Write a poem using favourite descriptive words or phrases from the text you are reading

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

Sticking out of the vehicle

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

Their argument got physical

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

The pointless fight was over music

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

Cause the white man wanted it muted

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

Manny finally got fed up

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

But now his brain is all blown up

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Goes the gun

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

86

Recount in your own words what has happened in the film or book. At any point in the story, retell the major details of the story’s plot so far.

When I first opened the book “Dear Martin”, I met the main character called Justyce McAllister. He was trying to prevent his drunk ex-girlfriend from driving home, and wanted to make sure that she was safe and take her home by himself. Unfortunately, a cop saw him and thought that he was trying to abduct her (cause she was acting like a toddler). He gets handcuffed and sustains injuries in the process (the cops weren’t gentle with him). Jus tries to explain himself, he was just gonna keep her from driving drunk, but the cops won’t listen to him. He has to stay on the cold concrete, in handcuffs for HOURS and he was only released when SJ’s mom (who’s an attorney) barked “a bunch of legal hoo-ha in the cops’ faces”*. It’s obvious that the cops used a LOT of unnecessary force on Jus, and I highly doubt that they would’ve acted the same if it was a white kid they’d found. After this, Jus starts a diary titled “Dear Martin” where he writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in an effort to try to understand this whole “cop incident”. He realised that kid’s like him still face discrimination, and he wants to live like Dr. King. The following school day, we learn more about his classmates, especially one boy called Jared. In Societal Evolutions class, his teacher Dr. Jarius “Doc” Dray talks about the statement “All men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence and how this statement changed its meaning from 1776 to today, and if society has achieved full equality. Jared thinks that everyone IS treated equally nowadays and discrimination doesn’t really exist anymore. Him and SJ have a pretty big debate about this, cause obviously Jared isn’t seeing the whole picture (of course he isn’t, he’s just seeing the white male picture which is the least (if not at all) marginalised group). After school’s over, Jus is sitting in the Bras Prep senior lounge when Jared, Manny and three other friends come in. As soon as they sit down, Jared complains about the debate they just had. He thinks it’s ridiculous that Doc “has the nerve to suggest there’s still racial inequality to a classroom full of millennials”** and that everyone is treated equally, in fact “I totally don’t even see you as black, Manny!”.*** Jus and even Manny (a bit) know (from personal experience) that this ain’t the case though, and it shows us how vain and frankly racist Jared actually is. But it gets even worse with him, because on Halloween he suggests that he, Manny, Blake, Kyle and Tyler dress up as different “stereotypes”. The whole thing gets out of hand though when Blake chooses a goddamn Ku Klux Klan robe, a racist and violent klan mostly active in the US. Justyce and Manny feel SO uncomfortable, but the others laugh about it and think it’s a great idea. Somehow. Oh well, it all turns south pretty quickly, cause as soon as they arrive at the Halloween party Blake gets punched in the face from someone called Trey. He came there with his “crew” and they’re Manny’s cousins. So they would obviously punch someone dressed as a KKK member. Oh well, they tell Jared and the others to leave but Jus and Manny can stay. The two decide to go as well, and one of Trey’s friends makes a comment about how “They ‘goin places’ and shit. Gotta stay connected to the white man for the ride to the top”**** which resonated with me. Anyway, it’s a few days later and Jus got accepted into Yale University, which is a really impressive achievement and it doesn’t take long until the whole school nows about it. Well, not everybody is happy with Jus’ accomplishment and that someone is Jared. He’s RAGING, because he applied to Yale as well and got put on the waiting list, so he might not get a spot. He’s CONVINCED that it’s cause Justyce is black and he’s white (even though, according to him, everybody gets treated equally nowadays), and he also assumes that Jus got lower test scores than him and he starts a debate in Societal Evolutions class. SJ is DONE with Jared’s BS and tells him that you ALWAYS have to consider the background of someone else, because they might not have the same starting point as yourself. That shuts Jared right up. After that nothing THAT important happens, Jus and Manny talk about SJ and how Jus’ is interested in her but his mom doesn’t allow him to date a white girl. Then SJ and Jus have a falling out after their debate tournament because he tried to kiss her. A couple of mornings after she gives him the cold shoulder, we learn that a black kid called Tavarrius Jenkins got shot by cops, they mistakenly thought that he had a gun with him (which happens more often than one would like). This shakes Jus up pretty badly, and Manny tries to cheer him up by suggesting they go to Blake’s birthday party together. At first Jus is against that idea, but he eventually agrees to go with Manny. Well, it doesn’t go exactly as planned, cause Blake has some pretty racist possessions in his home (like wooden lawn jockeys with black skin and big red lips, and posters from a Minstrel show). Jus isn’t in a good headspace, and he is DONE with Blake’s racism. He calls him out on it, they have a big argument and when Jared joins in, a fight breaks out. Manny manages to separate Jus from the others, and he tells Jus that “you’re way too sensitive, man”*****. This upsets Jus a lot, cause Manny should stand up against racist people, not just get over it and pretend like it didn’t happen. So now Jus is angry at Manny, and SJ still won’t talk to him. Great. The next morning, Doc visits Jus in his dorm room and wants to talk to him about what happened, because Manny called him and wanted to make sure that Jus is alright (he’s still a good friend, you gotta admit that). Jus feels a lil better after his talk with Doc. The following school day though, both Jared and Manny are missing from class. Jus finds out why later on, when Manny goes to him and tells him about what happened. Manny finally got enough of Jared’s racism, and when he made a particularly offensive comment, he punched him and they had a big fight in the office of Manny’s baseball coach. Jus is impressed that Manny finally got some common sense, and they make up right then and there. Unfortunately, Jared’s dad decided to press charges against Manny for “assaulting his son”. Which made Manny really angry (understandably, what the hell is wrong with that guy) so he asks Jus if they can drive around for a while. What happened during this car drive is HUGE, and I don’t wanna spoil it so you’ll find out what happens in my next post!

