John Iwis : Turning Points For John Lewis

John Lewis has never let his 40+ arrest affect what he stands for. In Lewis’ book March, he tells his story of segregation in the 60’s and the events that shaped his life. From when he was a little kid, to an older adult, March displays Lewis deal with the segregation in the south, and the hard ships others endure. Although he experienced many events in his life, John Lewis used those events to build himself religiously and help others. Receiving his first bible, Jim Lawsons workshops, his decision not to go to college and Martin Luther King’s speech all helped him become who he is.

In the book trilogy, March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin. John talks about his life growing up and making a difference. These highlights of his life would make him develop into someone more important. He received a Bible from his uncle as a gift, the trip John took up to Buffalo was a realization of how different the northern and southern states were. Segregation didn’t exist in the north. Later, John met Jim Lawson and began attended his workshops about non-violent protesting, and lastly his first arrest. These highlights during his youth would become eye-opening to Lewis that what he was putting himself through to take down segregation in the south was a risk for his life to save future generations.

The graphic novel trilogy, The March, tells a series of events that happen in John Lewis’s life for the better and for the worse. Throughout the books, he is faced with challenges that test his ability to stay true to his beliefs. When Lewis was a child, he received his first Bible from his uncle which was what sparked his heavy faith in God. During his spiritual journey, he began to listen to the teachings of MLK Jr. who impacted his life greatly. Lewis became the SNCC’s newest executive coordinating committee which opened his eyes to all the violence that was really apparent at the time.

March: Book One by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis. This graphic novel follows the beginnings of Congressman John Lewis’ journey as a Civil Rights Movement activist. John Lewis had his start as an Alabama sharecropper but his life changed when he met MLK Jr. and joined with others in fighting for the human and civil rights.

Lewis, however, highlights these people whose lives will be greatly affected by decisions about and fights for civil rights so that those who are marching remember that the fight continues and has real consequences. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph demonstrate that he identifies with the concerns of grassroots activists across the country who could not attend the march, and he explains that he has doubts about this march doing enough if the movement does not focus more on the grassroots efforts of its members. (Ms. Pruden)

Everyone today grows up experiencing several turning points in their life that makes everyone specific and makes their own unique characteristics shine. But we all go through different turning points in our lives and everyone is different. In the Book, the March, by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, the main protagonist [John Lewis] has several turning points that lead him to develop and strengthen his character throughout the novel. Though some say that John Lewis has developed additional qualities as he has grown up through the years, the reality is that several turning points in his life had made him a more passionate person to the people he stands against, and had made him improve and strengthen his original personality traits. The times in his life that changed him are: receiving the bible from his uncle, traveling to Buffalo with his uncle, and participating in non-violent workshops.

In March book 2, author and activist, John Lewis, delivered a speech on August 28, 1963. Before John Lewis delivered his speech, there was a lot of ciaos occurring backstage about revising Lewis’ speech. Mr. Randolph wasn’t pleased with the way John Lewis worded parts of his speech and demanded for him to change it. After Lewis negotiated with Mr. Randolph, Lewis was still content with the arrangement of his speech. Lewis confronts his sentiments to the people regarding racial inequality. He emphasizes on the unfair acts that are implemented among the African American working class. John Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day” (Lewis Aydin 166). In this statement, Lewis explains his reasoning for assembling his speech. His objective was to arouse the public on the realism of the nation’s unjust behavior towards African Americans. Lewis explains the march on Washington is occurring because blacks don’t receive the same wages as whites. Lewis declares, “We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now” (Lewis Aydin 169). He proclaims that African Americans have been fighting for their freedom long enough and they are not willing to be patient. With his skillful use of appeals, Lewis applies powerful logos to illustrate racism, emotional pathos to connect with the audience, and ethos to appeal to the segregation and discrimination towards African Americans.

On August 28, 1963, John Lewis delivered his memorable speech on Washington to a 200,000 crowd of activist demanding peace and equality. Lewis’ purpose is to inspire others to join their march and make a mark on history. He adopts a demanding and bold tone in order to persuade the black activists and politicians to change the social norms and to join the social revolution. By demonstrating his demanding claims for equal rights to the politicians, whites, and African - Americans, John Lewis effectively utilizes syntax and diction to adequately get his message of hope, equality and desegregation.

