Fifth Writing Assignment

      After reading "The Dewbreaker", by Edwidge Danticat I had some feelings of sympathy and then a since of connection and respect. As always we feel sorrow for people in Ka's position that encounter problems with discrimination and neglect. Being a white male it isn't often that i'm discriminated but throughout my childhood I have been in positions of a minority. Moving around a lot I have have lived in many dangerous areas. While living in most of these places I had been one of the few white people around. Then of the white people, I wasn't really the one that acted like everyone around either. I learned that most people tend to keep to themselves and so I had done the same. In doing so there were still some people I talked to and then those I knew to avoid. For many this would be an uncomfortable situation. People like Ka that come from other countries really had it bad moving to the states. There are so many people that are filled with hate that just don't care whether they hurt you. My situation wasn't really as uncomfortable as it could of been or as Ka's had been but that was only because I never aloud it to be. I had learned a lot from being in situations like that. I learned to blend with others while still being the same. Many would say I was not acting myself but I was. I am often able to judge someone and how I believe they would act and talk, then while being myself around them I am also able to connect and be on a similar level of sorts. It seems like a weird concept but it feels like I pull different aspects out when around different people. This has led me to be true to myself and others as well as being able to get along with people of all backgrounds and personalities. Ka's experience had been more intense than mine so getting along and blending in had been much more dificult.
     When it comes to Ka's father she discovers many things about him that she never knew, leading to her anger with him. I feel like everyone has a friend that has never told you certain details of their life. Connecting to Ka my parents have always been sort of a mystery. Never being together you can assume that they chose their own sides of a story. The thing is my father barely talks so I am sure there is plenty I do not know. My mother, however, never shuts up so I don't know what stories are true or not. Some I could see being true and then there are some that I could never imagine. A lot of my mom's history was revealed to me when I was young but as bad as it always was I would never be angry or judgmental like Ka. I understand that it's always hard growing up and not having honest knowledge of the truth. It has never seemed as important as simply knowing that I have two more people that care about me.
     Ka's situations were much worse than mine probably have ever been. What I have done to solve mine is to look passed the struggles and worries in my life. If Ka was able to create her own ways of letting go in the moment and in the past she would be more free spirited about her situations.