*Page 11, row 9

**Page 30, row 11-12

***Page 33, row 1-2

****Page 44, row 23-24

*****Page 93, row 11-12

1’186

Write about a character and how they are changing or developing

The next day, both Manny and Jared are missing from school. Justyce doesn’t exactly know why, because no one will talk to him, they just whisper behind his back and stop talking whenever he gets too close. When he gets back to his room, someone knocks on his door and it’s Manny! What a surprise (not really). The boy looks like wasps attacked his face, his lip is all swollen and his left hand is bandaged. Jus obviously asks what happened, and Manny tells him that he finally got enough of his friends blatant racism. He recounts an instance where he nearly lost his cool: “Saturday night, I went to a festival with those clowns. Four times man-four-times I had to grit my teeth to keep from knocking Jared’s punk ass out. Every time he made fun of somebody, it was like sandpaper being dragged over my eardrums. When we saw this black lady with four kids, and this fool called her Shaniqua and made a joke about baby daddies, I couldn’t take it anymore, Jus. I called him on it, and he rolled his eyes. Told me to ‘stop being so fucking sensitive’ “*. After this, he finally realised that those people don’t respect him, and that Jus was right all along. He tells him this: “I’m serious, Jus. Them fools don’t wanna hear when they’re being offensive. They couldn’t care less what it’s like to live in our skin. Those assholes aren’t my damn friends“** and I think this change of mind is INCREDIBLE. Manny finally had enough of Jared and his friends, and he stood up for himself! He said enough is enough and stopped closing his eyes to the truth! But it gets even better, because then he explains where he got his wounds from. He wanted to tell his basketball coach that he’s gonna quit (cause he hates basketball, the only reason he started is cause that’s what society expects a tall, black kid to be doing) and “Jared was in Coach’s office. When I said I was quitting, he made a “joke” about how I couldn’t until ‘Massah’ set me free. I lost it. He clipped me once, but I can’t even tell you how good it felt to pound that dude. Coach wanted to keep it on the low cuz he needs Jared to play in tomorrow’s game, so he sent me home and made Jared stay in his office till school let out.”*** AMAZING! I was internally cheering for Manny SO HARD! I think it’s amazing that he finally saw how RUDE his “friends” are and that he doesn’t have to put up with it! Those guys don’t respect people like him, and he is TOTALLY allowed to punch them REAL hard! I’m proud of Manny for getting out of those toxic friendships. I hope more people realise that they don’t have to put up with discrimination just cause it’s coming from their “friends”. If people think you’re too “sensitive” when it comes to disrespecting your race, they’re not your friends. You’re allowed to stand up for yourself! If Manny can change his attitude and finally put an end to this toxic friendship, anyone can!

*Page 108, row 13-23

**Page 109, row 2-5

***Page 109, row 17-24

534

Write about something happening in the book that you can relate to. How did you react? Try to put yourself in the character’s shoes and say why you think they feel the way they do

