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The focuses of Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain are very similar. They are both alike in that they focus on the unveiling of certain aspects of religion and the stigmas that go along with them. They try to clear up any misconceptions and shed light on the practices and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn Zeitoun, we see many of the commonly used slurs against Islam debunked. It is very humanizing to see the life of a few particular Muslims, to see their individual personalities. This book shows it as the beautiful religion that it is. It shows how peaceful most of the People of Islam.
In the same way Salvation on Sand Mountain is an interesting look into the intricacies of snake handling. Whenever I heard about snake handling it seemed this foreign, strange concept. In a way this almost makes this a beautiful thing as well. I respect them for their simultaneous immense fear of snakes and the total lack of fear of death. This also puts a very human face for both outsiders to the religion and also for people that actually follow the religion.
Through the course of these books I gained an immense respect for both of the religions. I also have a new view point on them and for me that is the most important thing. These books have been an enlightening experience
and a very rewarding one.
Looking back on summer reading, I have realized how the main characters in Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain both face conflicts due to cultural and religious differences. Both Zeitoun and Dennis enter into situation in which they are outsiders to the culture. However as the reader, I was most struck by the differences in the reasons for which each character entered into these circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIn Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, Abdulrahman Zeitoun involuntarily goes through a series of hardships as a result of his Islamic faith. Because Zeitoun is a Muslim and is originally from Syria, he is considered an outsider to America and a threat during a time of crisis. This status forces him into a high risk situation.
Again, in Salvation on Sand Mountain, there is a clash of cultures. Dennis Covington willingly enters into the world of snake handling. He is not forced to attend the church services or handle the snakes but does so voluntarily. Because he has not always been a member of the Holiness church, he is viewed as an outsider to the faith and as such, he is not trusted.
Zeitoun and Dennis are both faced with a conflict of culture, one through chance, the other through choice.
While reading both Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain, I realized similarities in the writing stiles and story direction. Along with the actual stories of religion and discrimination, the way the stories are written have other side stories involved with the story line. When I think about both story lines I see a thick, dark, straight line which would symbolize the main point and then there are smaller thinner lines sticking out of the main line, which represent all the side stories involved with the main point.
ReplyDeleteIn Zeitoun every time Abdulrahman or his wife thought about, saw, or heard from someone they knew, that person's story would be told. An example would be Abdulrahman's brother who was a world champion long distance swimmer. When Zeitoun found a picture of his dead brother, that story from his childhood was told. This was not involved with the story but it added flavor and broke it up in an interesting, slightly related way.
In Salvation on Sand Mountain, Dennis met many new people in the Holiness church and when he traveled with the snake handlers. With every new person Dennis met there was a story soon to follow their name. An example would be when we are introduced to Aline McGlocklin and we are told about her and her husbands background. Aline and her husband's background don't have much to do with the continuation of the story but it was interesting to read about. This side story also introduced us to another member of the church and how they came to be handlers.
These side stories branching out from the main story make both books more interesting to read, if not easier to read. Although both books did have similarities in religious affiliation and plot line, I found this connection before I found the others.
Although the stories told in Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun have many similarities, what struck me as different was the credibility that each story held. I found myself believing what Dennis Covington was telling his audience much easier than David Egger’s accounts.
ReplyDeleteBecause Salvation on Sand Mountain told the story of a small subculture, it was easy for the reader to examine everything and everyone that was being observed. There was a small church with a small group of people and therefore the reader did not need any background information or extra observations to really understand what the author was experiencing. When more information was needed, such as in describing the two different sides to the Summerford case, enough was given.
Zeitoun, on the other hand, was a story told from the point of view of one small man during a large catastrophe involving thousands of people. It was hard for me to believe everything Zeitoun commented about and every conclusion he came to. For example, when the soldiers were unable to come and rescue the old couple Zeitoun found needing help, Zeitoun wrote them off as being liars. How can we believe his theory when not only do the readers not know the whole story, but Zeitoun himself does not really know anything about what’s going on either? Why should we agree with Zeitoun that Jerry was a man planted into the same jail cell in order to assess the Muslim characters just because he was not seen by Zeitoun a few days later?
Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun both deal with sensitive topics dealing with religion, judgments, politics, and civil rights. Despite the two stories having similar topics, however, the two drastically different scenarios gave me an easy time believing one protagonist, and a very hard time jumping to the same conclusions with the other.
Among the differences and similarities between Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain, a difference is what is required of the main characters. Each main character tries to assimilate himself in a new culture. The difference lies in the fact that Zeitoun is not required to change his ways, while Dennis Covington is.
ReplyDeleteAbdulrahman Zeitoun moves to the United States as a Syrian and a Muslim. While Zeitoun's connections and lifestyle remain primarily Muslim, he is able to run a successful business and is a widely accepted member of the society of New Orleans, without having to hide the fact that he is "different" from the majority of his city. This differs from Covington's Salvation on Sand Mountain.
Dennis Covington finds himself in the midst of a snake handling community. He, like Zeitoun, is an outsider in a new world. However unlike Zeitoun, Covington must change, or at least mask, his beliefs in order to be accepted into the church about which he is trying to learn and to get close enough to the members to find out what he needs to know.
Through these story's similarities, the fact that each character must enter a new culture, their differences are highlighted through the way each man has to go about entering these new worlds.
Both Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain tell of the journeys of two men as they enter into new lives. Zeitoun and Dennis Covington both willingly enter into these lives and experience similar processes as they are absorbed into new cultures. However, the difference in their stories arises as they conclude their journeys and return back to their old existences.
ReplyDeleteThe similarities in Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain can be seen as two men are absorbed into new worlds (Louisiana post Katrina and snake handling churches) with senses of purpose. Zeitoun willingly stays behind through Hurricane Katrina in order to protect his family’s property and business, and Covington throws himself into the world of snake handling to investigate a different religion. Throughout their journeys, each man leans something new whether it is about religion or the ability to help others. However, Zeitoun and Covington must both suffer in one way or another. Zeitoun is arrested by the police in the chaotic and almost savage New Orleans. Covington is looked upon as an outsider at one service by Brother Carl, and he and his photographers are called out during a sermon. Each of these two experiences affects these men by causing them to return to their old lives, and thus ending Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain.
As the books end, the authors discuss Zeitoun and Covington’s final emotions. Zeitoun’s story is never completely resolved. The story closes without the knowledge of why Zeitoun was treated so severely, and Zeitoun receives no justice. More religiously, Zeitoun still does not completely understand why he went through that experience, although he can make general assumptions: “…perhaps God, by allowing him to be jailed, saved [me] from something worse” (322). Completely unlike Zeitoun, Salvation on Sand Mountain ends with understanding. Covington leaned of his family’s past and how he had roots in the Appalachians with the snake handlers. He was, unlike Zeitoun, able to feel closure at the end of his journey into the snake handling churches of Sand Mountain: “…but we wouldn’t have known how the story would end. And stories have to end. Endings are the most important part of stories” (238-239).
Both books tell of the interesting and trialing stories of two protagonists as they are immersed in new cultures. The endings are what make the books so interesting and give the reader more understanding of each situation: the complicated and confusing story of Zeitoun and the closure one man feels after searching for God and his past.
The focus of Salvation of Sand Mountain, by Dennis Covington, and Zeitoun, by David Eggers, is religion. Both books used religions that are not commonly understood or accepted by the average American. Salvation on Sand Mountain focused on snake handlers and their belief that if they are faithful to God they won't be killed by snakes or poison. On the other hand, Zeitoun focused on Islam and the Koran. Both of these religions are not usually understood by others and the practitioners must often deal with prejudice from one group or another.
ReplyDeleteFrom both of these books we see that people who practice these religions are misunderstood. The snake handlers can be just as scared of snakes as any other human being. However, they take a more strict interpretation of the Bible and follow, what they see as, orders from God to take up snakes. In Zeitoun, the Muslims are shown to be following orders from God and pray 5 times a day, even during the work day. Unfortunately, all people see are the differences between themselves and these "outsiders," they don't see that Muslims believe in the New and Old Testament, or that Allah is just another name for God. People are so blinded by the differences, that they don't see the fundamental similarities of these religions.
