Blog Post 10- First Draft of Author's Note

Yousef Abou Areda       Author’s Note Class 811

About 75% percent of children have reported being bullied at least once in their lifetime.   One in every four children have been bullied because of their faith. In the late 1970’s, Egypt was  a place heavily plagued by racism. Christian and Muslim children wouldn’t play or interact with one another at all.

My mother was born a Muslim child in Cairo, Egypt. She spent most of her time focusing on school work and took part in many activities with her peers. She grew up in a household that didn’t tolerate racism. Although there were some adults that told her not to be open to all races, she knew that individuals should not be judged based on their religion, race, culture, etc. When she was in the fourth grade, she began to notice a major separation between the Muslim and Christian children. They wouldn’t play during recess or after school. She also noticed that Christian kids were treated differently by Muslim teachers, and Muslim kids were treated differently by Christian teachers. Teachers and children of identical religions treated each other with reverence, while teachers and children of opposite religions treated each other with contempt. She wondered why these actions took place. More importantly, she wanted to know how she can stop it. It was unjust to judge someone based on their background, and that was that.

I too have grown up in a society that doesn’t tolerate racism. Although we work together to prevent racism from taking place, there are still many stereotypes that exist. Stereotypes portray an incorrect representation of a race or a people as a whole. Sadly however, many people believe that these stereotypes are the truth. After September 11, 2001, Islam has been heavily discriminated against. As a Muslim, I’ve heard racial slurs such as, “You probably know how to drive a plane” or “A Muslim’s favorite toy is a bomb”. These common remarks convey how some people in society do believe in these stereotypes that exist. Being bullied because of your faith has made and sometimes forced many children to want to convert to a different religion. In a recent study composed by the Anti-Bully Campaign, those bullied because of their religious beliefs often began to question their faith, stopped talking about it, or even felt ashamed of it. Bullying engenders self-harm by taking alcohol and drugs. All in all, being bullied because of your faith is a crucial issue prevalent in the world today due to the fact that many people in society believe in these ill stereotypes.

In retrospect, this story has broadened my understanding about racial discrimination. Although society may not realize it, many people embrace these stereotypes. Not all stereotypes have to deal with religion, but religious stereotypes do in fact exist. This following story portrays the effects of stereotypes in our society, and how they specifically influence children. The current generation of children are seen to just repeat anything they see or hear without thinking twice about it. If one hears a racial slur about a religion, then they might bully a child of that very religion because all they know is that stereotype or that comment about that faith. All in all, bullying someone because of their faith is a recurring issue that must be dealt with care and sensitivity.

Work Cited Page

Lipsett, Anthea. "Children Bullied Because of Faith." Theguardian.com. N.p., 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

Lyness, Darcy. "Dealing With Bullies." Kidshelath.org. The Nemours Foundation, July 2013. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

Blog Post 9-Synthesis Page on the Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Yousef Abou Areda      Class 811

          Synthesis Page on “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

Critical Thinking Question: What really hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

1. Bullying

One of the major difficulties found in this book is bullying. Throughout the course of the book, the main character, Arnold Spirit Jr, is constantly harassed by many children that also live in his reservation. A particularly compelling example of this is the scene where Arnold explains how much he gets bullied. Arnold was born with too much cerebrospinal fluid, a liquid that keeps the brain moving fast and smoothly. This engendered a lisp and stutter. In the text (page 4), it states, “Everybody on the rez calls me a retard about twice a day. They call me retard when they are pantsing me or stuffing my head in the toilet or just smacking me upside the head”. This has an abundantly negative effect on him, leading him to have very low self-esteem. He goes on to say that if he were to write the book the way he actually speaks, it would be full of stutters and lisps. He even says “You’d be wondering why the book is written by such a retard” (page 4). Bullying is a prevalent issue that is taking place all over the world. Despite many organizations attempts alleviate the problem and to stop bullying, it is still a major issue in our society today. Another example of bullying in the novel can be displayed in the scene where Arnold transfers schools. While he’s sitting in class, a girl asks him what his name is. In the text (page 59),  it states, “‘What’s your name?’ Penelope asked. ‘Junior’ I said. She laughed and told her girlfriend at the next desk that my name was Junior. They both laughed. Word spread around the room and pretty soon everybody was laughing. They were laughing at my name”. Essentially, Arnold gets bullied on the premise of his name in the novel. This shows how difficult bullying can be for children, and the often mundane reasons it takes place. Arnold didn’t have the power to fight back. He felt powerless, which is a very distressing issue to deal with. Penelope is standing in Arnold’s way, preventing him from achieving his goal of finding hope. The main reason Arnold transfers schools was to find a better education. This was his first step in achieving his objective. He knew a better education meant a better occupation. By hurting his self-esteem, Penelope is making it difficult for Arnold to find  the confidence he needs to keep going and achieve his dreams.  Overall, bullying is an unvarying issue taking place in all corners of the world.

2. Poverty

In addition, poverty is a crucial issue found in the book.  Everybody on the reservation is very impecunious. They are so poverty-stricken that they are required to use the same forty year old textbooks every year. This makes Arnold very indignant. In the text (page 31), it states, “My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world. How horrible is that?”. This shows how poverty and socioeconomic conditions takes a toll on their society. Their poverty has directly affected their education system and without a proper education system, it becomes even more troublesome to find a good job like a doctor or engineer. Many children have dreams of becoming doctors and dentists.  However, due to the immense effects of poverty, these dreams quickly are shattered by the reality of the situation. Poverty exists all over the world, whether one lives in a First world or a Third world country. However, some countries are more indigent than others. Many of the countries in Africa suffer from destitution. All in all, poverty is a prevalent issue found in the novel.

3. Violence

Moreover, violence is a recurrent issue found in the book. Throughout the course of the book, we see the adverse affects violence can have in a society. In one part of the book, Arnold and his best friend Rowdy are on their way back from a party when a pair of 30 year old men known as the Andrus Triplets appeared suddenly and assaulted them. In the book, it reveals, “ I decided to run, but one of them grabbed me, and shoved me to the ground. One of them picked me up, dusted me off, and kneed me in the stomach” (Page21 ). This situation allowed me to reflect on my own experience and life. I live in a society and neighborhood that doesn’t tolerate violence, so it doesn’t occur very often. However in their society, thirty year old men are striking fourteen year old boys. There is no authority like figures to tell them what they are doing is unjust. In this instance, we have the law to set certain guidelines and police to enforce them. Furthermore, Arnold makes an Unofficial and Unwritten Spokane Indian Rules of Fistcuffs. This is a set of rules that explain scenarios where you should fight someone where some of these rules are inherently flawed. For example, one of the rules was; if one suspects that someone is planning to insulting them, then it becomes justified for one to fight them. This made me wonder about other countries all over the world. In the novel, children are making rules that seem to provoke instances of violence. In the US, adults are constantly making rules to prevent violence. In conclusion, violence is an issue found in various points in the book.

New Understanding: In retrospect, bullying, poverty, and brutality are common hardships found in the novel. The text is very beneficial to readers because it exposes them to the difficulties that exist in our world today. These issues occur all over the world. Penury exists in many parts of Africa, bullying occurs in many schools across the nation, and lastly brutality is happening all

the time due to wars.  All in all, the author wrote this book to portray the hardships in our world.