The morning after this dramatic event, Jus has a MASSIVE hangover and he’s not feeling too well. He slept the entire morning until Doc knocks on his dorm room door. He tells Jus that Manny asked him to check on his friend, because he doesn’t think that Jus wants to see him (Manny) right now. Jus is still feeling frustrated from the argument of last night, and he’s also still angry at Manny because he just lets others disrespect him without standing up for himself. Man, I can totally agree with Jus, finding out that some of your friends tolerate injustice is SOUL CRUSHING. For example, I recently had a conversation with some friends who told me that “having racist thoughts is okay, as long as you pinky-promise to never ever act on them” and I mean, that’s just complete bullshit? But they kept telling me that “hAviNg YoUr oWn OpInIoN iS a HuMaN rIgHt!!1!1!11!” but your own opinion stops being your own as soon as it impacts someone else?? Thinking that “blue is better than red” is your own opinion, but “white people are better than black people” isn’t. “BuT If tHeY pRoMiSe To NeVeR eVeR AcT rAcIsT DeSpItE hAvInG a RaCiSt MiNdSeT iS tOtAlLy FiNe!!!” but NEWSFLASH, if someone thinks black people don’t deserve respect then HE ISN’T GONNA TREAT THEM RESPECTFULLY, NO MATTER HOW MUCH HE SAYS THAT HE DOES. He will ALWAYS treat black people as inferior, even UNKNOWINGLY. So never EVER tell me that having a discriminating mindset is okay, because that person will go through his entire live thinking that discrimination is totally fine! If you have certain beliefs (in this case the belief that black people aren’t worthy of human rights) you WILL act on those beliefs in one way or another, if you do it unknowingly or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s NOT “your freedom of speech”, your freedom doesn’t include taking the freedom of others away. Ugh. (BTW u guys know who you are, come at me) I’m still angry about that, and I can kinda see why Jus is furious with Manny. Poor boy. If that one conversation I had managed to shake me up as much as it did, I can’t imagine how Jus feels like! Probably heartbroken and disappointed, he’s fighting for his own rights, doing that whole “Be Like Martin” thing and then his best friend (!!) just tells him to “chill out” and that he’s being “too sensitive”. Anyway, Doc managed to cheer him up a bit, but he’s still frustrated. I (kinda) know how he feels, after that conversation with my friends I was SO distraught, I nearly broke down crying! I was scared that EVERY person thinks like that, is that true? Do all people think that discriminating thoughts are totally fine?? Please comment your own opinion, what do you think of this whole situation? OH, and Jus had to hear that he shouldn’t bother fighting for his rights FROM HIS BEST FRIEND, who’s also impacted by racism!!! That must hurt a whole lot more! Anyway, Jus STILL hasn’t talked with SJ, he should really do that, maybe (hopefully) it’ll make him feel a bit better.

535

At any point, write about how you feel while reading a section of the book. Say how what is happening makes you feel and why

SO much happened in this chapter and I felt SO many different emotions, it was like a rollercoaster and I nearly threw my book against a wall AGAIN. The chapter starts with the news that a sixteen- year old African American boy named Tavarrius Jenkins got shot by police while trying to help an old lady and he died of his gun wounds shortly after. This, of course, negatively affected Jared, and he goes to Doc to talk it out. But when he enters his classroom, SJ is already in there bawling her eyes out. It looks like she’s been affected by the death of Tavarrius as well, poor girl. Instead of talking to each other, they just stare at one another and SJ hastily leaves the room. It’s unfortunate to see that they STILL haven’t resolved the conflict between them, they should really talk about it. But anyway, after this Jus isn’t really in the mood to talk to Doc so he leaves shortly after, and goes to his dorm room. Manny, being the good friend he his, tries to cheer Jus up and invites him to Blake’s (the boy with the KKK “halloween costume”) birthday party. Jus really doesn’t wanna go at first (can’t blame him, Blake’s an asshole in my opinion) but Manny eventually got him to agree. Well, bad idea, because as soon as they arrive at his house things already start to go wrong. Jus is pretty drunk, and he was already in a bad headspace to begin with, so he’s not doing too well. Anyway, they walk towards Blake’s door and at the bottom of his porch steps are (who would’ve guessed) wooden lawn jockeys with black skin and big red lips standing guard. BIG red flag. What the hell. I didn’t even know they SELL those things! That was the first instance where I felt OUTRAGED, I just couldn’t fathom how someone would want to buy those obviously racist lawn jockeys, that is not morally justifiable! God! But anyway, as soon as Jus saw those statues, he immediately knew that this evening would not go well (me too, to be honest) but it gets even worse. Because hanging on the wall in Blake’s basement are posters from the “William H. West’s Big Minstrel Jubilee”. For those of you who don’t know, a Minstrel Show is a form of entertainment developed in the 19th century, which consists of white people dressing up as people of african descent, with dark make-up, aka blackface. Minstrel shows ridiculed black people as being dim-witted, buffoonish, superstitious and lazy. Great. Now I know why Blake thought wearing a KKK robe was acceptable. Shit runs in the family. Anyway, at this point, Jus is FURIOUS (and I’m furious as well). BUT YOU THOUGH THIS WAS THE END OF BLAKE’S RACISM? WELL, YOU THOUGHT WRONG, cause literally two sentences after saying hi, Blake asks Jus and Manny something, and I quote: “There’s this fine-ass black girl here from Decatur Prep, and I was thinking you guys could wingman it up for me and shit. Homegirl’s got the fattest ass I’ve ever seen, and I think if she meets my ni***s, (EXCUSE YOU?!?!?!!) I’ll have a good chance of getting’ her upstairs. You feel me, dogs?”* OH my GOD. I just can’t. He was racist AND sexist at the same time, this is unbelievable! I had to take a break from reading, cause he made me SO angry. I still can’t wrap my head around this boy, what did go wrong with him? How did he end up this way? I’m still so frustrated, but let’s continue. Jus is DONE after that racist and sexist “request”, and he doesn’t keep quiet any longer. He tells Blake to quit it, but everybody goes after Jus and tells him to “chill” (as if you can “chill” in a situation like this) but Jus isn’t backing down, he’s had ENOUGH and he says “Hell nah, I’m not ’bouta chill. Ya boy’s got racist lawn gnomes and white people in blackface hanging on the walls, now he pulls this shit, and you want me to chill?”** (HELL YEAH, Jus!) Blake OF COURSE tries to defend himself with “Dude, none of that crap is mine. My mom’s great-uncle was one of those performers, so she hung up some posters. No big deal”*** And that’s even WORSE! If one of my relatives was acting in blackface and ridiculing people of african descent, I would be horrified and DEEPLY ASHAMED! I wouldn’t hang up posters to celebrate their racist acting career, are you kidding me? Jus fires back with “You coming over here asking us to help you use a black girl IS a big deal, Blake. That’s not to mention you tossin’ the n-word around like you own it”****. Manny tries do defuse the situation, but to no avail, Jus goes on and calls Blake a racist (which he is) but now Blake accuses Jus of “playing the race card”. Then Jared and Tyler walk up to them, which makes the situation even WORSE, and as Jared says to Blake “You know Justice grew up in the hood. He’s gonna call up his gangsta homies to ride through on your ass and bust some ca-“***** Jus looses it and a fight starts. I think Jus has EVERY right to punch those assholes, and I would’ve done the same. Manny managed to break the fight up, but Jus is FURIOUS and he goes after him as well, he says “These dudes disrespect you–disrespect us–all the time, and you never say anything about it. You just go along with everything they say.”****** and as much as I hate to admit it, Jus is totally right about that. Manny never defends himself because they’re his “friends” and Jus is just “way too sensitive”*******. Jus replies with (and I love this SO much): “Lemme guess: that’s what they said when you took offence at some racist joke, right?”******** because it is the cold, hard truth. Jus leaves the party in a rage after this, and he tries to walk all the way home. While being intoxicated. In ice-cold weather. Poor boy. Manny takes his car and catches up to him, but Jus refuses to get in and turns his back on Manny. When he finally gets back home, he wrote a new journal entry and I loved it so much I’ll copy the whole thing because I think EVERYONE should read it. So here it goes:

