There Are no Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz
There Are no Children Here – Reaction Paper
Introduction
The following reaction paper is about the book entitled “There are no Children Here” written by Alex Kotlowitz. In this reaction paper, I am going to highlight the important parts of the book as well as how changed my views in life. There are various parts of the book that are worth reading as it relates to some of my experiences. The purpose of this reaction paper is to emphasize such events that made the book worth reading by highlighting events in each theme will affect my point of views, which was changed after reading the book.
Themes
The story took me to the realities of life in Chicago’s urban area. Since it was set in a public housing compound, it catches my attention as it follows the lives of Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers as these boys were struggling to cross in the middle of poverty and violence of the surroundings.
There are various important themes in the story. Primarily, it was a good emphasis to highlight that some parts of America are war areas. After I read this theme that the showed reality of old Chicago’s inner city, it totally changed my point of view about how an ordinary life was lived during those times. I thought that it was just a simple life, without the involvement of technological advancements just as what we have today. A larger picture of poverty made me realize that what I am experiencing right now is far different from the poverty that was illustrated in the book. For instance, I read that people were frequently have little to nothing to eat, they have a very minimal support systems, which was a clear indication that they were let down by the government. It made me realized that government during that time was not effective enough to help the situation. In this theme that shows the effects of poverty, I felt that we should not depend our lives to the government. Thus, we have to make our own way to have a better life. For instance, it shows that the Rivers family has no way to escape the project because they have no job. On the other hand, the lack of good job was the result of lack of education in which the root cause of all these results is the absence of financial capabilities. That is why’ it made me realized that even though a person strives to attain a good education, money still plays a big role in driving a person’s way to success.
My point of views about racism has also changed after I read the book. I thought that racism was just a minor issue that can be addressed through a simple behavioral change. However, as I read the part that showed how racism was portrayed during those years, I felt sorry that many black people went through such experience. Perhaps, it could be a reaction against black people in which rooted by historical racism against black people. Then, I realized it was a wake up call to show how odd to be degraded just because you are a black person, which was a big issue during that time. So, I thought that racism is an old behavior that must be changed especially in our modern period.
At least once in our lifetime, we dreamed of something in the future, which we do not want to defer. Langston Hughes’ poem states that putting off someone’s dream means many things. In fact, the loss of dreams can weigh a person down just like a ton of load or could make a person get angry with rage. I read a part that there were dreams that were deferred. Some how I realized, what if my dreams were also deferred such as in the book? I thought that if someone put my dreams off, I will feel the same way as the boys did in the story.
Mood
The mood of the story caught my attention even on the start. I thought that it was just a simple story of struggle, which has no connection in my personal life at all. However, the mood of the story made me think that as if I am part of the story itself. In short, it caught my attention to continuously read until I found out what the story was all about. I was once a person who hoped for something to happen in the future. Continuously reading the book made me realized that I am not alone with such feeling. It was a feeling of hope against everything that my eyes can see as reality. I thought that I was hoping for nothing as the reality predicts the outcome. These interactions of moments of hope behind sorrow bring a message from the author that nothing could be impossible to achieve if we know where to put ourselves in the middle of challenges. The story thought me to be positive, but not just being optimistic, as I realized that if I want something in life, the very first step should come from me and no one else. Reading the hopeful events in the story inspired me to become a more open-minded person. Conceivably, the author followed the story of the brothers in order to send a message about hopes and dreams, which I was able to receive.
Conclusion
There were many events in the book that entirely changed my views about life. I learned that dreams should not be remained as such, but a person can have many options if he or she will know how to find ways. I also learned that my surroundings may negatively affect me as a person. However, I realized that various influences in my surroundings can also be the instruments in order for me to develop my behavior in a positive way. Just like the Rivers brothers, I knew that I can also find ways on how to achieve my dreams as long as I know what my goals are.
