Zinnerman, Justice Shall Be Made

For generations, the all-American citizen has been portrayed as a white man with Christian values, being ultra conservative. Residents of Arab, Latino and Black cultures are expected to be criminals; nevertheless, whites are seen as the ultimate peacekeepers. In the States it is an era where an African-American is leading the country—An era where supposedly all racism is forgotten. But yet, violence as serious as murder has occurred due to manifest destiny of those who believe that a true American is only to be Caucasian.

On March 26 in Sanford, Florida, seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was returning from his convenient store with a bag of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea. Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, shot the teen in what he says was self-defense. But really it was just racial thinking that led the madman to believe that a black boy with a hoodie is a potential threat to safety. Zimmerman has previously been in trouble for violent acts: He was arrested for shoving a policeman when his friend was arrested for serving alcohol to underage drinkers. Also, his unidentified ex-fiancé reportedly had a violent relationship with him; consequently, filing protective injunctions against one another. Although, there is no evidence of the crime and therefor Zimmerman has not been punished for the murder of Martin.

Zimmerman must pay for his actions, killing another human being is worth being thrown into jail for life—It doesn´t matter the color of the victim´s skin, but justice should be made in their remembrance. Even though there isn´t any evidence to proof the madman is guilty, there isn´t any proof he is innocent either. But honestly, a man who has been involved with violence numerous times like he has is not trustworthy. People can be treated very unfairly due to others´ believes, for example, in To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout is insulted by her aunt just because she doesn´t have the same interests as other girls her age have. Most likely, Zimmerman is prejudiced about Blacks just like Scout´s aunt was about girls, he probably was sure that all of them were like the criminals he heard about in the news. So he judges every African-American as cruel, violent and guile: a criminal. Not having knowledge about a case leads one to think nonsense, to commit injustice just like Zimmerman did; One acts this way because the information one is acting upon is an unreliable lie. As a community it is our job to be aware and be educated about the different cultures and ethnicity of people, so we don´t become prejudice. Just the knowledge of one person can pervade through a whole nation and protect the innocent; therefore, injustice will not be committed due to rubbish judging.    

Zimmerman really is a coward, he felt the need to protect himself from a teenager because of a concept he doesn´t understand. Zimmerman does not understand that the Unites States is full of wonderful Blacks; however, he feels they are dangerous instead. Zimmerman really feared something that wasn´t true, he feared a crime that Martin would have never committed—He expected Martin, just because of the dark color of his skin and the hooded sweat shirt he had on, to threaten his safety. You see when people have this overall idea of a topic, it might not apply to everything involved with that topic, but yet their actions are all still based on the same idea and therefore are the same towards everything related to that subject. For example, referring back to To Kill A Mockingbird, the whole town believes Boo Radley is a dangerous beast that everyone needs to be aware of. But really, the man has resulted to suffering due to an abusive father—Yet Scout and Jem take precaution of Boo and taunt the man because they believe the town´s rumors. They fear this whole myth that they clearly do not understand, because it does not exist. Zimmerman feared what he believes African-Americans are, so he shot one in order to feel safe.   

Bottom line is that Zimmerman was influenced to commit this crime due to all the racism and prejudice he holds in his heart. To him, a white boy with blue eyes wearing a tucked in shirt and Hush Puppies would have been completely different: a harmless, well-behaved teenager. Even if Zimmerman didn´t murder Martin based on his racists beliefs, he still took someone else´s life—If he has the guts to end a kid´s life, he should have the courage to accept his fault and end the rest of his days behind the bars.  

Catcher In The Rye Persuasive Essay

     In a society of the 1950´s where the life of a teenager was kept a secret and when parents thought that their children would forever be innocent, it is obvious that a book like The Catcher In The Rye would be banned. But themes like sex, alcohol and usage of swears are and have always been part of a teenager´s life, the only difference is that society knows that now, but they didn´t know it back then. The themes that J.D Salinger discusses in his novel are not new to me, and I guarantee they were not new to anyone else who has read The Catcher In The Rye. This book hasn´t introduced me to any “filthy” ideas, but has actually taught me valuable lessons. That is why my opinion on if the book should be banned hasn´t changed at any time.

