What Prevents People From Helping Others Who Are In Need Book Reviews Example

Helping others is the greatest thing in the world. Helping others means you need not be helped. Most people would rather help others than be helped by others. Some people know that there are a lot of people who are in need, but they do not want to help those people. In the book
Hope’s Boy, Andrew Bridge describes Andy’s inner issues that are unnoticed by others. No one understands Andy. Andy does not want to help someone whom he does not like by his attitude towards Louis. At the same time, a lot of people do not want to help Andy because they do not want to get into the trouble. From my personal experience, my classmates did not want to help me. People do not want to help others because they do not want to get into trouble, they are restricted by their limited resources, and they fear that the person they will help might end up doing better in life than them.
Oftentimes, people are reluctant to help others because of fear of getting involved. It is a fact that most people who need help are those who are in a sticky situation. Like Andy and his mother Hope, they find themselves in a difficult predicament when they are driven out of their apartment because they failed to pay the rent. Without anywhere else to go, they go to the Minister who helps them. However, there is only so much that even a man of cloth could do to help. Despite the kindness of the minister and his family, the neighbors are not so welcoming. They sympathize with Hope’s plight, but keeps their doors closed for Hope and Andy. The book offers no explanation for the neighbors’ behaviors, but it is a reality that it is difficult for people to help those who may bring danger to their own homes and families. With Hope being mentally unstable and hiding her son to avoid being taken away, it is understandable for the neighbors to be wary. After all, it is human nature to look after one’s own safety first, then those of the people that matter to them, above everyone else’s. However, it is difficult for me to understand why someone would send a tip to the county officials about the whereabouts of the mother and son who are in desperate need of help. As I think about it, the neighbor must have been thinking that by doing so, she was helping them in her own way. Hope could be given medical attention while Andy could go back to school. At the same time, it could be the neighbor’s way of washing their hands off them, or perhaps it is her way to assuage her guilt for not giving them assistance. Whatever her reason is, she and the neighbors cannot be totally blamed for their actions.
Looking at the actions of the Minister and the neighbors, I realized that one other reason why people don’t help others is because they have limited resources to do so. The Minister accepts Hope and Andy to his house, but after sometime, it has become impossible to support them longer. Similar with Andy’s grandmother who gave him up to stay with the Leonards after seeing that she “could have never offered the material advantages that the Leonards appeared to have, like a large house and a pool in a middle class suburban neighborhood.” The Leonards, despite their cruelty to Andy and all the other foster kids who stayed in their home, are only forced to take in children not related to them because of their financial difficulties. Mrs. Leonards is just another victim of cruelty, but I believe that she is not all that bad. In a rare moment of kindness, she teases Andy and even agrees to iron the shirt that he is going to wear for his sixth grade graduation. Even to Andy’s young mind, he recognizes this kindness that must have been overshadowed by all the bad memories of her childhood and all the other difficulties that she is facing in life. Andy hugs her tightly and does not seem to want to let go. Perhaps if her life had been better, she would have helped those children differently. These instances highlight that at times, the lack of means to help others restrict people to do so.
People do not want to get into the trouble so that they do not help others. No one wants to take the risk of helping people. This action can be determined as selfish. However, no one wants to help strangers by taking a risk of losing his or her life. Only a small portion of people would like to take the risk because they have the ability to solve the problems and the troubles. People are normal human beings. People usually care about themselves, and they have to care about themselves first. No one wants to sacrifice their lives to help strangers who are in need. However, they are not superhuman who can solve all the problems and help all the people in the world. In the book, Andy and Hope move to the minister’s house because there are some people who are trying to invade their house. In addition, There is nowhere for Hope and Andy to live. In addition, they do not have any relatives in that city. Andy and Hope have to leave. Although the minister is kind and tries to help Andy and Hope, most of the neighbors do not want to help them. Hope tries to explain what happens at her house to her neighbors. Everyone feels sorry about the issue that happened. However, they close the door and do not let Hope in. They do not explain their reaction. However, everyone knows no one wants to get into trouble. If Hope lives at their house. Their house may be damaged, and their lives will be threatened. This is the case of not getting into trouble.
Looking at my own experience, I have observed that people do not help others because they do not want others to be better than them. I am not a smart student and I often get sick, for which I am forced to miss my classes. Because I miss a lot of lectures, and most of them are not uploaded on the website, I have to borrow my classmates’ notes. However, some of them tells me that they do not have them and they don’t even give any explanation. I was hurt because I did not do anything to warrant such treatment from them. Also, I was polite when I made the request. I later on realized that perhaps they did not want me to be prepared for the test and get better grades despite missing our classes. They may be thinking that it is unfair to them because they were there to attend the classes and take down notes while I was at home resting. In the story, this situation is also present as when Mrs. Leonards just spends extravagantly for her natural children and barely nothing for the foster kids. No matter how unjust it might seem, Mrs. Leonards is also a mother who, like most others, only want what’s best for her children. This enlightens me about my classmates’ behaviors, and at some level, I am able to understand and accept their reasons.
Most people are kind and helpful. However, there are times when people are not too inclined to help others. As indicated in the story, one reason for this may be because people don’t want to get involved into whatever situation the person needing help is and found themselves in trouble as well. Another possible reason can be attributed to the limited resources a person has. This could cause someone to be reluctant to extend help as the person has no means to do so.
There are also times when a person feels fear that helping someone may lead to that person’s success, which could become greater than the success achieved by the person who helped.