Passion to Protect

During this unite, every student in my class either read To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee, Cry, the Beloved Country By Alan Paton, or A Time to Kill By John Grisham. The book that I was assigned was A Time to Kill. I really enjoyed this book, even though it touched some pretty tough topics. The way it was written was just brilliant. John Grisham really made it feel like you were in those situations during the segregation era. Reading this book really helped me to understand the law system and the racism in the 1980's.

Sophia Rosemann

5-10-13

A Time to Kill

Was that too Harsh?

This semester I read a book called A Time to Kill by John Grisham. The book takes place in the 1980’s in the small town of Clanton, Mississippi. The era of the book is when segregation was removed, but racism was everywhere. In the beginning, a young African American girl, Tonya, was raped by two white men. After her father, Carl Lee, found out, he was furious. He planed and killed the two men. Throughout the book, Carl Lee is on trial for the murder of the two men and Jake, his lawyer, is trying to get Carl Lee out of the Gas Chambers and make his a free man.

Due to the era of the book, there is a constant flow of derogatory language. Derogatory language is language that is designed to put people down, or even foul language. The N-word is used a lot throughout the book along with other derogatory slang such as “rednecks”, “pollacks”, and “gooks”. All of these words were used in the book to racially classify and put people down. Some people think that the derogatory language is used too much and has no purpose in the story, however, I disagree.

I do think that the language used in the book is harsh, but I also think that it is necessary. I believe that there is no other way to truly convey the racism in this book. I can’t even think this book would be nearly as good as it was without the derogatory language. To make a great story, you have to show who your characters are, and to effectively do that. In order to do that, you have to show how your characters dress, act, and talk. If the characters in the book use derogatory language, then you have to include it.

If this book were to be re-written today, I think that the language would be slightly different. The labeling has changed these days. All I really know is that I have never these words used that often nowadays. The only times I’ve heard derogatory language used to mess with friends. Just on the facts that I’ve seen in real life, I think that if A Time to Kill would be a totally different book if it was written in present time.

Although derogatory language can be harsh, I think that it is totally necessary for this book. The book wouldn’t be nearly as good as it was without the harsh language. The book would also be way different if it was written in present time, the type of derogatory language would be very different. Lastly, the language helps to give the full feeling of the story. The language makes the story believable. The book just wouldn’t be nearly as good without it. I disagree with the use of derogatory language, but this book needs to use it.

Reading this book was just the beginning of this project. After we completed our books, we were paired up with a partner and we came up with a topic that we were willing to passionately protect. After brainstorming, my partner and I came up with the topic Human Trafficking. There were two main reasons we chose this topic. The first reason is that most people don't truly know what human trafficking is. Secondly, human trafficking is one of the largest growing crime in the United States. We thought that it was important for people to know the truth about human trafficking and how they can help prevent it.

After we chose our topic, we decided to do some research. My partner and I split up the topic into two main parts, Myths and Misconceptions and The Scale of Human Trafficking. I decided to take on Myths and Misconceptions. While doing research on this topic, I learned a lot about the topic. It was a real eye opener. Thanks to this project, I learned the truths about human trafficking.

Sophia Rosemann

May 30, 2013

Do You Know the Truth?

Although you may not realize it, trafficked humans are everywhere. You might walk into a restaurant and a modern slave is serving you your food. You might walk into a salon, a grocery store, even at your own work. (Eggert) Approximately 88% of Americans are unaware of the number of people being trafficked and 48% of American can’t even tell an accurate definition (MacDougall) of human trafficking even though it’s one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world. (About Human Trafficking) There are many misconceptions about human Trafficking.

Myth #1- Sex trafficking is the only type of Trafficking. Not true. (Myths and Misconceptions)

Sex Trafficking is the most common type of trafficking, but not the only type. Only 46% of people being trafficked are being used for sex trafficking.(Human Trafficking Statistics: Southeast Asia) The other 27% are being used for domestic servitude. (Human Trafficking Statistics: Southeast Asia) The remainder of the victims are being used for agricultural and factory use. The above categories include sex trafficking, forced labor, domestic servitude, and organ harvesting. (Human Trafficking Statistics: Southeast Asia)This myth is very stereotypical. When people think of Human Trafficking, they almost always think sex trafficking.

Myth #2- Victims only come from high poverty areas. Not true. (Myths and Misconceptions)

Most victims of human trafficking come from high poverty areas because they tend to be more gullible. (Myths and Misconceptions) Not all victims come from high poverty areas though. In fact, many of them come from the middle and high class.(Myths and Misconceptions) A lot of victims come from families with higher socioeconomic statuses too.(Myths and Misconceptions) This is a very important fact to know. The world needs to realize that it Human Trafficking affects more than the poor people in Africa.

Myth- Human Trafficking is the same as Human Smuggling. Not true. (Myths and Misconceptions)

Many people use the terms human smuggling and human trafficking interchangeably, but they aren’t. There are many fundamental difference between the two crimes.(Myths and Misconceptions) There are two main differences though. Human smuggling is a crime against a country’s border. On the other hand, human trafficking is a crime against the victim.(Myths and Misconceptions) In addition, smuggling requires the perpetrator to illegally cross a border, while trafficking requires sex or labor trade. (Myths and Misconceptions)This needs to be common knowledge. These two crimes are completely different.

If you believed any of these myths, then you are now aware that many people, including yourself, don’t know the truth about Human trafficking. It is very important to know that sex trafficking isn’t the only kind. That it not only affects people in poverty, but people in other classes too. Also that Human Trafficking IS NOT Human Smuggling. Our next steps is to raise awareness. My partner and I plan to create an informational video that we can present at different schools. Our major goal is to get Human Trafficking known.

WORKS CITED

“About Human Trafficking” New York City Lets end Human Trafficking. 5-2-13

<nyc.gov/html/endht/html/trafficking/trafficking.shtml>

Eggert, Sara. Encalda, Adrian. Swearengin, Krista. “Colorado: A Human Trafficking

Corridor” Direction for Change: Showing the Way. 5-1-13 <directionforchange.worldpress.com/2011/12/04/colorado-a-human-trafficking-

corridor/>

“Human Trafficking Statistics: Southeast Asia” CAHTSA. CAHTSA. 5-20-13.

<bechr4173.weebly.com/statistics.html>

“Human Trafficking: The Myths and the Realities” Forbes. 5-21-13

<http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/01/24/human-trafficking-the-myths-and-the-realities/2/>

MacDougall, SockFoon Chew. “US Awareness of Human Trafficking” Trafficking

Monitor. 5-8-13 <trafficking-monitor.blogspot.com/2011/03/u.html>

“Myths and Misconceptions” Polaris Project. Bradley Myles. 4-26-13.

<http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview/myths-and-

misconceptions