January 19,

DEAR MARTIN,

You know, I don’t get how you did it. Just being straight up. Every day I walk through the halls of that elitist-ass school, I feel like I don’t belong there, and every time Jared or one of them opens their damn mouth, I’m reminded they agree. Every time I turn on the news and see another black person gunned down, I’m reminded that people look at me and see a threat instead of a human being. There was some white dude on TV after the Tavarrius Jenkins thing broke talking about hoe cases like his and Shear Carsons’s “deflect from the issue of black-on-black crime” but how are black people supposed to know how to treat each other with respect when since we were brought over here, we’ve been told we’re not respectable? What the hell are we supposed to do, Martin? What am I supposed to do? Be like Manny act like there’s nothing wrong with a white dude asking his “ni***s” to help him exploit a black girl? Do I just take what they dish out, trying to stop being “so sensitive”? What do I do when my very identity is being mocked by people who refuse to admit there’s a problem? I know I did the wrong thing tonight, but right now I can’t find it in me to be remorseful. Those assholes can’t seem to care about being so offensive , so why should I give a damn about being agreeable? I gotta say: I’ve been reading your sermons and studying your books for six months now, and it feels like all I have to show for it is frustration and a sense of defeat. I swear I heard some girl ask “Why are black people so angry all the time?” as I left Blake’s house, but how else am I supposed to feel?

My hand hurts. I’m going to bed.

-JM

Reading this left me feeling terrified, disappointed and angry at the same time. Terrified and disappointed because African American teenagers still feel like they aren’t being respected and treated fairly, and angry because those assholes are discriminating against a human being. This journal entry just sums Jus’ whole frustration up, and it beautifully describes the problem of “not tolerating intolerance without being accused of being intolerant”. Hopefully nothing worse happens in the coming chapters, but we’ll just have to wait and see. For the moment, I hope Jus will at least talk it out with Manny, because those two had a beautiful friendship and it would be a shame if that got destroyed in the heat of the moment.