Another interesting comparison between the two books are the viewpoints of Dennis Covington and Kathy Zeitoun. They were not born into their adopted religions, in fact they were both raised in a Christian community. Mr. Covington was lucky because he had a wife, children, and editor who encouraged him to look deeper into the peculiar way of life he had stumbled upon, while Kathy's family constantly tried to have her denounce Islam. However, Kathy seemed to be readily accepted by other Muslims, like the woman in the grocery store; while Covington met with prejudice from people, like Brother Carl, from within the snake handling church. Unfortunately, prejudice seems to always exist when multiple faiths are involved.
There are many similarities between snake handlers, Christians, and Muslims. For example, they all believe in the Old and New Testament. However, how strict they are about handling snakes or believing in other prophets, such as Mohammed, varies from group to group and person to person. Zeitoun and Salvation on Sand Mountain analyze reactions of people to religions that are not their own.
I never thought after reading a book about snake handling, which seems so strange and like it would never coincide with christianity, that afterwards i found myself, like Booey, believing what the author said. In the scene where Dennis takes up the serpant, i was so relieved to get the inside scoop on what it was actually like. The idea of it seems so odd that you could almost be transported to another place. I've always had trouble imagining what it's like for people who speak in tongues and feel called by the Holy Spirit, but the way he described it seemed so vivid as everything slowly faded away, as he was left in a white "cloud".
ReplyDeleteZeitoun had the same vivid descriptions just not as personal. When describing how he was treated at his first prison outside the bus station, I could sense it, and hear the other's yelling as they were sprayed by the guards.
Salvation on Sand Mountain definetly felt more personal, and the fact that it was literally "close to home" as it mentioned chattanooga a number of times added to that. But with Zeiton, I was glad to get a personal experience that was totally believable because of all the detail and feelings expressed in such a large event like Katrina where we had heard so much about the damage, but hadn't heard so many personal accounts, such as this.
In both Salvation on Sand Mountain, by Dennis Covington, and Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, there is at least one character who undergoes a conversion to a new faith. Kathy Zeitoun is that character in Zeitoun. She decides to change from her family's traditional Christian ways to become a Muslim. Covington is that character in Salvation on Sand Mountain, although his conversion is not as drastic considering he was still part of the Christian faith. However, the similarity between these two conversions is that both of these characters were able to convert by use of people of that faith who were welcoming to them.
ReplyDeleteFor Kathy Zeitoun, her mother and siblings did not approve of her change in religions. If not for Yuko, one of her best friends, she would have most likely felt more alone in her conversion, and might have never gone through with it with as much ease. Yuko, who was also a converted Muslim, was able to be there for Kathy in ways that no one else could, especially when Kathy had to deal with the downsides of changing faith. If not for Yuko, Kathy may have never even learned so much about this new religion she wanted to be a part of, or have been able to convert at all.
Like Kathy, Dennis Covington's family also did not immediately support his decision to experiment with a new faith. His wife, for example, is skeptical of this new church he attends. However, while Kathy has one friend to help her through this, Covington has an entire church who, for the most part, is supportive of him. In particular, Brother Carl Porter plays a large role in Covington's conversion. As Porter and Covington begin to form a close relationship with one another, Covington begins to open up to Porter, and feels he can talk to him about this possible conversion he is coming upon. However, because of opposing views of women between Covington and Porter, Porter is also one of the reasons Dennis chooses to leave the church.
Although Carl is a cause of Dennis leaving that faith, while Yuko did nothing of the sort to Kathy, these characters both had a great influence on their friend by helping them convert. Without these characters to help Kathy and Dennis along the path of their faith, their paths could have been extremely different.
