace is a book that describes the everyday horrors and struggles for survival, for a group of elementary girls and boys who are growing up in the South Bronx, the poorest congressional district in the United States. When you enter the train, you are in the seventh richest congressional district in the nation. When you leave, you are in the poorest. This unimaginable way of life seems normal to these children because they really dont know any better. Norm al to themRead MoreEssay on Amazing Grace1770 Words   |  8 Pages Jonathan Kozols Amazing Grace is a book about the trials and tribulations of everyday life for a group of children who live in the poorest congressional district of the United States, the South Bronx. Their lives may seem extraordinary to us, but to them, they are just as normal as everyone else. What is normal? For the children of the South Bronx, living with the pollution, the sickness, the drugs, and the violence is the only way of life many of them have ever known. In this book, theRead MoreRichard Dawkins s The Selfish Gene, And Jonathan Kozol s Savage Inequalities3047 Words   |  13 Pagesan integrated critique of Richard Dawkins’, The Selfish Gene, and Jonathan Kozol’s, Savage Inequalities. The premise of my critique is to compare how these two books by two different authors on two different subjects can relate. I believe this is done by exampling how Dawkins describes the general make up of individuals and how they interact in their specific groups that they as a species have come up in over millennia and how Kozol describes that where you are born and raised has predetermined theRead MoreView Of Justice Reflected By Amazing Grace Essay1998 Words   |  8 PagesJustice Reflected in Amazing Grace In the Republic, Socrates starts the discussion with the definition of justice. When Thrasymachus angrily interrupts and gives his own definition, he in fact takes an opposite view on justice and argues that injustice is more advantageous and profitable. Glaucon and Adiemantus further develop Thrasymachus’ view with a theory of the nature and the origins of justice and claim that justice is desired only for the sake of rewards. In Amazing Grace, injustice happensRead MoreDawkins and Kozol Essay3200 Words   |  13 Pagesdarwin Running Head: DAWKINS AND KOZOL The Meme concept from Dawkins and the Educational Funding concept from Kozol Kevin Edmundson Oklahoma University LSTD-5013 Interdisciplinary Foundations The Meme concept from Dawkins and the Educational Funding concept from Kozol Introduction Jonathan Kozol, one of the most zealous advocates of the idea, wrote a series of books, which depict below the critical school, where children from poor, mostly belongingRead MoreEconomic Globlization1286 Words   |  6 PagesAll Dutch schools teach sex education. A year’s worth of birth control is about ten dollars but Dutch girls are no more sexually active than American girls. â€Å"Ninety percent of those teenagers who are active use contraceptives†. The success is amazing. Amsterdam suffers a housing problem incomprehensible to American city planners. Sufficient housing exists for those of modest means, but there’s not enough for the rich. Such abundance is happiness that the Dutch have began to experience the benefits