Val Fydryk Analysis

As a teenager growing up in a very destructive and dark world, Lauren Olamina was one of the lucky citizens who got the privilege to live behind a wall before the full collapse of the society. With a rare condition called hyperempathy, she had the ability to share the true feelings of others. How does Lauren’s hyperempathy effect her actions throughout the course of the text while also showing the selfishness of the current human race? Her condition encourages her to help the people she comes in contact with, reinforces her views on religion, and allows her to empathize with others.

Experiencing further unstable environments, these children are forced to move from one foster home to another. They rarely develop meaningful relationships and constantly endure lack of care and protection by adults. Sabreen, another gifted student, was able to excel in school despite her unstable environments. She, too, became a ward of the county battling to find a stable home, constantly being placed in unstable environments, environments that do not encourage any achievement. When her situation becomes untenable, she goes AWOL, like Olivia, refusing to return to county supervision. Corwin masterfully frames the problem that wards, like Olivia and Sabreen, face when they feel that going back into the system is not an option. The additional struggles can be seen through Olivia and Sabreen accepting jobs with long hours in order to make enough to pay their bills. The responsibility on taking care of themselves financially detracts from their studies, which quickly can become a vicious, never-ending cycle.

Then, the young woman gets involved with selling drugs and beefing with other gangs. Also, her brother throughout the abused

her life demonstrates her fear and in the end what fear can do to a

As told through her mother’s perspective, one will learn that Trina is a eighteen year old female of African-American decent and resides with her mother in Los Angeles, California. Trina’s parents, Keri and Clyde, provide their daughter with an upper/upper middle class lifestyle due to her father’s sudden successful career and her mother’s successful resale clothing business in Los Angeles. This well rounded and beautiful adolescent has recently graduated from high school with high grades and was accepted to Brown University, however, due to her summer manic episodes, Trina has not attended college yet.

Officer Joseph Weekly sat on the sidewalk and wept as first responders rushed 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. A lot had gone wrong as Weekly and his Detroit Special Response Team went to round up a murder suspect on Detroit’s East Side. With the camera for the true-crime program The First 48 rolling, this team was under pressure to impress. They threw a flash-bang grenade into Aiyana’s home, kicked open unlocked doors, and Weekly fired as he entered the living room (LeDuff, n.p). The bullet hit Aiyana’s head and came out through her neck. She died immediately. The bigger crisis was that the team raided the wrong house. The video for J Cole’s song “Crooked Smile” replays this event. Cole dedicated it to Aiyana’s memory and used it to ask the police to reconsider their war on drugs (Carter, n.p). In trying to meet viewer’s expectations, Weekly’s team went against procedure and used a grenade to make an arrest. This need to impress others is what Cole handles in his song, and he insists that people remain special whether they appeal to others or not. He shows how society’s demand for perfection has contributed to women’s insecurities, low self-esteem and emotional imbalance, especially for black girls who not only have to struggle to attain such standards, but must also face racial bias, discrimination, and stereotyping.

From the tone of Mick’s voice, the alcohol acts a sedative to numb the pain from his past. This motive for drinking is also evident through Lisa’s brother, Jimmy, after he loses both his girlfriend, Adelaine, and his goal in becoming an Olympic swimmer. The legacy of residential school is also manifested in Trudy and Tab’s mother-daughter relationship. Tab becomes the victim of her mother’s psychological and emotional upheaval that is a result from her childhood. In the grip of alcohol, Trudy often mistreats Tab. Removed from a family environment and placed in a reformation school, individuals return not only emotionally and psychologically scarred, but also unable to reestablish their own functional family. Tab confesses to Lisa that she wishes she had a mother like hers, saying, “You’re lucky. You’re really lucky that your dad was too young to go to rez school. [...] Just Mick and my mum went and it fucked them up” (Robinson 254). Trudy’s sister Kate also notes that Trudy “thinks Mother’s dirt, while she goes out and parties and treats Tab worse than what she blames Mother for” (Robinson 285).

Though she truly does believe in what she is standing up for, she doesn’t realize the meaning behind it all and why everything is how it is and that there are reasons why her protests and fliers and handouts aren’t working. Myrna, like Darlene, is a hopeful and extravagant young women with dreams of a better life. Neither Darlene nor Myrna understands the real world in a perfect sense and are still in a state of ignorance.

Using her appeal to pathos, Kelley tries to get her audience to get into action, and sympathize for the children who have to work day and night. She tries to get her audience to sympathize

E: In one instant, Alison watched as “A”, an anonymous, sadistic stalker, crashed a car into her best friend’s house. A: Alison desperately wanted to help, but also knew to keep “A” from killing her and everyone she loves, but also knew that she must stay in the shadows. It was hard to stay away at times, but she had to endure the pain so she could find out who “A” is and take him/her down. E: As for Cece Drake, she had to endure in other ways. Her family didn’t accept her for who she was, or who she was turning into. Her parents checked her into Radley Sanitarium when she was a young girl, and kept her hidden from the rest of the family. A: Cece endured all those years without a family. When she finally escaped, she was shunned by her mother and father and had to endure living in a place where nobody knew who she was. Finally, her strength payed off when her sister took her in and loved her for who she was. L: Alison and Cece’s strength and endurance proved to their audience that they are

Her actions throughout this novel not only affect the wellbeing of others, but herself as well. This story ultimately begins with the author revealing

her life around to fit in with the crowd . She is soon exposed to drugs, sex and violence. It

Keith’s mother grew up poor and without much appropriate parental guidance, she was abused growing up and witnessed domestic violence in her home. Keith’s mother was uneducated as education was not valued in her home and always held menial, low paying jobs. Once Keith was born, his mother was unable to provide the adequate basic necessities for herself and Keith. Feeling overwhelmed and burdened by her decision, Keith was pushed aside as his mother chose a path of substance abuse and a variety of unsavory men.

From the beatings her mother gave her to going AWOL after hating foster homes, Olivia’s life was far from perfect. When Olivia was a teenager she was a ward of the county, hopping from one group home to another. Other girls would steal her clothes and chase her around with a hot iron. She went AWOL shortly after that, living in her own apartment, having a crazy work schedule, that was just her life. Whenever she had financial issues she would return to her social worker and yet again be put into a foster home. One time she went AWOL though and couldn’t afford rent anymore, she

Ray Robinson was born on September 23, 1930 (Ford 11), and one year later his brother George was born. Ray and his brother used to spend a long time together, and they both had a bond that couldn’t be broken. Ever since he was born Ray’s father was never there to support them. Both children have been raised by Aretha Robinson, their devoted and caring mother, and Mary Jane, his mother’s loyal and caring friend. (Ford 10) The Robinson family were very poor, but Ray’s mother worked her hardest to make sure they never went one night without food. Ray’s mother taught them to be responsible and how not to rely on anyone else but themselves at a very young age. One of the important things that Ray learned was how to do his chores, otherwise, he will be punished. As a young boy, life for Ray was perfect the way it was, until one tragic day, he saw his little brother drown