The Themes Of The Book, March By John Lewis And Andrew Aydin

Some lessons never die. Mahatma Gandhi died nearly seventy years ago, and Jesus Christ died over two-thousand years ago; yet their powerful message lives on. One example of someone who was deeply touched by the teaching of Gandhi and Christ is John Lewis. In March: Book One and March: Book Two, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, we can clearly see how Lewis incorporated Christianity and Gandhi's ideas of peaceful protest into the civil rights movement. The books tell an eventful story of John Lewis' life. As Lewis grew up, his faith strengthened and he began involving himself in the civil rights movement. He played a major role in desegregating department store lunch counters, buses, and giving voting rights to people of color by

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.

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.

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.

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.

All their dazzling opportunities, were theirs, not mine…. With other black boys the strife was not so fiercely sunny…. Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in my own house? The shades of the prison-house closed round about us all: walls strait and stubborn to the whitest, but relentlessly narrow, tall, and unscalable to sons of night who must plod darkly on in resignation, or beat unavailing palms against the stone, or steadily, half hopelessly, watch the streak of blue above.

John Lewis, now a US representative for Georgia, was an activist in the civil rights movement at the time of this speech. Lewis has been involved in politics for quite some time. He was one of the leaders that organized the March on Washington in 1963. All of this lead to the speech he gave on August 28th, 1963. When giving this speech, it is clear that he has the confidence of a strong leader. The larger underlying occasion in this speech, in other words, what is going on in the world that caused Lewis to give this speech, was the civil rights movement. At this time, the African Americans in America were protesting against the government in order to gain the rights they deserved. The immediate occasion, in this case, would, in fact, be the speech that Lewis is giving. During the March On Washington, Lewis gave a speech in order to persuade the people to get more involved with the civil rights movement. There are two audiences that Lewis addresses. He is addressing those that are physically at the location of the speech. These people are there in support of the civil rights movement. Then there is the rest of the world, specifically those who are against the civil rights movement. There is a time in the speech where Lewis calls out those who oppose the movement and, in summary, says that we will not sit in silence. The purpose of this speech is to persuade those who are in favor of the civil rights movement and hope that they become even more actively involved. Lewis

“For many years now Negroes in Montgomery and so many other areas have been inflicted with the paralysis of crippling fears on buses in our community. On so many occasions, Negroes have been intimidated and humiliated and impressed-oppressed-because of the sheer fact that they were Negroes.”

After thinking about it, John Lewis went and applied as a transfer student to Troy; except that nobody replied back to him. Since John Lewis felt nobody was listening to him, he said “Finally I decided to introduce myself to the only person who I thought could understand what I was trying to do.” (Lewis et al 66) The letter he was writing was for Martin Luther King because to John , he felt there was a genuine connection between him and MLK. Next, John Lewis boarded a bus to head to Montgomery, AL from Troy State to learn more about what he needed to do to get to that point. Once he got there, he was introduced to a man named John Robert Lewis who sat down with him to talk about his reasons for going to Troy and explained to him the dangers of going and what this could mean for John and his family. During the conversation, John Robert Lewis said “Your parents could lose their jobs, your family home could be bombed or burned.” (Lewis et al 71) “You may get hurt… or your family may get hurt.” (Lewis et al 71) John made the choice to not go to Troy State because his parents thought it wasn’t safe for him to go. So he wrote back to MLK to explain what had happened as a result of him speaking with John Robert Lewis. This helped him view what was possible in his journey. John said “Because in Nashville I’d meet people who opened my eyes to

I saw racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said white men, colored men. White women, colored women. White waiting. And I didn't like it.”-John Lewis Inspiration was a motivation for making a change with the Civil Rights Movement, between ordinary people and leaders. When John Lewis grew up with segregation, but his uncle had taken him to the North. Buffalo, is where his uncle took him, and it was special because the North was desegregated. When he arrived, he had noticed big beautiful buildings and that there were mix of different cultures together and as neighbors. This point of view that he had gotten from where he lived in the South to where his uncle had taken him in the North changed the way he thought. (March 36 -37) “ Otis Carter…,Arranged the Journey. He had planned it completely for me” “I know now that my Uncle Otis saw something in me that I hadn’t seen yet”said John Lewis ( March 47) “After the trip, home never felt the same, and neither did I. In the fall, I started riding the bus to school which should’ve been fun. But it was just another sad reminder of how different our lives were from those of white children,” states John Lewis. His uncle wasn't the only person who gave John inspiration, it was also Martin Luther King who was John Lewis's role model, and that was John Lewis's motivation. So when John Lewis wrote a letter to Troy State,a school he wanted to go to and integrate but never got a chance

Although, Powell uses various forms of visual and verbal acts of communication to appeal to our emotions. I, however believe that Nate Powell is a master at combining text, image, shading, and design work to communicate passions, events, and powerful messages. Powell makes smooth conversions from the past to the present throughout the book March. He uses the colors grey, black, and white as backgrounds to pertain to certain emotions in the book to actually explain what John Lewis and others went through during the civil rights movement. This is how Powell hooks in readers and keeps them interested in the book.

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

So far in “March Book One”, John Lewis is reflecting on the struggle to meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He influenced John’s decisions and as a result he became an effective leader. John Lewis reflected back on his journey to applying to the “American Baptist Theological Seminary” and how he worked in the service industry. One thing that resonated with me was when John stated, “Here I was reading about justice, when there were brave people out there working to make it happen. I started to feel guilty for not doing more. I became restless”. This demonstrates how determined and profound John is when it comes to fighting for what he believes in. He is a man of fast action and wants to make a difference immediately. This book, relates to the nature

Mahatma Gandhi died nearly seventy years ago, and Jesus Christ died over two-thousand years ago; yet their powerful message still continues to inspire lives. One example of someone who was deeply touched by the teaching of Gandhi and Christ is John Lewis. In March: Book one, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, we can clearly see how Lewis incorporated Christianity and Gandhi's ideas of peaceful protest into the civil rights movement. The book tells an eventful story of John Lewis' life. As Lewis grew up, his faith strengthened and he began involving himself in the civil rights movement. He played a major role in desegregating department store lunch counters by using Gandhi and Christ's ideas of loving your enemy. Although significant people John Lewis had met, such as Martin Luther King, clearly played a key role in developing his character, it is evident throughout the trilogy that the people who impacted John Lewis the most were those he had never met. The teachings of Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi appear to have positively influenced Lewis’ life in ways no one he met had.

Have you ever wanted to learn information about the Civil Rights but format of the information is dull. It seems to be that way with many subjects. However, March is unlike most other historical documents. It is about Congressman John Lewis of Georgia and how he became involved in the Civil Rights. The difference with this book is the medium chosen for the work of art. Lewis, also the author, chose to present this information as a graphic novel. He got his inspiration and idea for this from a comic he read in the 1950s. This answers as to whom the book was actually written for since what adult reads graphic novels. This novel is intended for the younger generation and to help them grasp a better idea of what really happened during the Civil Rights time period. Lewis uses childhood stories and young adult incidents to show how he was influenced into the man he is today. The novel reaches out to younger generations by creating a medium that relates to youth, involving memories relative to the audiences age, and adding in an expository view to the novel.