The main focus of both Zeitoun, by David Eggers, and Salvation on Sand mountain, by Dennis Covington is religion and trying to give others a taste of their submersion into a culture different than their own. While both of these religions are different, they also have many similarities to the classic Christian American's own religion. However, many people without knowing about them, would never know that both of these religions simply take the testaments in a different light than others, but both fundamentally believe the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought that snake handling and speaking in tongues was such a strange thing. Without reading this book, I would have never known that snake handlers don't believe that much different than the average Christian. They simply show their devotion to God a different way than most and take the Bible more literally than some other branches of Christianity. I also never knew, even though I feel terrible to say this, that Muslims believe in both testaments of the Bible. So a main similarity of both books, would be that they both focus on a type of religion that English speaking, American people are not particularly comfortable with, yet they both explain how they are actually not all that mysterious and far-fetched as originally though.
Like Natalie, I also noticed that the two people that converted their faith did so partially because of the open, welcoming way they were accepted into their religions. Dennis was invited back to the snake handling church after his first visit as a journalist, invited up to the church in Virginia, and even eventually asked to take up a snake. Even though the snake handling churches were strict on their rules, they were very accepting of new-comers and made him feel welcome. Kathy, even though her family did not agree with her conversion, was held through by a supporting member of the faith, Yuko.
Although there are many differences between the protagonists in Salvation on Sand Mountain, by Dennis Covington, and Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (such as different religions, circumstances, and time periods), the personalities of Dennis and Zeitoun are strikingly similar. Both characters choose to face dangerous obstacles that are placed before them. They both are brave and find satisfaction, or even a sense of belonging, by taking different types of risks.
ReplyDeleteZeitoun finds his sense of belonging in pleasing God, whether it be by praying five times a day or putting his life in danger in order to help those in need. He finds satisfaction in staying home during and after the storm, because he feels it is God's plan for him to help the city. Even though there are gangs roaming all around, Zeitoun still goes out and searches for anyone that needs help. He sees his ability to feed the dogs and rescue trapped citizens as opportunities to fulfill the duties that God has put out in front of him. It can be concluded that Zeitoun feels more spiritually enlightened by helping the helpless in New Orleans.
In Salvation on Sand Mountain, Dennis knows that he has a unusual attraction to snake-handling Churches. Ever since he had to cover Glenn Summerford's trial, he keeps returning to the Church to see more snake-handling services. He definitely crawls out of his comfort zone by attending these services and eventually handling a snake. For Dennis, he finds satisfaction in these risks because he feels a sense of connection between him and the art of snake-handling, especially after he discovers his family history this practice.
Both Zeitoun and Dennis overcome many tough circumstances with fearlessness. By encountering these dangerous obstacles, both characters find a strange sort of satisfaction and a sense belonging in their lives.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and Salvation on Sand Mountain by Dennis Covington are posses very different qualities which are displayed through each author's own unique style of writing.
ReplyDeleteSalvation on Sand Mountain consists of more facts and statistics. For example, Convington continuously reports facts about snakehandlers in general. He reports where the snakehandlers came from and what they were in search of. Convington writes his story in the style of a reporter, so he tends to use more in depth details and great sensory details to help the reader imagine what he is seeing.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers is a story of family during Hurricane Katrina. Eggers tends to just tell the story of what the family goes through, but there isn't as much vivid description. Eggers does convey the intense emotions his characters feel though. I was able to imagine Kathy pacing and constantly worrying about her husband while he was missing and Zeitoun's deep sorrow for the people after Hurricane Katrina. Eggers successfully appealed to the emotions of his audience.
Another difference between the two styles of writing is, the author, Covington, is included in Salvation on Sand Mountain, while Eggers is not included in Zeitoun.
Covington's account of snake handling churches is relayed to the audience through his own experiences within the church. For example, I was only fully able to grasp the feeling the snake handlers experienced when they took up serpents when Covington described his own encounter with handling snakes for the first time. He used his own personal experiences and stories to help the reader understand the intensity of the subject he was writing on.
Eggers did not include anything about himself in Zeitoun because it did not involve him at all. He was writing a story on an experience which he was not personally a part of, so he had no reason to included himself in his work, but he was able to accurately convey the power of the damage after Hurricane Katrina through Zeitoun's perspective.
