Change In Rudy's Life

The encounter the narrator has with Sonny’s childhood friend shows that the narrator judges others just off of appearance and knowing little about them:

Ultimately, Rudy is deported because he is deemed not-American by virtue of his brown body. His English, Dodgers hat, and knowledge of U.S. popular culture (as demonstrated by his knowledge of Death Valley Days and John Wayne) are completely ignored as signifiers of his Americanness. Instead, his brown body is taken as a more important signifier.

Eventually the narrator and invites him to live his family once he is released from prison and Sonny reluctantly agrees to live there until he finishes college. This is a big turning point in the narrator’s character because he had finally began to wonder “ about the life that Sonny had lived” (Baldwin 243) and started making his efforts to take care of his little brother like he once promised his mother.

The narrator finished high school, did a tour in the army, and became an educator, while Sonny dropped out of school, joined the Navy underage, and came back to New York and lived in a furnished room in Greenwich Village.

The narrator experienced a lot of problems throughout his life but managed to emerge victoriously from most of them. Even with this, he needs to support Sonny because this was his mother's dying wish. "The death of the narrator's daughter, Sonny's failure to fit in with his own family, a stint in the navy all serve to alienate the brothers, even after their mother made the narrator promise to keep an eye on young Sonny" (Smith 22). The fact that they were born in a harsh environment, society's views in regard to their racial background, and the fact that they experienced a lot of hardships during their lives all had a severe effect on the personalities of each of the brothers.

"The walked on in silence for a while, until Rudy said, ' I just wish I was like Jesse Owens, Papa.'" (page 60) Racial discrimination and prejudice thrived in the time of Hitler's accession and was a behavior innocent, pure and youthful Rudy Steiner didn't comprehend. All he ever wanted was to be like his role model Jesse Owens. The rest of the world like Hitler saw a negro daring against society's judgment of black people, which is why he didn't shake Jesse Owens' hands when he won in the Olympics. In Rudy's eyes, he saw a courageous and hardworking man who deserved that fourth gold medal. Outside forces like the town and his father tried to put out that fire of passion for running but Rudy doesn't understand their perspective. This is where

One thing he always did was make sure they had everything they needed, he always tried to make Rudy the man he wanted him to be. He tried to be the father they wanted it just never worked out, Rudy wanted someone to love and care for him like Dr. Penrose.

Jonas starts out with a very low understanding of what it means to be mature. He has no knowledge of pain, love, or any other emotion. He proves this by acting like a normal child. He plays with his friends after volunteer hours. He attends school on a regular basis. Jonas is a stickler for the rules. He has been told that it is wrong to not follow rules and that there

Willy’s self- image that he portrayed to others of being successful was a lie that he had lived with for so long

As a parent explaining Rudy’s actions, I would tell him that your admiration for one athlete can be extremely exuberant but painting yourself his skin color in this time where prejudice of different people was very high, it clearly isn’t the smartest move. The itch in my heart is that it is morally wrong to paint yourself black and if you go that extreme with your admiration, Rudy can honestly be taken and have a higher chance to be killed by Nazi Germany.

The second aspect that was noticed bout Rudy was the dedication that he kept consistent. No matter how hard times may have seemed to Rudy, he was too stubborn to give up. He didn't have the grades to attend Norte Dame, so what did he do? He walked into a small catholic school and applied there. He did this to earn credit and to eligible for the fall semester at Norte Dame. That fall semester Rudy got into the school of his dreams and immediately became a hitting dummy for the Football team. Kenneth Turan wrote a review on the movie and he states "It meant a lot for Rudy to play football for Norte Dame, his obsessed determination begins to look more inspirational as the movie goes on" (1).

Just like Sonny, the narrator too struggles to establish his own identity. According to Maslow “when we are in doubt we are not honest” and if one is not honest, he will not be able to take responsibility for his actions, and the only way to self-actualize is by taking responsibility (112). Even though the narrator is quite successful in his life, working as a math teacher and having his own family, he also feels encaged in Harlem where he spent his entire

It may seem as if Rudy is the complete opposite of Liesel but it is noticeable Rudy’s personalities rub off on Liesel. At the beginning Liesel was a quiet and scared child, but Rudy showed her that it was ok to speak her mind. An example of this was when Liesel snapped at the mayor’s wife Ilsa Hermann “so you give me the book”..”for pity-to make yourself feel better…”(Zusak 268). After the incident Liesel realized what she had done, but before meeting Rudy she would of never said a thing she would of taken the book and walked away with a simple thank

The attraction between Rudy and Jonathan began when the two teachers were out on the granite ledge. Ruby was complaining of the lack of water and the harsh environment, they shared a long laugh, which started the romantic events. Over the course of the relationship, the two thought they had falling in love, no long individuals but a true couple Ruby and Jonathan were responsible for the relationship, ether one could have turned away and said no “I’m married”. The cost of their relationship was a terrible price to pay they both destroyed their families.

Using Nick Naylor, Buckley shows how ones character does not define their chances of success, but is rather based on the actions they take in order to do so by using that character. Despite the harsh view of society, Naylor shows that he is able to achieve success by acting on his own accord due to his character and make decisions based off that no matter how underhanded they may seem. He does not let any influences impact his decisions whether that be society, his superiors, or even the law. As a result, he remains strong willed throughout his life in order to reach the new heights he desires. Therefore, if one is to pursue the path towards success, then they should be able to act based on their own accord and disregard the influences that may prevent that from