Journal Seven

Amal Osman

English 1109.01AT8:15Am

Mike Lohre

October 1, 2013                                             

Journal Seven

At the end of the book kozol goes in more depth about himself and his parents. He states a lot about his dad’s life, he shares that dad followed his dreams even though his parents never agreed with him. He tells us, how his father went to the Harvard Law School because his mother wanted Kozol’s dad to follow in the same footsteps his brother did. “Only after traveling to Europe on a fellowship one summer to investigate the work of specialists in schizophrenic and meeting a man who coined the term, the great physician Eugene Blueler, at his home in Switzerland and later taking with the elderly physician and psychologist Pierre Janet at the Salpêtrière in Paris, did he make up his mind to give up Law school and go back to Harvard College for two difficult semesters of organic chemistry, biology, and German (Kozol 287). He also talked about how he wished the children of St. Ann’s would have the same dreams his father did and that someday they hopefully will. Kozol has this goals that he expects from the children and things that they can do the same things his father did and he also heard many people tell him that it wasn’t possible because of the conditions they were in. “it would be nice,’ they’ll say, “if all these children could go to Europe someday, as your father did, and study with the great professors and attend distinguished universities and someday lead exciting, richly cultivated lives. Some of them might do it, four or five out of a hundred. The majority will not.” To hold up dreams like that, they tell him me, more or less in words like these, is “just not doing anyone a favor (Kozol 291).  They state it clearly, that kozol needs to face the reality and realize that there’s nothing he can do to change that. Even if he did, he could only help one child out of the thousands.

At the end chapter twenty-two Kozol questions is ok to let Pineapple continue with her dream of becoming a pediatrician or a surgeon or warn her of the rode ahead of her. He wonders about if he could help her by getting in contact with people of influence. But then questions himself “Then where does that leave Ariel and Elio and Stephanie? Why shouldn’t all these children have the opportunity as well? (Kozol 295)” and then all the way at the end of the chapter he states that “There should not a narrow gate for children of the poor, a wide and open gate for children of the fortunate and favored. There should be one open gate. It should be known to everyone. It should be wide enough so even Pineapple can get in without squeezing. I really agree with that children should have open doors so than their dreams would easily enter through.

When Kozol Ordinary Resurrection he chose to write the book in third point of view, I really respect and admire him for doing that. Because it made the book more interesting and its very understandable. During Kozol’s personal story, he chose to write in first person which I thought was powerful. It showed a lot of emotions.  What really influenced me while read this book, was the determination and passion the children had toward learning and sharing. Opening up to others was the biggest impact of the book, the children overcame a lot of obstacles that was on their ways.