Writing to the World?

One man’s conquer is another man’s disgrace. Yes, in every struggle in which one fights to win, there will always be someone who loses. Capote, a man who became fascinated with his work which led him to become a very rich man because of it, ironically became his destruction. And Eva, a young low-class girl, that was oppressed by her parents and never really had a voice, later because of her writing made her become free in expression and her ideas. These are two different characters but yet they seem to have one thing in common, writing. It’s a way of expression in which nobody can tell you what is wrong or right. People write in all sorts of ways. Some write poems, songs, others write novels; either way it’s your way of letting the world know what is going on with you.
Eva, this girl was my main focus as I saw the movie Freedom Writers. I was fascinated by her independent and individualism. As much as she was absorbed in gangs and violence to me she seemed like a lost girl. She had never really been given the opportunity to express herself. She had to live by the standards in which her parents put for her, or what was approved by her “gang.” Eva had a voice, I could see it in her, but she didn’t know how to use it. In her freshman year of high school, she entered her English class with a new teacher Ms. Erin Gruwell. This wasn’t like anything Eva had ever pictured her freshman year. She thought this new teacher could be easily pushed around, as did the rest of the class, and so because of this everybody pretty much did whatever they wanted the first few weeks. They didn’t really care too much about Ms.Gruwell and so their daily class activities were to chat around with classmates or procrastinate in any other way. Later, Ms. Gruwell goes on to take control of her class and show them that she is there for them, she wants their voices to be heard. This is when she introduces to them the art of expression, writing. Ms.Gruwell asks them to keep a journal in which they will have to write daily. In Eva’s first encounter with her journal, she begins to write about how she must defend her family, her people. She doesn’t care about being honest, she cares about being loyal. That is the only way to survive. Eva begins to express herself more and more throughout the movie. She begins to discover who she really is and if those people she considers her family are really looking out for her, or for themselves. By the end of the movie, I began to see the Eva I had originally thought she was; the girl with the strong voice, the one who couldn’t be easily pushed around. Out of all the people in her classroom that grew along her over the years, I saw the biggest change in her. She wasn’t the bully that hid behind her gang and others expectations anymore; she was Eva.
On the other hand, Capote, a man who conquered the field of literature and writing, became fascinated with the killings in the town of Holcomb, Kansas. He travels to the town in research of an article but ends up expanding his research into what would become the most impacting and known novel of his time, “In Cold Blood.” As I watched this movie I was intrigued by his way of interacting with people. He didn’t seem like anything I had seen before, not influencing the fact the he was a homosexual and his way of being was very feminine. He looked interesting by things that others would easily look over. The killer in the movie, Perry Smith, was where his attention was drawn from the very start. He is awestruck by every quality there is to him. He fell in love with Perry and tried to “rescue” him. By the end of the movie you can see how Capote had self-destructed. He wasn’t anymore the outspoken type of writer but more of a drawn down and you could say worn out person. This seemed different than how Eva had been in her movie.
I think that my attention with these two characters was because they we both writer, but writing was what led Eva to freedom and ironically it was what destroyed Capote. Eva overcame her fears, she was no longer oppressed by her family, she was now free. She had become a freedom writer. Capote became famous, and will probably always be remembered for his book, but he never truly was happy, ever again. His true love became Perry that is probably what made this book successful. He observed his every move and he was intrigued by someone that everybody had learned to hate. His way of doing things differently made him “Capote.” His success eventually led him to his own failure.
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” –Truman Capote

Sisterly Love

How far is too far when you love someone? Are you willing to give up your life for your loved ones?
Anna was brought into this world to save her sister Kate’s life. Ever since she was a couple of days old her life has been in and out of the hospital. With every visit comes a new surgery or a new procedure Anna has to undergo. There comes a point in your life in which you want to be able to choose for yourself. A sister faced with a struggle in which she must choose between being selfish or giving up her life to save her sister.
Kate was diagnosed with cancer as an infant and because of this her parents made the decision to have another child in the hopes that the baby would become her donor. As soon as Anna was out of the womb she instantly began donating blood and undergoing bone marrow transplants. A baby conceived for spare parts or was this an honorable and selfless act of desperate parents? When you become a parent, there is no manual that tells you what to do. The only thing you know is that no matter what you must keep your babies safe forever. What to Expect When You’re Expecting forgot to add the chapter of dealing with a child with cancer. In an act of desperation Anna’s parent became pregnant in the hope of bringing a miracle to the world that would save little Kate. Scrolling down each line of this novel, you begin to question the characters’ actions and wonder how you would act if the shoe were on the other foot. If my brother had cancer would I be the first to stand up and donate every organ in my body in the hope of giving him years more to come, or would I hesitate and doubt becoming in that very instant the most selfish person in the world? The author addresses both scenarios and explores each characters motivation for their actions.
Looking at this book from every perspective, the author of My Sisters Keeper, Jodi Picoult, is able to capture each angle. She narrates all the characters visions and what is going on in their mind. Her style of writing is what makes this author unique. Her way of using the characters pain and anguish and turn it into words that captivate you through every page forcing you to keep reading until the very end. Anna’s mothers’ suffering was probably the most impacting of the whole story. “The most unbearable pain is losing a child.” Those are words any mother would say without even hesitating. The thought of losing the one thing you brought into this world can’t begin describing the pain.
Throughout the story you feel that you yourself are also faced with a choice. What would you do if you were in that situation? The pain of dealing with cancer and chemotherapy is hopeless, but being used your whole life as a surgery puppet is miserable. Anna and Kate’s struggle become the central focus of the book but in no point do they ever stop loving each other unconditionally. Kate sacrifices so much to be able to save Anna, but it’s never enough and that isn’t what Anna wants for her sister. Every chapter is filled with surprises as you discover the real story behind each character’s struggle. There is no bad guy, no one to hate, just unconditional love that forces people to make choices no one should ever have to, not parents or siblings.