How Does Injustice Negatively Affect a Community?
Kevin Joseph
English 11
Mrs. Kennedy-Brooks
Period 3
11/18/09
How does Injustice Negatively Affect a Community?
What is injustice? Injustice can be defined as an abuse of power, tarnished reputations, and death to the innocent. When people in a community are treated differently it makes people feel out of place. It makes them think that they do not belong. The book Honky talks about the author of the book, Dalton Conley. His family is the only white family that lives in a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood in the projects of Manhattan. The books talks about the hardships and discrimination the family went through being one of the only white people living in the projects. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible talks about a religious community in Salem, Massachusetts, where people are being falsely accused of being “witches”. Both of these books show different kinds of injustices. It is clear in both of these books that injustice negatively affects a community when people are being treated differently for false accusations. Our nation was built on the idea of equality. The Declaration of Independence states, “All men are created equal”. All people, no matter if they are Black or White, Muslim or Buddhist, or Chinese or Korean should all be treated the same. Both books, Honky and The Crucible have certain injustices. One injustice that both of these books have in common is inequality. This can be seen in The Crucible when Hawthorne is in court and says, “Excellency, she is condemned a witch. The court have…”(79). Hawthorn is accusing Rebecca of being a witch. Being associated with witchcraft is against the ideals of the Puritan Community. People who are accused of being witches are condemned and are not equal to the rest of the community. In the book Honky, Dalton is being treated differently due to his difference is skin color. You can see this when Dalton is trying to enroll in a school and the principal says, “Sorry maim, we cannot let your
English 11
Mrs. Kennedy-Brooks
Period 3
11/18/09
How does Injustice Negatively Affect a Community?
What is injustice? Injustice can be defined as an abuse of power, tarnished reputations, and death to the innocent. When people in a community are treated differently it makes people feel out of place. It makes them think that they do not belong. The book Honky talks about the author of the book, Dalton Conley. His family is the only white family that lives in a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood in the projects of Manhattan. The books talks about the hardships and discrimination the family went through being one of the only white people living in the projects. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible talks about a religious community in Salem, Massachusetts, where people are being falsely accused of being “witches”. Both of these books show different kinds of injustices. It is clear in both of these books that injustice negatively affects a community when people are being treated differently for false accusations. Our nation was built on the idea of equality. The Declaration of Independence states, “All men are created equal”. All people, no matter if they are Black or White, Muslim or Buddhist, or Chinese or Korean should all be treated the same. Both books, Honky and The Crucible have certain injustices. One injustice that both of these books have in common is inequality. This can be seen in The Crucible when Hawthorne is in court and says, “Excellency, she is condemned a witch. The court have…”(79). Hawthorn is accusing Rebecca of being a witch. Being associated with witchcraft is against the ideals of the Puritan Community. People who are accused of being witches are condemned and are not equal to the rest of the community. In the book Honky, Dalton is being treated differently due to his difference is skin color. You can see this when Dalton is trying to enroll in a school and the principal says, “Sorry maim, we cannot let your