Nonfiction reading response

America, a place where people are still being executed for crimes. The death penalty is still a punishment in present day America. Some people think that the death penalty is pure torture while others think its ok. The author Patricia Smith of the article “To Kill or Not to Kill?” tell about how there are less executions in the present day. The present day executions use drugs to inject into a person but many drugs have gone wrong and killed people 30 minutes later or longer after they suffer severe pain. The author wants the reader to know about present day executions and how there aren’t as many executions as in the past.

One of the executions mentioned in the article was about a man name Clayton Lockett. Lockett shot a 19-year-old woman and buried her in 1999 but was sentenced to death. Last April when Lockett was injected with an untested drug that was suppose to paralyze and sedative but instead killed him of a heart attack 30 minutes later. Not like past executions (hangings, gas chambers, electric chairs, etc.) the drug failed and instead killed the victim 30 minutes later. The author wants the reader to see and think about how tortures present day executions can be. For example during those 30 minutes Lockett suffered before he died, he probably gasping for air and wobbling around in the bed he was strapped to. In addition the author want the reader to think how there are less executions in present day. This can show how tortures present day executions can be.

Another example of a present day execution was in Arizona this July. It took nearly 2 hours to execute Joseph R. Wood by lethal injection. A news reporter reported Wood took at least 640 gasp before he could die. Again this can show how dangerous and torturous present day executions can be. Another thing the author wants the reader to know is European manufactures refuse to sell the correct drug used for correct executions. This forced prisons to use untested drugs combinations and get drugs from compounding pharmacies. This can leave the reader thinking how dangerous present day executions can be. Both recent executions are great example on how present day executions can be considered dangerous or torturous.

The article made me think further about my opinion about how executions shouldn’t be aloud and more humane punishments should be aloud. This article made me think further about punishments and consequences. Connecting to life, if a child did something bad, their parents would punish them. The same thing happens with adults except adults may face consequences like jail. Compared to jail executions may seem a little too extreme. After reading this article I realized even adults can have consequences, even death.

Flight by Sherman Alexie

            Writing, an art that lets the writer write whatever they want. Some of these pieces actually get published but face problems. For example Flight by Sherman Alexie is a challenged book that people think shouldn’t be in schools. Flight does contain violence, racism, and religion but readers need to look past that. I don’t think that Flight should be banned because it is trying to teach the reader a lesson about life.

            Flight’s lesson about life is that people can waste their lives doing bad things but can change. Violence has a big part in this lesson. In the beginning of Flight, the main character Zits decided to kill a room full of people in a bank. Soon Zits was shot in the back of the head by a security guard killing him. Throughout the rest of the book Zits enters many bodies, almost all having to do with violence. One example of violence in the book is when Zits was in the body of a little Indian boy. His father was forcing him to kill a white boy about the same age as the Indian boy. At that moment Zits kept thinking how he could kill people in the bank but not in the Indian boys body. Parents might want to ban this book to hide their kids from violence but they really can’t. Kids still will find out about violence either from fights at school to shootings on the news.

            Lots of people get treated badly because of their race. This could be another reason why parents would want to ban this book from school. In Flight Zits is a half Indian, half Irish that gets mad at races. For example Zits got mad at rich Indians for ignoring the stupid and poor Indians. Also Zits got mad at one of his white foster families for adopting him just for money. Zits does go on and on about races sometimes in the book. The thing is that all people face racism in their life. There is going to be one person who hates a certain race and treats people like crap. Parents can’t hide kids from races because soon kids will hear stereotypes or worse about races.

            Some parents want their kids to go to school and not hear anything about religion. In Flight there isn’t that much religion but if you dig into the book you can understand why parents could challenge the book about religion. For example when Zits starts asking himself if God is punishing him by sending him into different bodies. This isn’t really a big part but some people can be offended. Another example is when Zits is in the little Indian boy’s body. When Zits first entered the body he was in a camp that he described had a horrible stench. Zits also didn’t like how he was only wearing a little bit of clothes like the Indians did. This could offend some Indians reading this. These offended Indians can think the author is describing the Indians as monster or bad people. Most kids do have a religion that their parents want them to stick to.

            Flight may be a book that is challenged for some reasons but I don’t think it should be banned. This text connects to the world because many people do bad things like Zits but can change. At the end of all the bodies Zits was returned to his body before shooting the people in the bank. Zits then decided to walk away, turn his guns in to a police officer, and give a foster family a chance. I think the reader should have an opinion on the book being challenged or not. I do not think that Flight should be banned because the book is trying to teach the that people can do bad things but can change.