*Page 90, row 17-21

**Page 90-91, row 28-2

***Page 91, row 3-5

****Page 91, row 6-8

*****Page 92, row 11-13

******Page 93, row 8-10

*******Page 93, row 11-12

********Page 93, row 13-14

1’208

Write about what you are learning personally as a result of reading this text

The story picks up with Jus hanging out with Manny in his basement, and Manny starts interrogating him. He asks Jus about SJ and that “I know you like her, man. And she obviously likes you.”* but Jus responds that it doesn’t really matter, his mom would never allow him to date SJ because she’s white. And because “pissing my mama off ain’t really high on my to-do list.”**, he’s only friends with her. Manny immediately calls him out and says “Passing up on a good thing because your mom wouldn’t approve…I don’t know about that, man. Especially when it comes to something as stupid as race.”*** and because Jus was still writing his letters to MLK (Martin Luther King), he should think about what Dr. King would do. He adds “If you’re doing this Be Like Martin thing, do it for real. Refusing to date a girl because she’s white is probably not the Kingly way, bruh.”**** that was really interesting to me, and I learned more about the struggles an African-American boy might face. It showed me that even POC have problems regarding race. I can only assume based on what I read, of course, but my understanding is that this isn’t the best attitude to have. It’s like one group says “Oh we don’t want you with us” and then the other group goes “Oh don’t sit with them” even tho they’re sharing the same table. Isn’t that just adding fuel to the fire? That reminds me, I’ve also heard of Indian parents telling their kids to not date a white person, and I think that might be similar to Jus’ problem with his mum. But again, I can’t speak for him and it’s just something that I’ve learned while reading this book.

What sort of conflict does the protagonist go through?

In the second chapter, Jus and SJ are competing in a debating tournament. Even though they meet each other nearly every day, they couldn’t decide on a topic in the beginning. And Jus has this inner conflict going on, would like to date SJ but he knows she’s “off limits” kinda and that really bugs him. So he isn’t a great help, he just stares at her and gets lost in his own mind. But after a few days (and a lot of accidental touching) SJ proposes the topic of racial profiling. To sum it up, in the nineties, some idiot “researchers” claimed that crimes committed by African-American teens would skyrocket, which created a fear of those people. That never happened, of COURSE, but the myth of the “criminal black teen” still persists and this prejudice is still alive and well. Jus didn’t wanna cover this subject at first, because “he didn’t wanna be the black guy accused of “playing the race card” at a state tournament”***** (it’s so sad that he even has to think about that). But SJ eventually changes his mind, and they choose racial profiling. Well, the day of the debate comes, and Jus’ inner conflict still hasn’t resolved. Even so, they present their arguments, and the jury loves them. They get first place, and because of adrenaline and emotions, Jus’ problem kinda resolved itself in his head. In a tender embrace, he wanted to kiss SJ and so he did. But things didn’t go as planned, SJ did a complete 180 degrees turn and walked away. To be honest, that surprised even me, and she kept ignoring him the whole day through. Poor Jus, that didn’t help at all with resolving his conflict and now he’s even more confused. I can’t blame him because I thought she was into him as well, and I didn’t understand her reaction at all (but I’m sure she has good reasons as to why she walked away though) and I can’t imagine how Jus is feeling at the moment. I hope he’s doing the right thing and giving her space, before trying to talk things out and resolving the tension between them. I hope he acts in a smart way, and hopefully he doesn’t do something which makes this conflict even worse.

*Page 70, row 12-13

**Page 71, row 14-15

***Page 74, row 1-3

****Page 74, row 8-10

*****Page 79, row 19-20

688

Write about something in the story you wish you had (or had more of) in your own life

Okay so I’ll skip chapter 6 cause literally nothing interesting happens, Jus got accepted into Yale and cause of the excitement stuff happens with SJ and he realises that he might be attracted to her. Romance makes me vomit and it’s really boring and unnecessary in my opinion so I ain’t gonna write a whole blog post about that chapter (it wasn’t THAT important anyway). Okay so when Justyce enters his Societal Evolutions class everyone already knows that he got accepted into Yale, news travels fast. Well, as expected, Jared is not happy about it (he is PISSED, cause he also applied and got deferred) and he wants to talk about “how affirmative action discriminates against members of the majority”*. He thinks it’s somehow unjust that Justyce got into Yale but he didn’t and that “I know for a fact that it’s because I’m white and he’s black”**. He assumes that his scores in the ATC and the SAT (standardised tests used for college admissions) are higher than Jus’ but the college still picked him, rather than Jared. So the two start comparing their scores, and Jared did a lil better in the SAT (fifteen-eighty to fifteen-sixty) but Jus did a lot better in the ATC (Thirty-four to thirty-three). Jared can’t BELIEVE that JUSTYCE did better than HIM!! There’s no way!! Everybody thinks that he’s overreacting but SJ knows what’s up and she says “it negates his assumption that because he’s white and you’re black, he’s more intelligent than you are”*** BOOM! Hell yeah! She saw through Jared’s bullshit IMMEDIATELY and called him out on it. That’s what I wish I had more of in my life, smart and intelligent people like Sarah-Jane who don’t let racism slide, who speak up against injustice, not keep their mouths shut. In my daily life, when someone says something offensive, the most common reaction I see is that other just chuckle awkwardly and try to ignore that comment. They rarely say “Hey, what you said is not okay because…” and I think that’s very unfortunate. If we had more people like SJ who aren’t afraid of confrontation then people wouldn’t say “Oh that’s so gay” if they don’t like something or make a sexist remark (for ex. girls can’t play video games) or use “Jew” as an insult. And yes, I’ve heard these before in THIS EXACT class I’m in right now. And they were all said by the same people. Did someone call them out on it? Nope, everybody just let it slide. Every single time. They even made fun of others trying to BREAK the habit of saying offensive comments. That’s why we need people like Sarah-Jane, then I wouldn’t have to worry about comments like “Oh you’re not good at this game cause you’re a girl” or “Don’t do that, it looks gay” ON A DAILY BASIS. But anyway, after SJ called Jared out and destroyed his arguments, he starts a hissy fit and shouts how unfair it is that Jus got in, they both should’ve gotten accepted, Jus stole his spot and it’s all his fault and all that good stuff. SJ comes to the rescue and knows exactly what to say, AGAIN! Ma girl can’t be stopped! She explains that (I’ll try to sum it up as best as I can) parents who have a better income can afford to send their kids to better schools, where the kids have a better chance of getting a good score on the admission tests. Parents with low income don’t have the same luxury, and their kids have to attend a school that’s not as good, and so their chances of getting a good score are worse than the richer kids. (And unfortunately, on average, POC have a lower income than white people) Their test scores are lower, and so it would be unfair of colleges to JUST look at that when they choose who gets in. And we should consider someone’s starting point before we make any assumptions. I was blown away at this point, if we had this way of thinking in our society, marginalised groups would be WAY better off. Anyway, after her amazing explanation, Jared was STILL pissed and he just HAD to add this: “Whatever. All I know is that no matter what college I end up at, when I see a minority, I’m gonna wonder if they’re qualified to be there.”**** OH… MY GOD. That sums his character up PERFECTLY. He’s so used to his privileges he gets jealous when other people get picked before him. Everyone was shocked, and I still wonder how he got away with that comment.

*Page 59, row 4-5

**Page 59, row 12

***Page 60, row 6-7

****Page 64, row 1-3

781

Write about something happening in the book that you can relate to. How did you react? Try to put yourself in the character’s shoes and say why you think they feel the way they do

