Kozol

I found Kozol’s piece to be very interesting and really pulled at my heart strings. He seems to be arguing that the children of the South Bronx grow up in a lifestyle that breeds despair, hatred, and a sense that the rest of the world is out to get them. He says “What is it like for children to grow up here? What do they think the world has done to them? Do they believe that they are being shunned or hidden by society? If so, do they think that they deserve this? What is it that enables some of them to pray? When they pray. What do they say to God?” As I read more and more into his piece I can see how they would think the world is out to get them. The people from better walks of society come to their neighborhood and dump their unwanted possessions and trash on the sidewalk in front of the kid’s homes. I personally would take offense to that. Kozol even asks Cliffie’s mother if she took offense to this and she said she used to get offended but “Actually, I've got quite a few nice things that way. Not long ago, somebody dumped a pile of chairs and tables in the street.  Brand-new.  I was offended but I was also blessed. I took two chairs.” I really started to feel something for the children of the Bronx after reading the last few paragraphs of Kozol’s piece in which he recalls his conversation with David in regards to his mother and getting medical treatment. This quote should sum up what point Kozol is trying to make. "I don't think my mother's asking for something she does not deserve.  She worked hard all her life.  She’s a nicer person than a lot of the rich people I notice on TV. She gives more of herself to other people. My mother means a great deal to me. I don't know what I'll do after she's gone.” This quote puts you in a position where you think of how you would feel if you were one of these children with a mother who is dying.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation