In the Gutter

1. "Telling my father that his beloved older sister, Sedigeh, is angry at him is like putting a grown man in a time out. He just can't stand it." page 13

I can very easily relate towards Kazeem's confusion and hurt of people being mad at him. I hate when people, especially my friends and family are mad at me. I want to make it right, and be loved. Even when my friends are joking around, and trying to make me fell bad for something that they're not really mad at (because they know how to push my buttons), they succeed in making me feeling terrible (and then quickly consol me). I think that's a problem that everyone faces though, which is why I can relate to Firoozeh's father.

2. "...my father dreamed of ways to get rich that required neither hard work nor further education."  page 14

Firoozeh's father's strategies on making money were completely different from Sundara's family in the book Children of the River. Kazeem wanted money handed to him without having to lift a finger. While Sundara and her family had to work long hours in fields picking fruits and vegetables, doing as much as they could to send money to their family that was still in Cambodia.