Chain of Emtotions . This book masyerfully unmasks the sorrows of the nation. The author is able to compose a memoir of the haunting lives of children in New York's ghettos. The fierce images of rat-infested homes, and schools filled with poisonous lead walls leave readers unable to fathom how people truly exist in such harsh conditions. Kozol addresses every area of the spectrum from the children's point of view to the political views of the country. Also presenting an array of diverse issues such as AIDs, drugs, underage prostitution, death, motives based in moral, religious beliefs, and inhuman treatment towards others to the reader. Feelings of pathos arise after hearing the accounts of the children in the area; readers feel sorrow for the children because they are stripped of their childhood. Numerous quotes and examples are given in the book, but one that particularly struck me was when Kozol asks one of the children if he knows anyone happy at all the boy candidly responds, "Not many...Well, to tell the truth, not any who are happy for more than one day...No! Not for one day. For 15 minutes...Not any. That's no lie"(212). To honestly not know at least some form of happiness is incompressible for me and I'm sure for many others as well. By using statements made by children the author easily wins the readers pity and sympathy. Our pity soon turns to anger when he describes the lack of government support. Examples such as unsanitary hospitals, toxic incinerators, closet sized school rooms, and shabby, less then adequate housing evoke sentiments of detest towards the government's lack of aid towards these poor devastated people. But once again Kozol quickly changes our feelings to those of denial. He provides shocking statistics and first hand accounts as to how the nation sympathizes with these people for five minutes and then continue on with their lives.  It seems shocking that people would do things so cruel such as disposing of their waste in the ghetto streets. While reading, it became a necessity for me to remind myself that the events taking place were all true; this is not a cleverly composed work of fiction, though it would certainly be far more assuaging if it were.       Taking into account the brilliant components of the book, I must say that I was vexed by one minor detail; Kozol's overall presentation of his opinions. The beginning of the book revolves around the accounts of parents and children within the area and the author provides few opinions on the subject. But towards the end he fills several pages with statistics followed by passages of his opinions. I feel that this takes away from the book because rather than focusing on the children and people living in the area we turn our attention to the author and how he is impacted by the events and things he witnesses.         Other than this minor dislike I think that the piece as a whole is very informative and certainly does a good job at presenting what appears to be the ideas and realities for several minorities in New York. It may not be a thriller, or adventure novel, but it most certainly is a mystery. A mystery as to how people are able to survive in such hostile conditions and retain hope. Kozol's mastery of rhetoric reveals that the issues taking place have been around and that until something changes they will remain so.
Output: POS