Hello Rafael, Would You Like To Sit With Me Today

In this last chapter, Appiah discusses the ‘stranger kindness’ predicament in which there is a dilemma about how, and when strangers should commit acts of kindness

George Saunders and David Foster Wallace mention the importance of being kind to one another and the steps necessary in graduation speeches. Both writers state that acting in kindness, ultimately leads to new freedoms and creates an enlightened human being.

The author portrays a friendly tone in this publication, by showing how the two girls interact with each other throughout the whole book. “’My name’s Annie’, she said. ‘Annie Paul. I live over yonder’, she said, ‘by where you see the laundry. That’s my blouse hanging on the line.’ She smiled then. She had a pretty smile. And then I smiled. And we stood there looking at each other, smiling.” This quote helps to show the tone of friendliness by showing how good the two girls get along even throughout their differences.

In our book groups we discussed two essays “The Connection Between Strangers” by Miles Goodwin and the essay “The People Who Love You When No One Else Would” by Cecile Gilmer. In my group we said that “no matter how big or small your act of kindness is, it could change someones life” was demonstrated in both essays. In the first essay, “The Connection Between Strangers”, shows this because this little girl walked up to this solider and congratulated him. Little did she know, that the small action had changed the soldier’s life, as he said in the essay, “That girl undoubtedly has no memory of what happened years ago… It doesn't matter why she gave me the magazine. The important thing is she did” (Goodwin 83).

The short story"Aha Moment" by Julia Alvarez demonstrates that the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. The story expresses the idea that simple acts of kindness can make a great impact on people both mentally and physically. It can turn frightening and tense situations into assurance and aplomb. In paragraph 8, it is stated," no one screamed,no one panicked. I could hear small pockets of soothing conversation everywhere." By holding the hands and by chatting about everyday life, the passengers emboldened each other and created an optimistic atmosphere. The author points out,"someone was comforting me and kept asking me,'Are you okay?" According to Julia if someone does something good and beneficial for you, you should pass

The author also reflected upon the tradition of graduation. The giving of gifts for those children moving from one grade to the next and for those who were at the top of their class this became even more important. "In the store she was the person of the moment" (835) and customers lavished her with nickels and sometimes even dimes. She could also feel the love from her family. They were treating her like royalty.

The first and most important lesson for a grade school or middle school student to understand and appreciate is kindness. Kindness is a major theme in this book. Most of the characters give serious thought about how their actions will affect others. In this book it shows how much kindness matters. To quote the text people

There are many valuable aspects in life that may mean a lot to a person. In this case, friendship is one of the most important relationships a person can have. Human interaction is something necessary to survive, having a friend is essential to the well being of everyone. However, not all relationships with people can be considered a friendship because some may take advantage of others to gain something for themselves. Whereas, other friendships may last years and remain strong between the two people, but if there is no trust then there is a possibility of losing a friend. On the other hand, positive friendships still exist and are the ones to cherish and appreciate the most. The novel Speak written by Laurie Halse Anderson is based on a fourteen year-old girl named Melinda, who was sexually assaulted at a summer party. She called the police for help but since none of her friends knew what occurred, they assumed she called to get them all in trouble. This made her an outcast and she spent her ninth-grade year by herself. The theme of friendship is evident in the novel Speak as it impacts the protagonist Melinda. This is seen through Melinda 's friendship with Rachel, Mr. Freeman, and Heather.

Meet Melinda, She's is attending her first day of 9th grade at Merryweather High, And it did not go so well. All her old friends don't talk to her. Other students laugh at her. Rachel says she hates her. Melinda really wants to tell everything to Rachel, but she can’t speak. Melinda calls her English teacher Hairwoman, because she hides behind all her hair. Melinda's doesn’t like her Social Studies teacher, she calls him Mr. Neck. Lunch went pretty bad. She didn't have anybody to sit with because all her old friends are mad at her for what she did, then a guy hits Melinda with food and then she ran out of the lunchroom. Mr. Neck makes Melinda stop, and expects an answer but since she can't speak,she gets in trouble. After that, she had Art

Another place where the theme of kindness is found is when Ilsa Herman allowed Liesel to come to her house and read books from her library. Liesel, a member of the Nazi Youth, had to be

This girl didn’t expect anything back, it was just in her true nature to help. Another person in the book who has an extra amount of kindness is Rabbi Eliahu, who would give anything to his son although his son would not do the same for him. His son ends up leaving him, believing that his father is a hindrance to his survival. Elie observes this situation from his time in a few of the death camps. The Rabbi is searching for his son when Elie

The feeling of comfort vanishes as I stand in the middle of an unfamiliar dirt road, choked with the feeling of uncertainty. The air was dusty and so were the people as they inundated me. I turned to a little girl among the cluster of the sun-kissed figures. Her face was as brown as the dirt, but her eyes illuminated with happiness. Longing for a friend, I reached out my hand to give her a teddy bear and asked if she wanted to play. As she took the bear her face filled with confusement. Yearning to win this Peruvian girl over, I pulled yet another toy from my backpack. As I filled the tiny beach ball with air, she became noticeably interested in me. Like a pint-sized thief, she stole the beach ball to indicate she finally accepted me. Once

Summary: Pay It Forward, written by Catherine Hyde, is about a boy named Trevor who was tasked by his teacher create a plan that would better the world. Trevor then devised the “Pay It Forward” program, a branching system of good deeds under the notion that instead of paying back a favor, a person would instead do favors of high importance for three other people. Although his first favor attempt with a homeless man appeared to have failed, Trevor’s second favor for his teacher began a chain of events that lead to the sparing of one’s man life. Soon Trevor’s idea become a national event that promotes altruistic acts, even resulting with his first act of kindness to pay his favor forward. Trevor’s last favor, though having unforeseen sequences,

Three new boys come to the school, one name Jean sleeps next to him in the dormitory. Whether it was Julien’s proximity to the new student in the dormitory, or his school boy curiosity about his new schoolmate, he begins to befriend Jean. It is later discovered that the

Mrs. Ross has her fourth grade students move their desks together into groups of 2 to do a group activity. She instructs them to pair with anyone they choose. Teresa raises her hand, “I don’t want to pair with Megan again because she doesn’t do any of the work. Can I have someone else?” Megan who is soft-spoken just looks down at the floor as the class waits for the teacher’s response. Mrs. Ross asks Teresa and Megan to come with her outside and instructs the class to carry on with the activity.