Ray

Abdaly Perez

Ms. Tompkins

World Literature Honors 2 Period

04/243/2015

Ray

The water sounds beautiful. A calling to live. Crashing against the rocks. The water flying higher and higher with each crash against the deathly rocks. It’s so precious. Why can’t people notice and admire the beauty. People see it every day, but they only notice it’s delightfulness at first and forget about it. Now these precious creations in life are dying.

I could have gone to a university. I got accepted to UCLA, I should be packing my bags right now. Not sitting here. I could have done something with my life. My dad would have been so proud of me. Well he would have been proud if I never told him. If I had just kept quiet and listened to my brother. Oh I miss my brother. Why couldn’t my dad accept me? I never got his approval. He never wanted to accept it.  He never wanted to accept anything. Not unless it followed his so called rules of living. I miss him. I miss my brother. He hasn’t written in a while. He’s so strong, no one is ever worried he’ll get hurt. I do worry. I’ve learned. That even the strongest people fall down.

I look down at the water, it reminds me of simpler times. The color of the ocean reminds me of the lake my brother had taken me to.

“Come on! I thought you could out run me. Ha!” I wasn’t even running, I was just getting started. “ Well don’t forget I’m only 16 years old with asthma!” I responded in between breaths making myself look tired.

He began to slow down so I could catch up with him. He looked at me with his cheesy smile. I always asked him why he never got a girlfriend and his response would always be the same answer, ‘ Why do I want another girl when I already have my number one with me?’

When I caught up to him, I stared at him and slowly started to grin. Then I was flying.

I ran, I didn't look behind me, nothing mattered except for where I was going. I wasn't a human anymore, I was an animal. A bird, soaring. A cheetah, rushing through  the wild. A tiger, my stripes showing but they were beautiful.

I return back into reality with the sound of cars honking and people cussing each other to hurry up or move out the way.  Why are people so mean and aggressive? The cars pass by speeding. Not giving a care about their surroundings. They don’t stop or slow down to the beauty of something that had taken 4 years to build. Such a beautiful structure created by humans. But of course, people no longer acknowledge the beauty. The sky begins to change colors, a different color each minute. So magnificent. Not much later the stars begin to glisten the dark. The moon not much later, the brightest light of the night.

I begin to walk, being guided by the crashes of the water. How could something so beautiful be the reason somebody ends their life? Was it raining? Rain is my favorite. I could cry, but what difference did people see when it was raining? Nothing. Hahah what am I doing? I should have said goodbye to someone. Hahah like who? I don’t have anyone anymore. God this stupid rain. Ugh it’s in my eyes. My phone vibrates, I waited, only one buzz. I check to see who texted me. My phone read Alice; “hey we need 2 talk, asap, txt me plz.” I put my phone back into my pocket.  On three we say goodbye, one, two-  My phone vibrates again. Only one buzz. Sorry Alice. Oh god I’m so scared. Someone please save me. This wasn’t right. I haven’t graduated high school yet. I was never going to graduate anyways. I would have died from the monsters that were attacking me from the world and myself. One more time, on three. One, two-  I hear footsteps behind me.

“Really? Were you going to leave me?” The voice, the only voice I cared about. My brother spoke quietly, I could feel his heart in his throat. “ Come on Ray, come give me a hug.”  I turn around to see him, smiling. The smile I had missed. Even in the rain I could see his tears rolling from his eyes down to his chin.

“ How did you find me? “ They were more sobs than words. I choked out every word as I ran towards him. He saved me.

“ That doesn’t matter right now, all that matters is that I’m here. You’re not alone Ray. You’re never alone. As long as I have a beating heart and working mind I am always with you.”

Not Against Police, But Afraid Of Police

Abdaly Perez

Ms. Tompkins

World Lit Honors 2

March 12, 2015

Not Against Police, But Afraid Of Police

Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, 18 and 17 years when they took their last breath. Reason of deaths?  One shot by a police officer and the other by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

In South Africa, police brutality is a major issue that affects everyone. Within the past decade the amount of police brutality has tripled. In addition, most of the police officers who commit crimes are never punished.

Hundreds of people throughout only a year are beaten and murdered by police officers. Many of these cases, only lead to 1% of the police officers being penalized. People who are innocent are beaten by police officers. Protesters are being shot for “attacking“ police officers.

In South Africa there has been a crucial increase rate of police brutality cases.  According to The Guardian, “Reports of police brutality in South Africa have soared by 313% in a decade…” (South). From 2001 to 2012, there has been an increase of 1,306 cases of police brutality (South). In August of 2012 in Marikana, 34 miners were killed by policemen because they had been protesting. 78 were injured. A protester, David Nkolisi, told BBC news, "We were killed for asking our employer to pay us a decent salary for hard work deep underground” (S African). As we can see, they weren't protesting against the police. They didn't fire at any policemen, they weren't threatening the policemen. 34 men who could have been a father, husband, brother, were shot dead for believing they deserved more money for their hard work.

Have any of the police officers that murdered these miners been convicted of murder? According to The Guardian, No police officer has been arrested, but many of the miners who were injured are facing criminal charges.  Not only have policemen murdered people for no valid reason, but according to News24 they abuse people as well. In Cape Town, a police officer assaulted a disabled man. He said, “ He pulled me, tearing my shirt and pushed me up against the police van where he smacked me twice across the side of my head by my ear and started hitting me in the ribs...” (disabled). As we can see, not only are police killing people, they are committing different crimes, against people who are incapable of defending themselves. Even though the rate crime tripled in a decade, only 100 cases have a result of police officers being convicted.

As we see, South Africa has gone through many issues with police brutality. They have had an increase rate of 313% cases within ten years. Including the fact that a majority of these cases lead to the victim being charged of a crime instead of the criminal.

Work Cited

1. "Disabled Cape Town Man: Cop Told Me to 'voetsek'" News24. N.p., 16 Feb. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Disabled-Cape-Town-man-Cop-told-me-to-voetsek-20150216>.

2. "South Africa Reports of Police Brutality More than Tripled in the Last Decade." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/south-africa-police-brutality-increase>.

3. 
   

   "S African Mining Clash Killed 34." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-19292909>

Msimangu: 

The character Msimangu is very authentic and observant of the world around him; he is not afraid to express his option even if it differs from the beliefs of the church and those around him. Alan Paton uses Msimangu to illustrate the conflict between how the complacent church feels and what the forward- moving younger generation craves and how these two viewpoints can connect and together to create what is the best solution in a ideal world. But, because Msimangu accepts the flaws of the world it forces the reader to think about solution in a practical way and with the characters come to the realization that often solving such a integral social issue is not simple or easy. Msimangu's character is also deeply empathetic and makes striking remarks about the tragic consquesses of the apartheid. 

pH 55 "I am not kind. I am selfish and sinful man, but god put his hands on me"

pg 56 "But the house that is broken, and the man that falls apart when the house is broken, these are the tragic things."

pg 70 "Because the white man has power, we too want power he said but one a black man gets power,  when he gets money, he is a great man if he is not corrupted....and because our desire is corrupt ,we are corrupted, and the power has no heart in it"

What Shapes Human Perspective?