In my opinion, Jared takes this whole “Equality Brigade” thing way too far in this chapter. He thought it would be a good idea if their group (consisting of Jared, Manny, Kyle, Tyler and Blake) dresses up as different “stereotypes” for Halloween. Jared somehow thinks that “It’ll be this massive political statement about racial equality and broken barriers and shit”*, he even asked Justice to participate, and even tho he didn’t want to at first, Manny convinced him to dress up too. Jus is the “Thug” with exposed boxers, belted pants, Thug Life T-shirt, a thick gold chain and a snapback. Manny dressed up as the “Token Black Guy”; khakis, loafers and a polo shirt with a sweater over his shoulders. The “Yuppie/Politician” is Jared. He’s wearing a suit…and a spot on his chin where he nicked himself while shaving (That’s not much, in my opinion). Tyler decided to be the “Surfer Dude” with board shorts and a tank top (kinda looks like he forgot how cold it would be). Kyle went with the “Redneck” and he’s wearing a woodland camouflage shirt, a trucker hat with a Confederate flag patch (Big Nope for me) and cowboy boots. At this point I was already uncomfortable, I don’t like stereotypes in general and some of these “costumes” are REALLY toeing the line (especially Kyle’s) and I already knew that Jared’s idea wouldn’t end well. But when I read what Blake was wearing, I wanted to throw the book against a wall. He (for some reason) thought it would be acceptable for him to wear a bloody Klansman robe. With the whole red and white cross patch on his chest and a pointed hood. HOW. Just HOW. And WHERE did he get that “costume” from??? I don’t even think I want to know. SEVERAL things are just WRONG with that outfit, and it would take too long for me to list them all. But I wondered how DENSE those white kids have to be to think this is a good idea (As you can probably tell, I’m pretty angry and fired up right now (for good reason) and because I don’t wanna punch my laptop, I’ll move on with the story). Manny and Jus are the only sane people in this group and they both feel VERY uncomfortable with Blake’s choice. Manny asks Jus if he maybe wants to go home, and even tho Jus wanted to back out a LONG time ago, he still decides to stay (BIG mistake in my opinion). If I was there, I wouldn’t have gone with Jared’s group in the FIRST place but if I had, I would’ve thrown the towel by the point I saw Kyle’s costume. But Blake just went too far and I probably would’ve punched him. No wonder why Jus and Manny feel so uncomfortable! If this is the “stereotypical white man” then we should be VERY afraid. Anyway, the whole group rolls out and they didn’t even fully make it to the car when Blake puts his hood on and gives the f-ing Nazi Salute. Oh boyyyyy…..I can’t, I just can’t. What are you even supposed to say to that? Just why. WHYYY. This is a raging dumpster fire and those guys are adding more and more gasoline with everything they do. I particularly love how the author describes the situation: “Justice knows the train he just hopped on is headed downhill in a major way. It occurs to him that the moment he said he was cool with the whole thing, he cut the brake lines and completely surrendered his power to stop it.”** I think that sums the whole situation up. I felt the exact same way as Jus, this is gonna end VERY badly. But I wonder, HOW could those boys think that this whole thing is a good idea? Is it more “normal”or “common” for guys in the US? Do they not know what kind of implications those “costumes” have? Or are they just VERY dense and racist? Because that is some next level sh*t. Can you do those sort of things in the US? Is it morally acceptable for a white teenage boy living in the USA to dress up as a Klansman on Halloween? Is the law not doing anything against it? The question if people living in Switzerland would get away with those things crossed my mind, and then I remembered that something similar happened at this years “Fasnacht” (which has some pretty racist groups in it, if you ask me) where a bunch of people dressed up as Klansmen. BUT, they DID get prosecuted so it was seen as a criminal offence with racist motives behind it. Does that happen in the US as well? One would hope so. But if that’s true, Blake isn’t very scared of getting arrested, is he? But at least other people don’t think it’s acceptable, cause as soon as the whole gang (which Jared calls “Equality Brigade”) joined the halloween party, someone sucker-punched Blake in the face (he deserves it). It was a boy named Trey who has come to the party with a group of his friends. Jus knows all of them, they live in his neighbourhood (which doesn’t make the situation better) and he’s pretty sure that they’re all in a gang called the “Black Jihad”. They seem to be the only people with some sense in them, because Trey says to Manny and Jus “The fuck y’all doin’ here with these assclowns, bruh? Jus gon’ letcha boy (referring to Jared) disrespect our people like that?”*** and I COMPLETELY agree with his statement. Jared tries to defend himself, but Trey just gets even angrier (rightfully so) and Jus tries to defuse the situation by calling it “this satire thing with stereotypes, and it went too far”**** (that’s an understatement). But now Trey is coming after HIM, and he calls Braselton Prep “that rich-ass white school”*****. Even so, Jus is still on (somewhat) friendly terms with Trey and he tells Manny and Jus “These white boys might be standing here next to y’all, but y’all still ain’t nothin’ but (wait, am I allowed to write that word? I’m not sure, and I feel uncomfortable, so I’ll “bleep” it out just to be safe) n**gas to them, ya heard me? Ain’t no amount of money nor intelligence can change that shit”****** and I think that is the whole truth, right there. Jared of COURSE immediately defends himself and says that it’s not true, but the other guys in his group now that it’s not the best moment right now and they tell him to shut up (at least they know when things are going too far). The gang tells Jared and his three other friends to get lost, but Manny and Jus can stay with them if they want to. But Trey says “Bruh, you know those n**gas don’t wanna chill with us. They “goin places” and shit. Gotta stay connected to the white man for the ride to the top”******* and that made me think. Because, unfortunately, there is some truth behind that. The only way POC can be successful is with help from a white person. Wow. At this point, my thoughts headed in the direction of “where did society go wrong” because it is just unacceptable that this is still happening in the 21st Century. It makes me very angry and frustrated, and now I’m somewhat glad that I don’t live in the US. Because we see these things happening over there nearly daily. It also occurred to me that I can’t really “relate” to such an experience, because I don’t face that kind of injustice. I have no right to act like I do and I also have no right to speak for those groups, they need to speak for themselves. The challenges society throws at me are VERY different than the challenges thrown at a WOC (Woman of colour). I can just try to assume how the characters feel without going to far and taking their voices away. Anyway, Jus and Manny decide to leave and when they join Jared and the others, their eyes meet and “for the moment, they understand each other”********. They both face the same difficulties in society and so they know how the other feels. I don’t, not really. I can never imagine what they have to go through on a daily basis. But I do understand that it gave them a connection, a bond. And it’s a shame that it’s still happening.

*Page 39, row 9-10

**Page 42, row 12-16

***Page 43, row 11-12

****Page 43, row 21-22

*****Page 43, row 27

******Page 44, row 4-7

*******Page 44, row 23-24

********Page 45, row 8

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At any point in the story, predict how some character is going to change/develop (character development) as the story progresses. How will they change?

