Trayvon Martin

There is a shocking and some what sad case that has recently occurred in the United States. It shows how people are so quick to judge, and don’t really think before they act. This case combined with the strength of media which has pervaded people around the world to be aware that racisim, and prejudice between different ethnicities still exists. This essay will give different sides to the Trayvon Martin murder.

Trayvon Martin was murdered by Goerge Zimmerman, a self appointed watchman on February 26, 2012. Trayvon Martin was walking in Sanford, Fla., gated community northeast of Orlando walking home from the convenience store after buying ice tea and skittles wearing a hoodie, and running down the street back home when a bullet was shot out of the self appointed watchmen’s gun. The 911 center heard the bullet being shot from a phone call reporting what was happening.

Everybody on this earth has responsibilities. One of them should be to protect the innocent. Everyone cares and loves somebody be it his or her family member or a really close friend. We all know we don’t want anything to happen to them, but if we all protect one another and fight for what we know is right the world could be totally different place as what we know it today. Trayvon Martin was just like any other kid; he could have been your son or your best friend. The difference between him and you is that you are alive and he’s not. Trayvon Martin will never have another day to spend with the ones he loves. The world needs to wake up and realize that there are bad people in this world and we have the responsibility to protect people who don’t deserve to die. If everybody made protecting the innocent a responsibility, then the world would join as one. We all can make a difference, but you are the one who should be the first to see the chance.

Prejudice is when somebody is focused on one specific thing in particular, and mostly only focuses on the negative part of the situation. When somebody doesn’t see the positive side of certain things it could lead to injustice for the other person part of the issue. It is not right that somebody who might not have done anything such as Trayvon Martin to be punished in such harsh way like he was.

People tend to fear things they don’t understand such as death. It is a normal thing for a human being to be afraid. The fear of a person comes from a worried feeling or a misunderstanding of some sort of matter. If people fear certain things they don’t understand, then they will never come to understand what they are really afraid of. When people fear what they don’t understand they tend to do things without thinking properly.

It is said Trayvon Martin was walking home from the convenience store the night Mr. Zimmerman noticed him. He wore a hoodie, it was dark, held a bag in his hand, was a young male, and had dark skin. He must have looked suspicious in some way, because we have a strereotype about men wearing hoodies are the ones who mob people on the streets. Stereotypes are very common. They tend to judge somebody by their appearance or way of being; everybody is classified in some sort of stereo type. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the characters have a stereotype for Scout. It is said that girls aren’t supposed to do things that require pants. Scout is the type of girl who likes the outdoors, and loves acting just like her brother. This is similar to how George Zimmerman judged Trayvon Martin as he passed at night because of the way he was dressed and looked. I believe George Zimmerman being a “watch guard” or so he said should have confronted the boy instead of defending himself with a gun. Neither policemen nor watch guard should have their gun as their first option in cases they confront. Guns are there meant to protect people, but not hurt others if not necessary. People who have guns must know how and when to use them.

For Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin’s parents it must have been very excruciating the death of their son. Profound feelings must of invaded inside of them, but didn’t bring them down. Tracy Martin said on “Today” that “"I strongly feel that he [Zimmerman] needs to be arrested because a crime was committed. My son was murdered ... my son is not with us no more -- nothing can bring him back." I’m in total agreement with him. Zimmerman should be apprehended because he killed somebody with no need. I find it very surprising the parents disposition towards Trayvoy Martins’s death. They appear to have received the news in a very good manner. Mrs. Fulton, Trayvon’s mother said “I just hurt in my heart because this guy has not been arrested, and I just feel like the Sanford Police Department ... decided to be judge and jury. I just want this guy arrested so he can be brought to justice.” Hopefully the officials will do something about this case. Trayvon Martin’s parents have a lot of supporters who went out on the street on New York protesting about this case.