John Lewis initiates his claim by conveying that everyone in America should not tolerate racial segregation nor discrimination. In order to reach to his point, he uses the rhetorical device, pathos, in which it causes the “white” audience to feel remorse for what society has become. To illustrate this idea, Lewis reveals African Americans “live in constant fear of a police state”, “have been arrested on trumped charges”, and some faced “the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest” (paragraph 2). The evidence highlights that they are going through hardships caused by the federal government because they are considered “inferior” compared to the “white” race. From this, readers can infer that white supremacy is being marked on the walls. Lewis is able to awaken Americans so they can realize how their actions are wounding African Americans. In addition, Lewis is representing the African American community so they can feel inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement. Possibly the speaker is trying to drag the African Americans out of their state of oblivion by incentivizing them to defend their rights. Lewis is addressing the problems to both audiences so they can feel the urge to fix them. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph reveal that he identifies with the concerns of African Americans and how whites, mainly activists, should focus on addressing their issues.

Everyone has turning points during his or her life, some of them change our mind, and some others change our life. In this essay I will be writing about an African American named John Lewis, he was born and raised in the State of Alabama and had several turning points during his life, some of them happened during his childhood and others as an adult. Many turning points are remarkable and well known by the society who has read about him, but some others are hidden somewhere and not too many people talk about them and how it influenced him, nevertheless all of them helped him to create his character and becoming the person who he wanted to become. For example, since almost killing one of his precious chickens trying to baptize it (because he

In the book March: Book One and Two, the main character John Lewis takes part in the civil rights movement in 1960’s. While it's true that many events in his life did not increase his devotion to the civil rights movement and religious beliefs, I believe that John Lewis's beliefs and determination were reinforced by the turning points in his life. I believe the gift of his bible helped him grow stronger in religion, which helped him bring a sense of connection to the civil rights movement through Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words. Through that he started going to nonviolent workshops where he learned more about nonviolent protests, which started him on the road to joining the civil rights movement. This eventually pushed him to join the freedom riders.

John Lewis begins his remarks by revealing his attitude that civil rights leaders should not congratulate themselves yet and that there is still a long road before Africans Americans have true freedom. To immediately complicate the notion of being satisfied with the progress of the civil rights movement that other speakers proclaimed, he announces, “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of” (para 1). The essence of Lewis’ argument is that the leaders of the civil rights movement are marching for workplace fairness and equality for African Americans, but they should not stop and congratulate themselves. Significantly, this opening statement reveals the difference of beliefs that Lewis had compared to some of the older leaders in the movement who wanted to discuss how far civil rights have progressed. To further demonstrate this idea, Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in... Mississippi...working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day. While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges” (para 1). In this illustration, Lewis highlights the dissimilarities between those at home who are experiencing low wages and unfair hours or are imprisoned on false charges to those who are standing there in

During the Civil Rights Movement, there were many activist of equal rights, both white and black. While there were many people who helped the cause, one of the most important was John Lewis. In the graphic novel March, Lewis, with coauthor Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell, tells the story of his journey from being the son of a poor sharecropper in Alabama, to a key figure of the 1960 Civil Rights Movement. John Lewis has had many life changing moments in his life that has made him the person he is today. Four events that have critically influenced his direction and philosophy by establishing a sense of purpose, and creating opportunities that promoted growth and development of character. Getting his first bible, his first

During the 1950s and 1960s, the southern half of the United States of America was segregated in every way of life you could possibly imagine. People of color were treated as less than human, and were denied even the most basic God given rights. African Americans were barely considered human by some, and were physically, emotionally, and psychologically harassed day in and day out. The March trilogy, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, shows us how civil rights activists such as John Lewis led the fight against racial segregation in the US. Strong ideals were the only thing that allowed these men to stay inspired during their peaceful protests.

March is a graphic memoir of John Lewis life, but most importantly, it is about his life during the Civil Rights Movement. The story begins with 2009 Congressman John Lewis getting ready