What James learns about himself

While finding his mother's past James learns that he is Jewish. When we find our parents' past we learn more about our heritage. We learn things like who our ancestors are and where our family came from. When we find how our parents grew up we learn why they teach us the things they do. After our parents learn from their lessons they teach us not to make the same mistakes they made.

The Most Important Line

In chapter 13, New York, Ruth went go live with her aunts and grandmother. I thought this chapter was very important because it helped Ruth change. She learned that there are things outside of her family, and better places to live. Going to live in New York made her realize that she couldn't live with her family any longer, and needed to graduate and leave. One quote that really helped me realize is, "Plus to everyone seemed too busy to care about what race or religion you were. I loved it,"(130). This shows Ruth finally realized that race and religion didn't matter. Later in life she married a black man, and even changed her faith. This shows how much of an impact going to New York had on her.

Symbol for Ruth

A symbol that can be used for Ruth is a lion. The lion symbol represents strength and pride. Throughout the book, The Color of Water, there are many examples of Ruth having a lot of strength. She went through a lot of pain during her childhood. She moved schools every year because of her dad's job, he abused her when she was young, and she was taunted by other students at her school for being Jewish. Then when she was finally old enough, she left her home to start a new life. She left all she knew and became a completely new person. She married a black, Baptist man, and changed her faith by becoming a Christian. She was able to raise 12 children on a very small budget, and sent them all to college, everyone of them being successful in their careers. All of this shows how strong Ruth was throughout her entire life. She was able to overcome her past and become a completely new person.

Finished "Trafficked''

I finally finished the book. Although it wasn’t my favorite book, it was a great read. Just as I thought things would go bad, they did. *SPOILERS* Hannah finds out Sergey murders people for a living. Lillian becomes extremely abusive. Hannah’s hours working get even longer. Her grandmother died. She is not getting paid. Paavo and Sergey sell bombs to terrorists. And Paavo tries to kidnap Hannah to make her a prostitute. During all of this time on Christmas day the family leaves the house. As she tries to escape Paavo finds her and tries to kill her but the neighbors get her to safety. Hannah is taken to the Hospital for her injuries given to her by Lillian. In the hospital she meets an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent. She tells that she will take an to a safe house, she will get a visa, and learn English. After all the hardships Hannah had to go through, she was finally safe and free in America. I really loved this book. Even though it wasn't a true story it told something that so many people really go through which helps spread more awareness for the cause. 

Conflict

There are many conflicts going on throughout the book, Trafficked. First, Hannah’s uncle that was taking care of her disappeared. Leaving her homeless with no money. Another conflict, is the problem of Hannah illegally being in the United States, under a different name, with a different passport, lying to everyone. A third problem is Lillian, the mother housing Hannah, doesn't like Hannah at all. She thinks her husband Sergus, will cheat on her with Hannah. Those aren't the only problems though. Hannah has to work hours and hours cleaning every day and watching the children. Hannah also has been recently been faced with the problem of not being paid. The family is refusing to pay her because her plane ticket costs so much. She not only isn't getting paid, but she isn't allowed to leave the house to go to school so she can learn to make money for herself. Hannah is surrounded with problems and has no way of getting out of them. Are they going to get worse or resolve? 

Analyzing Characters- Lillian

                I haven’t been able to get in much reading this week, but I have read enough to notice that Lillian has been acting very suspicious recently.  Lillian is the mother of the two children Hannah is taking care of in America. At first Lillian was very kind and welcoming towards Hannah, but recently she has gotten very rude and strict. She has made some very harsh rules for Hannah to follow, consisting of when Hannah has to wake up- which is extremely early, the house must be extremely clean, all the time, she’s not allowed to have contact with people outside of the house, she isn’t allowed to have friends in the house, she is rarely allowed to leave the house, and lastly, Hannah is not allowed to look at Lillian’s husband, Sergey, or talk to him unless spoken to. These rules are very restricting, and almost makes it sound like Hannah is not allowed to leave the house, or talk to anyone besides the children. The rules sound more like Hannah being their slave than being a Nanny. Will Hannah’s time spent in the Human Trafficking Industry come soon? 

Human Trafficking Rsearch

I'm about 90 pages into the book Trafficked. Although nothing bad has happened yet, I can tell she won't be happy in America for long. Knowing that the main character, Hannah, will struggle with the problem of Human Trafficking I decided to do some research on what it's really about. Human Trafficking is described as 'Modern Day Slavery'. Mainly women and Children are sold to be beaten, starved, forced to be prostitutes, and work days on end with no sleep. Although there are hundreds of organizations to help stop human trafficking, in the United States alone, 14,500 to 17,500 people are illegally sold into human trafficking every year.

September Book Choice

The book I decided to read for the month of September is Trafficked by Kim Purcell. I've decided to read this book because it is a realistic fiction novel, about real-world current problems. I've decided to read this book f0r not only enjoying a new topic, but also learning more about the human-trafficking issue going on throughout the world today.