My Dear Readers,
This week I read American War by Omar El Akkad and I am simply moved by the characters and story. Out of all the books read so far for this blog, this book is definitely one of my favorites. The story follows the life of Sarat Chestnut and her family through an apocalyptic disease-ran civil war. Sarat becomes a domestic terrorist herself as she is slowly groomed as a young girl surviving the war. One of the major themes of this book is the human drive for violence, personal disparities, and revenge. Sarat allows violence to consume her innocent childhood and for her “the calculus was simple: the enemy had violated her people, and for that she would violate the enemy. There could be no other way, she knew it. Blood can never be unspilled” (250). This is the mentality that continues to eat away at Sarat for the remainder of her life, even after she finds hope in her nephew, Benjamin. She continues to fight and kill, not for the benefit of the South, but for her own personal gain. It turned from a fight against the Blue, to a fight against those who tortured her for years and took away all that she had in life; “soon the surrounding world evaporated and with it the screaming that filled the room. Only her wrath remained, her unquenchable want. She wanted the blood inside him” (341). Yet, it is not only Sarat’s own doing that is the reason for her revenge state of mind. The fragile, split government in the United States also had malicious tactics and did not put the greater good of all above anything else. Instead of focusing on ending the war, the government was more concerned with creating a sense of “normalcy” and trying to force the past behind. This strategy only added fuel to the revenge fire and left the people feeling like they had to take things into their own hands. In an interview with a government member, they state “I’m sure all the members of this committee echo my desire that we reach that normalcy as quickly as possible” (278). Politics and government have a large impact on the mentality and health of a community. When the leaders are weak, you can only imagine the strength of the people, for the whole community is on their shoulders. The committee’s standing only added fuel to Sarat’s fire as she believed “it was, all of it, a lie—and the worst kind of lie: a charade of normality at a time of war” (260). Politics can shape a country and morph it into something completely unrecognizable. Hatred and revenge is a major human killer. These are some of the messages from American War and Omar El Akkad’s wish for more people to pay attention to the signs of a crippling society. Even today, the United States of America is extremely fragile after the most recent election and other large social movements that occurred. Different generations are fighting on social media, a global pandemic is changing normalcy, and large groups of people become divided based on personal opinions about politics or science. Americans are scared of what will become of themselves. Here’s a link to a resource that talks all about the issues occurring in America today: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/05/01/destroying-trust-in-the-media-science-and-government-has-left-america-vulnerable-to-disaster/. As an American, I wish for peace in a modern world. I look to the hope that America will continue to grow, learn, and change for the better—for all who live here. Here’s to a better world—a better America. Source for photo: https://www.ucf.edu/news/7-influential-protests-in-american-history
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AuthorJosephine Graft is a passionate student who believes in the power of the human mind. Anything is achievable when you put your mind to it! Archives
April 2021
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