After school, Justice is sitting in the Bras Prep senior lounge and enjoying an afternoon snack when Jared, Manny and three other friends come in to get something to drink. They don’t notice Jus and Jared starts talking about what happened in Doc’s class. As soon as they are seated he loudly says “Can you believe that asshole? What kind of teacher has the nerve to suggest there’s racial inequality to a classroom full of millennials?”* and he goes on to state that they should fire Doc and that he might “have my dad give the school a call”** which tells us that whenever Jared has some kind of problem, he just runs to his dad who fixes the issue with his power & money. Jared goes on to talk about SJ and he says some pretty indecent & disrespectful (maybe even sexist, but that’s up for debate) things about her. Manny asks what is going on with him today, even he notices that Jared is behaving rudely. Jared says “I’m just sick of people suggesting that African Americans still have it so hard these days.”*** and he starts ranting about an eight-grade Heritage Play they did where Jared played Martin Luther King Jr. They put brown makeup on him (aka blackface) and he “totally got a standing ovation”**** according to one of his friends. And because “A white kid can play a famous black dude in a play, and it’s no big deal”***** and that “This is a colour-blind society, my brethren…people are judged by the content of their character instead of the colour of their skin”****** and “Like I totally don’t even see you as black, Manny!”******* is, according to the white guys, proof that racism doesn’t exist anymore. This chapter made me sick to the stomach and I wanted to punch Jared and his friends several times. I desperately hope that something is going to happen which is going to open Jared’s eyes, and he starts seeing how the world truly is, instead of how those four white guys see it. Maybe something bad will happen to a close african-american friend of his and he won’t be able to stop denying the racist nature behind that event or encounter, whatever it is. Maybe (hopefully) he will finally realise that he IS privileged and he’ll use this privilege to help others who are marginalised and discriminated against. But I think it’ll take him a long time to get over his prejudices and (I’m just gonna call it what it is) blatant racism. But if he does, I would be very proud of him. He just believes what society has told him, it’s not his fault that (especially) the US is still discriminating against POC (people of colour) while at the same time denying that it is going on. If Jared is able to (hopefully) get over his discriminating nature (which he denies exist) then even the most hateful and bigoted person can.

*Page 30, row 10-12

**Page 30, row 15

***Page 31, row 23-24

****Page 32, row 20-21

*****Page 32, row 22-23

******Page 32, row 24-26

*******Page 33, row 1-2

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Write about the relationship between two characters and how it is changing or developing. What are the characteristics of the relationship? What does work or not work? How do they affect one another?

In the second chapter, Jus is hanging out with Manny and playing video games with him. The police encounter still weighs on his mind and he’s very jittery and jumpy, the sound of the game console makes him anxious. He asks Manny if they could play a different game and Manny doesn’t even ask why, he just gives Jus a supportive shoulder squeeze and leaves him alone. That gesture surprised me, it showed me that Manny’s and Jus’ relationship is very tight, they trust each other and they understand when to give the other person space and not bug them. Manny proceeds to ask if Jus wants to talk about the incident (Jus already told Manny what happened, another sign that their friendship is strong) but he isn’t ready. Instead of saying “Come on, tell me!” or “You should really talk about it” Manny just replies with “You know I’m like…here if you do, right?”* He doesn’t pester Jus to talk to him, he acknowledges that Jus needs some time to think and that it’s not the best moment for him to talk about the encounter. It’s great to see that they respect and rely on each other, we need more friendships between males that aren’t toxic and where they don’t hide their feelings, but openly talk about and not shun them.

Analyse the style of writing the author uses. Pick out certain words and phrases

The next chapter takes place before class. Dr. Jarius “Doc” Dray pulls Jus aside and talks to him before class starts. He wants to know how Jus is feeling, and he tells him that today’s debate might not the suitable for Jus at the moment, and he can sit outside if he feels uncomfortable. It’s immediately clear that Doc cares about Jus a lot. He treats him with respect and he has a lot of sympathy for him. Similarly, Jus looks up to Doc and feels comfortable in his class. That’s why he chooses to participate, and as soon as the bell rings, the writing style shifts drastically. The author chose to write the following discussion like a screenplay. I’ll give you an example:

SJ (Sara-Jane): It’s simple: women still aren’t treated as men’s equals. Especially by men.

Jared: (Rolls eyes.)

Doc: Okay. So there’s Women’s Rights. Any other areas where you guys feel like we haven’t quite reached the equality bar?

Everyone: ( . . . )

Doc: Feel free to consider current events.

SJ: You would make a terrible lawyer, Doc.

Everyone: (Nervous laughter)

Doc: I know ya’ll know what I’m getting at here.

Manny: I mean, we do…but you really wanna go there, Doc?**

This is very unconventional, books are normally written differently. But it also gives the reader a breath of fresh air, it’s something new and exciting. I personally like the writing style, it gives the book it’s unique quirk. There are three distinct writing styles, it starts in the third-person p.o.v., the most common one, then it shifts into the first-person p.o.v. when Jus writes his letters to Dr. King, and for lots of dialogue this “screenplay” type of style is used. It CAN get a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re not used to reading, but it’s not too challenging and the author makes it work.

*Page 15, row 20

**Page 23, row 2-12

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