Although Zeitoun and Salvation are very different, they do posses similar qualities. Each book provides the reader with a look into the lives of the characters and appeals to the emotions of the readers through sensory details. These two books are alike in subject also. I hadn't even thought about how the two books both posses religion as a main focus, but after reading Morgan's comment I began to realize that both books did center around religions and practices that were outside the normal realm of christianity that we have come to accept in American society today. Both books were able to take a religion which is misunderstood and help unravel the truth about each. By providing the reader with a general understanding of each religion, any possible preconceived prejudices or misunderstandings of Islam and snake handling practices are quickly able to fade into the background as the reader yearns for more understanding.
In both Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun the core idea conveyed in both stories was the conflict the main character faces due to religion. Even though the characters do experience conflict and hardship because of their religion, at some point during the story they begin to feel what they consider at the time to be a calling from God to do something greater, but in the end they begin to question whether God was truly calling them.
ReplyDeleteIn Salvation on Sand Mountain, Dennis Covington at first believes he is simply covering the snake handling churches from a journalistic standpoint, but the longer he spends in the churches and the more research he does, even as far as to find that his ancestors were snake handlers as well, he feels drawn into the church. He experiences what he deems to be the calling of God into the church and goes as far as bring his family to the church and even handling snakes himself. Toward the end, however, he discounts this idea and decides that although it was in his family’s history, he would never truly belong in the community of snake handlers.
In Zeitoun, after remaining in New Orleans during Katrina, Abdulrahman Zeitoun faces the aftermath of this natural disaster. With so much devastation and so many people in need, Zeitoun feels as if he was called by God to stay and help. Handing out water and food from his little tin canoe and even feeding some trapped neighborhood dogs, he feels like he was given a mission by God to aid the needy who remained in his city. Ultimately he is wrongfully arrested and in jail becomes uncertain of whether he was called by God to stay. He feels as if the little help he did give while he remained in New Orleans was worth the suffering it caused his family through not knowing where he was.
Although both protagonists at one point believed that they were given a divine purpose, both had a change of opinion when they faced hardship which questioned their belief.
Both Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun seem to be written to directly challenge the beliefs of the reader. Each novel calls into question mainstream ideas through the experiences of the main characters.
ReplyDeleteIn Salvation on Sand Mountain traditional religious practices are rivaled by the snake handling practices of the residents of east Tennessee. The handlers believe the presence of the Holy Ghost within them allows them to handle the snakes without being bit. A journalist, Dennis, enters the church and tells his personal story of handling snakes. By reading his encounters the reader gets a real glimpse into the faith and for a while it seems to truly be the presence of the Holy Ghost that allows the handling to occur. This causes the reader to question his or her faith and the validity of the faith in question.
In Zeitoun, as an arab man is unlawfully imprisoned during a natural disaster, opinions concerning our country's fairness towards people of different ethnicities are questioned. The story is told through Zeitoun's eyes and gives his personal account of the horrors of the system. The reader has no choice but to think of his or her view on the United States judicial system.
While one may find entirely different things from these books, they are each meant to provoke thought on the subject through a character who is not accustomed to it.
Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun were both very compelling summer reading books that address two different tales of men and their religious struggles and how thier lives were changed because of them.
ReplyDeleteDennis Covington, the author and main character of Salvation on Sand Mountain, emersed himself into the lifestyle of snakehandling in the South. On the other hand, Abdulrahman Zeitoun was thrust into a world of complete chaos after hurricane Katrina. Having the choice wether to experience these things changes what the characters take from their experiences. Dennis Covington views his time on Sand Mountain as a learning experience that he could control. Zeitoun was forced into his experices and what he took from those tragic events were not in his hands.
The readers reaction to each of these stories are different. Reading Salvation on Sand Mountain can open many peoples eyes to what lies right in their backyard and can sometimes be quite surprising to some who knew nothing of the sort actually happened in the United States. In Zeitoun, frustration is most likely the readers first reaction. An American citzen of Syrain decent, Zeitoun is accused of being Al Qaeda and spends weeks in jail without contact with his family.
