Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol
QUOTES
In Jonathan Kozol's "Amazing Grace", there are a few quotes that really stuck with me. The first quote that I came across that really left an impression on me was on page 6. "I saw a boy shot in the head right over there," he says a moment later, in a voice that does not sound particularly sad, then looks up at me and asks politely, "would you like a chocolate chip cookie?" Once I read this quote I had the most uncomfortable feeling. Knowing that a child could witness something like this and talk about it as if it is just a way of life is insane. There are obviously stories that I have heard throughout my life of murder and crime and so on, but once I read this quote I was honestly taken back, its honestly just disturbing.
On page 11 I found another quote that made an impression on me. Following up to this quote there is talk of people coming and illegally dumping things they don't want in this New York area, its just another place for people to get rid of their garbage, but its also the home to these suffering people. Cliffie's mother says "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." This situation reminds me of that saying desperate times call for desperate measures, because its like you have to take what you can get. Cliffie's mother says that yes she is offended that people would do this;however, she puts that aside because she knows that she has an opportunity here that she might not ever get otherwise.
The last quote that I want to point out is on page 23. David says "I don't think my mother's asking for something she does not deserve. She worked hard all her life. She's a very honest person. she's kind to other people. She's a nicer person than a lot of the rich people that 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 ties into this whole article because it brings up the point that life is a struggle. People experience things that are not fair, and they may not deserve these things but its all apart of life. Times are hard for people no matter what situation they're in financially or emotionally etc. and many times these hardships are experienced by people while they are still children, and this can be especially hard.
In regards to the first quote you pointed out...reading this quote for a second time reminded me of the alcohol awareness seminar I attended earlier in the semester. A comedian conducted the seminar and told us the story of when he was in college he started a group on campus that held events later at night on Friday's and Saturday's for students to attend instead of parties where alcohol and drugs would most likely be present. An activity they took part in was duct taping a student to the brick wall in the main building on campus where hundreds of students walked through every day. The group hid in the corner and left the girl (whom volunteered to be taped up) to see the reactions of students. As was expected, majority of students stopped, stared, pointed, whispered, etc. They were in awe as to what they were looking at. However there was a student that looked at the girl taped to the wall and kept walking as if it was something he saw every day. The lifestyle the boy had and the environment he grew up in had outlandish things happening all the time. To him this was just another one of those things. Like the boy in the article, it didn't even phase him. It's amazing that growing up seeing such harsh or out of the ordinary things happening every day, they don't seem so harsh or out of the ordinary anymore.
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