Comparison Between 'To Be A Slave And The Sniper'

“What is the secret of success? Right decisions. How do you make right decisions? Experience. How do you gain experience? Wrong decisions,” quoted A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam says that in order for someone to be successful and make the right decisions, they need to have experience. When somebody is involved in a dispute, they can determine which side is right by looking back at their experiences, by their instincts, and by risking a side that seems to tempt them. This attribute can be seen in the nonfiction book, To Be a Slave, by Julius Lester and The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty. Author Julius Lester composed a very tragic, yet true book about slaves choosing their future with the right decisions. Liam
Julius Lester, an American writer of books for children and adults, writes in To Be a Slave, “My mother told me that he owned a woman who was the mother of seven children, and when her babies would get about a year or two of age, he’d sell them and it would break her heart...When her fourth baby was born and was about two months old, she just studied all the time about how she would have to give it up, and one day she said, ‘I just decided I’m not going to let ol’ master sell this baby: he just ain’t going ol’ do it.’ She got up and gave it something out of a bottle and pretty soon it was dead.” (Lester 40) The mother of the newborn child had experienced her children being sold plenty of times. When her latest child was born, she knew what would happen so she took action. In this short excerpt, Julius quotes Lou Smith, a former slave, who shows us that through experience, people can learn from the past, and make a better future for
They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes.” From this quote it is understood that to determine which side is “right,” one must comprehend an individual’s rights. Whether someone lives in the United States, or another country, everyone must be treated equally. Those who put down anyone for any reason is doing the wrong thing. Furthermore, in the book, To Be a Slave by Julius Lester, the section “The Beating of Ella Wilson,” states, “Black men, black women, and black children were enslaved because it was profitable to other men.” (Lester 36-37) From this, it can be interpreted that the slave owners didn’t care about the conditions in which the slaves were put in because they only cared about their money. They had no respect for them nor did they seem to acknowledge the fact that they were downgrading humans who were just like them, except for their skin color. Putting down others is something that is completely inhumane and when faced with a conflict, their side would never be