Zeitoun Book Report

The book, Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, correlates a strong connection to me, because of the struggles and experiences Zeitoun faces after the destruction of hurricane Katrina. This book, dives into many different aspects of culture, race, religion, and the average citizen, but what makes this book so intriguing, is how people were treated because of those things. It gets us thinking, that America isn’t this perfect society that we think of it to be. And we have so much more things to improve. I personally have some experiences with flaws of the government. It makes me enraged, and yet sad, that our government could act this way, in the time of need. This book takes us through the journey of a Muslim American surviving through hurricane Katrina,
As more and more prisoners were sent to Camp Greyhound, more and more unjust actions started to take place. One action that shook me to the core, was how the guards, hosed down a mentally disabled person with pepper spray. “Then they stepped away, and the first guard, the one who had warned him, aimed the hose and sprayed him, head to toe, with a substance Zeitoun could not immediately discern” (233) The person they sprayed, was a mentally impaired man. This action was completely over the line, and everyone knew that man had no control over how he acted. Although I do not have this exact demonstration of unjust punishment, I do have some experience with unjust treatment. As I explained myself to the police, during an incident, they began to say that I was disrespectful, and that I had no right to call them, when my life was in danger. Only because my mother was against me, along with the person who threatened me, with a knife. The person who threatened me with a knife, had explained to the officers that I knew martial arts, and that he had to pull out a knife because of that reason. When in Wisconsin, you can only use equivalent or less than force of your oppressor. Meaning, I did not commit a crime, but the other person had, because I was unarmed. But since my mother, the only adult in the situation was against me, the cops favored her. Which was completely unjust, and unfair,
As his story unfolds, I can relate more and more to him. Although our experieces are far more extreme. They have similarities that allow me connect with Zeitoun and the book. Zeitoun, is wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit. He was treated very unfairly, and he eventually got out of it. All those experiences create a link between the book and my past. And that is what makes this book a great