     Salinger was a teenager during the mid 19 hundreds, he was inspired of the themes by his own experiences. His experiences corroborate to the fact teenagers have always dealt with the same problems, (since he couldn´t of been the only one dealing with so at the time.) Back in those days, teenagers were not allowed to discuss sex or booze because talks about so were considered despicable in society, so their actual life and interests pretty much were kept secret. Parents had no idea what their teenage daughters and sons were up to, they didn´t have the guts to discuss what would confront them in the future. So if parents couldn’t teach their kids a lesson, why ban the book that could? For teenagers in our society today, it is a completely different story. We learn about sex and booze through TV shows, books, and the one and only “The Talk” we receive from our parents when we reach puberty. But again, there are the cases where some teenagers do not have any sources to learn about what they must confront. For example, a girl doesn’t have any money, so she decides to be a prostitute. But her parents never advised her on anything because they felt awkward doing so, and she never saw a TV show or read a book for guidance.

     “I took her dress over to the closet and hung it up for her.  It was funny. It made me feel sort of sad when I hung it up. I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing she was a prostitute and all… It made me feel sad as hell – I don´t know why exactly.” (pg. 125)  

That one paragraph Holden Caulfield stated his opinion on Sunny, a prostitute, could of changed her mind.

     The truth is, that every teenager knows about sex and prostitution, they have all at least tasted alcohol, and if they haven´t already, will be offered drugs by others in their age group. So why are these themes that J.D Salinger discusses so despicable, especially when they are nothing but truth? Nowadays, Catcher is still banned in some states in the US, which I find is hypocrisy. While in those states teenagers aren´t allowed to read a book that they can relate to and find comfort in, a dirty song like “I Just Had Sex” is allowed to be played in the streets. Catcher is a book that teenagers can think of as therapy, while a song like so was just written as a joke. Does it make sense to allow a theme to be talked about because it is funny, but not because it is consoling? Absolutely not, it just doesn´t make sense. Salinger was obviously trying to teach teenagers that everyone goes through problems at that age, some may undergo it in a more extreme level like Holden Caulfield, the main character of the book. But bottom line is, all teenagers go through problems, no one is alone. There was no scene in the book that was too dirty or violent, but it is still considered “filthy” by some people. Yet the shows with the highest ratings are Jersey Shore, The Secret Life of The American Teenager, Pretty Little Liars, etc. These shows are accepted in society, but do go highly in depth with the topics. Why is it that we accept them but not a simple coming of age novel?

     Time has changed, and maybe Catcher In The Rye back then was meant for an older crowd. Today in 2011, a group of eight graders were able to read the novel, discuss and understand it, no matter how “obscene” it would be. But yet, in 1960, a teacher in Tulsa, Okla was fired for assigning Catcher to an eleventh grade class, because it was too much of a “mature” read. What I am trying to say is that maybe the time periods have affected the way the novel has been seen. Honestly, teenagers have always dealt with the same problems like I said before. But today, those problems become part of the daily news, and they are not considered good, but not despicable either.

     Teenage generations need something to relate to, something to find comfort in. If a book like Catcher wasn´t allowed doing that back then, which it should of, it has become part of the past and must be allowed now. If dirty TV shows, commercials, music videos and songs are allowed in the media, Catcher In The Rye should be able to teach lessons. J.D. Salinger wrote his masterpiece as therapy for teenagers, not to cause controversy throughout the world. I believe Catcher is a fantastic book, not only entertaining but also containing a mountain of lessons. I believe Catcher In The Rye should be used to teach us, the teenagers of the 2000´s, what is waiting ahead of us, because it has exactly what we need. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger has themes of our everyday life in a realistic manner that we can learn from.