Chapter 8

Mrs. Radley died this morning. The citizen of Maycomb County didn’t show much concern to her death. Nobody arraigned or questioned the matter, but Jem and I had some inkling that Boo may have had something to do with it, but according to Atticus, she died of natural causes
School was cancelled today due to the bizarre snow fall this morning. I thought the world was ending cause I had never seen anything like it. I was afraid, but Jem wasn’t. I didn’t understand how he wasn’t, but Jem is something else so I was not surprised. Atticus told me to calm down cause it was just snow- a rare occurrence for Maycomb County. He said it hadn’t snowed since 1865.
After I calmed down, Jem and I got a brilliant idea: to build a snowman. I interrogated him on how you would make a snowman because I had never built one before in my life. Jem hadn’t either, but he seemed to know what he was doing.
Jem and I ran outside to where the snow fell from the sky. I opened my mouth and stuck my tongue meticulously out into the freezing air. I caught a snow flake on my tongue getting a sweltering feeling. I didn’t apprehend why it burnt, but Jem being the smart one told me why: “It swelters because it is so cold out, it feels hot instead.” Atticus told us there might not be enough snow on the ground for a snowman, but Jem didn’t care. He decided to get snow from Ms. Maudie’s garden in order to have enough snow for the snowman.
Jem brought several baskets of snow; most of filled with dirt instead. I told him the yard looked calamitous, but his response was “Looks messy now, but it won’t later” I believed him, but when we were done it looked like a “Nigger” snowman. Jem had added a cross face to our creation which made it look like Mr. Avery. For a final touch Jem placed a piece of stove wood on the snowman, or dirt man if you ask me.
Atticus came home later that afternoon, and at first view he liked it, but after stepping back and taking a better look at the creation he realized it was Mr. Avery. He wasn’t very impressed because he said we couldn’t go around creating creatures of our neighboors. Jem tried to defend his creation: he soon realized it was no use. He got Miss Maudie’s sunhat from her place across the street and placed it on the creations head. Atticus approved of Jems artwork, but Miss Maudie didn’t. She walked out of her front door not too impressed at the sight of a snowman wearing her sunhat. She talked to Atticus as she waved her hands all around the air. The only piece of the conversation I grasped was Miss Maudie telling Atticus that he will never raise us. A dissension aroused inside of me. I thought Jem and I were raised in a well mannered way, but according to Miss Maudie we weren’t and never will be.
The night came several hours later. It was chilly out, and more coal was needed in the fire to warm the house up. Atticus took care of that before coming to read me a bedtime story. The minute the coal touched the fire I could feel a difference. The house had acquired several degrees which made the house cosier. Atticus read me my story, tucked me into bed, and shut the light off. I fell asleep quite quickly cause I was so tired from the snow this morning.
What seemed to be minutes after falling asleep I got woken up. Atticus and Jem didn’t tell me what was going on until I saw it for myself. Miss Maudie’s house was in flames. Smoke flew out of the house and into the air; the sky grew darker. Everybody had gathered around her house: Atticus, Miss Rachel, Miss Stephanie Crawford’s among others. Atticus told us to stay out of the way and watch from a distance. We stood by the Radley house and watched. I saw furniture being moved. Atticus carried Miss Maudie’s heavy oak rocking chair: her most valued possession. I guessed everyone tried saving something before it was too late. Atticus believed the most valued possession is always the most important, which made him save the heaviest belonging there was; her oal rocking chair. I thought that she might have a hard time assimilating that her house had just burnt down.
At home later that evening we drank hot cocoa. Miss Maudie was going to stay at our place until she was settled down again. Atticus asked Jem and I if we could conspire with anything she may need during our stays. Of course I accepted, but it took Jem some time to agree as well. I sipped some hot cocoa from my cup when I noticed Atticus staring at me. He stared at a blanket that was thrown over my shoulders which I hadn’t even noticed. Jem said Boo had put the blanket around me and I didn’t even notice because I was too busy looking at the fire. I was frightened.
We went to sleep until we got woken up by Calpurnia at noon. It wasn’t too bad getting woken up though we talked to Miss Maudie and listened attentively to her stories. She puzzled me because I didn’t get how having lost all her possessions she still had interest in Jem and my life. It was nice of her, but confusing for me to understand.
The three of us talked: Miss Maudie, Jem and I. I wondered why Miss Maudies nose was a color I’d never seen before so I asked. Her response was she had been outside since six o’clock and her nose should have already frozen by now. Our talk ended soon after when Miss Maudie started acting in a weird manner: her lips moving silently, and her hand against her head chuckling.

Secret Life Of Bees

Dear, T. Ray

It has been a long time since I have heard from you - ever since that day you stormed out of the Pink House here in Tiburon, SC. Many years have elapsed since the last time I saw you - twenty years ago-, and I know that this is a bizarre thing to say, but I miss you. I never thought I would ever come to a point in my life where I would miss having a dad. I have had a lot of time on my hands lately which I have spent thinking about Sylvan, and all the years you mistreated me. I have come to realize that it wasn’t that you didn’t love me, if not, you missed Deborah. As you stood there in front of the Black Mary in the Pink House with your hand pulling tightly on my hair and your mouth screaming out “you never should have left me!”, was when I finally realized you never wanted my mother to leave us. I realize that this was as calamitous for you as it was for me. I never thought about thinking how you felt, I was never meticulous to you behavior. I forgive all your mistakes, wishing you could forget mine. I love you daddy, and always did even though you didn’t back.
My life in Tiburon, has been marvellous. We –August, Zach, and I – are working very hard keeping our Black Madonna honey quality at the best we can, but with all that we swelter it makes it harder for us to work. I have learnt so many things about bees, which I never even thought were possible. I have learnt how to drive a car, thanks to August who taught me some years ago. Know instead of August driving us to the bee hive, I do. I have been given so many opportunities down there in Tiburon, which wouldn’t have been possible without having August, June, and Rosseleen by my side. They have assimilated me into their everyday life, which was one of the only wishes I ever wanted.
Zack proposed several months ago to marry him- I said yes. It wasn’t a shock though, I was expecting it for some time before. Our wedding seems imminent, though it is a month away. The wedding wouldn’t be something big, though it will be taking place in the Pink House. The sisters are coming over, and they say they will lionize me on that special day to come. Whenever I see them, they tease me and tell me they’ve conspired something great for my wedding. You are invited if wanted, but it is not mandatory. I would love it if you could make it to be able to see the women who used to be a young girl what seemed to be a few months ago.
I know we had many dissensions between us two, but I don’t believe that is should keep us separate forever. I hope you apprehend the message I’m trying to get across to you, and take it into consideration. I don’t really mean to interrogate you, but how have you been? How’s your health, and the farm? Hopefully it isn’t a total anarchy, I know how unorganized you can be. Take care!

Love, Lily