"Amazing Grace" by Jonathan Kozol

Quotes: Choose three quotes from the text and explain what they mean and their relevance to the text.

"Depression is common among children in Mott Haven. Many cry a great deal but cannot explain exactly why." [Kozol 4]
This statement is important to the text and it is meaningful. Children see and hear events they should not be hearing at a young age. Kozol states almost everyone in the area of St. Ann's knows someone who has died of AIDS wether it was a family member or a neighbor. These young children deal with parents and other family members using drugs such as heroin and cocaine. This is a lot for a child to have to handle especially if they do not have someone to talk to about the events. They may being to think they are the problem, seeing their parents unhappy and sick will make them feel more depressed. Even if they are not in any physical danger the events they see everyday will eventually pay a toll on their behavior which could be a reason they are crying without a clear explanation. This quote gives the readers a glimpse of the rough life the children in the Bronx deal with and we know this happens in other areas as well. Children deal with drug use, abuse, freezing weather conditions and lack of shelter.

"The point is that they put a lot of things into our neighborhood that no one wants," she says. "The waste incinerator is just one more lovely way of showing their affection." [Kozol 10]
The next question asked is "does this insult you?" The woman replied saying that it use to. This quote goes to show just how bad of an area these people live in. If the people put the incinerator there it is probably not an eye sore for the area. She goes on to explain that she is no longer insulted because all around her is trashy. For example there is a large garbage dump a few blocks away so the trucks are always going thru her area. The people who live in that area are not thought of very highly otherwise the towns people would try harder to put the foul smelling equipment in a different location. This quote also shows how little control the community members have and how little say they have on the situation and what happens in their community. This is a key fact to the essay because the reader can get a better understanding yet again of the poor conditions these school children live in. Their lungs are not good because the air they breathe in everyday is bad especially for them because their lungs are still growing and adapting.

"If poor people behaved rationally," says Lawrence Mead, a professor of political science at New York University, " they would seldom be poor for long in the first place." [Kozol 21]
This statement is very important because it is saying poor people are lower in society because of how they themselves act. I feel this has some truth to it. If you are in a bad situation most people want to get themselves out of it and will go to any lengths to do so. When the lower class residents try to over come the conditions they are in they mostly turn in the wrong direction which is to selling drugs and committing crimes to try and better themselves and the lives of their family members. If you are born into a poor family you can not help that but you can change your own future, by hard work one can obtain an education and be able to get a decent job and eventually they will work their way out of the lower class. So yes one can change their life by their behaviors and this is important because there are many low income towns and if those people can get an education things can change for the better.

Question/Comment/Point to Share: This article was an eye opener, reading the stories all the murders and terrible deaths made me realized what some people are going through. I had heard of events like these taking place but they always seemed so distant. Now reading this article with events taking place in New York I have a better awareness. I also have a new outlook on the children I could be working with in a school in my future. You can not tell from looking at someones face what they have been through and until you know them and their story you can not judge. For this reason everyone should be given equal opportunities.