Salvation on Sand Mountain ends with Dennis's decision to leave the practice of snake handling. He took as much as he wanted to from his time with them and left with greater knowlege of the power of faith. Zeitoun, on the other hand, was a changed man. He was hurt and broken down. He lived with the bare minimun and encounted first hand the chaos and calamity of a nation in panic and how it affected him.
Dennis Covington, in Salvation on Sand Mountain, and Dave Eggers, in Zeitoun, both shed light over two very different subjects. In Zeitoun, Eggers manages to fully display the effects of Hurricane Katrina, while in Salvation on Sand Mountain, Covington journeys into the mysterious world of snake handling. These subjects were both very unknown to most readers, but each author similarly mastered his subject.
ReplyDeleteJust as each author masterfully shed light on his subjects and allowed readers to fully comprehend the issues at hand, each book contained characters who were submerged under their own conflicting religious beliefs. In Salvation on Sand Mountain, Dennis Covington did not fully understand the practice of snake handling but still entered churches where snakes were being handled. At first, he was slightly uncomfortable with his surroundings and never knew if he wanted to handle a snake himself. By the end of the novel, he had successfully handled a snake after he had come to a realization that it was something he wanted to do. In Zeitoun, there were also religious conflicts. Zeitoun is an Islam man who is arrested strictly because of other people's assumptions that he could be Al Qaeda due to his Middle Eastern looks. He prays everyday because he is so conflicted yet faithful to his religion and realizes that a day would probably come during the hurricane when he would be arrested due to his looks. Although he is finally released from jail, he remains faithful to his religion. Each character really struggled because of religions that were prevalent in their lives.
Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun are both two books that do an excellent job of portraying religious struggles within two very different characters. After reading these two books, I felt like I had been submerged within new realms of understanding about Hurricane Katrina and snake handling.
A similarity between Dave Egger's Zeitoun and Dennis Covington's Salvation on Sand Mountain is the experience of being a religious outcast. Zeitoun is a Muslim trying to live, work, and raise a family in Christian New Orleans, while Dennis Covington is a journalist trying to uncover the truth behind snake-handling churches on Sand Mountain.
ReplyDeleteZeitoun's struggle as an outcast is seen through his life in New Orleans before and after Huricane Katrina. Zeitoun and his wife Kathy own a successful painting business in New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina, Zeitoun's religion turns him into an outcast through prospective customers who choose not to use his painting company because of his last name. Dave Eggers says of these lost jobs "It was rare, but not rare enough." However, after Hurricane Katrina, Zeitoun's religion makes him even more of an outcast. As he is helping the survivors of the hurricane, he is caught by National Guardsmen and, because of his appearance and religion, assumed to be a member of Al Quaeda and put in jail. Zeitoun's wife Kathy, a Muslim convert, also faces intolerance from her Christian family over her conversion. Her mother will not allow Zeitoun's second cousin, Adnan, and his pregnant wife to stay at her house, though there is room, because of their religion. Zeitoun and Kathy keep their faith through the hurricane and its resulting destruction, and are able to recuperate from the damage done.
Dennis Covington faces a similar situation in Salvation on Sand Mountain. He is sent to investigate the churches in Sand Mountain, Alabama, with little prior knowledge. The churches on Sand Mountain are very different from any Covington has previously experienced because they are snake-handling churches. At the beginning of his account, Covington is originally an outcast because he is an outsider. As he learns more about the church and the thought behind the snake handling, he understands why the people of Sand Mountain worhsip the way they do. Covington chooses to embrace the idea of snake-handling rather than reject it, and when Covington finally handles a snake, he understands the feeling of power and faith that the snake-handlers feel.
Though Zeitoun and Covington were put into their situations in different ways, they were both able to gain from their situations. Zeitoun's experiences made him trust more in his religion, while Covington's made him think more about different Christian beliefs.
Both Salvation on Sand Mountain and Zeitoun seem to be written to directly challenge the beliefs of the reader. Each novel calls into question mainstream ideas through the experiences of the main characters.
ReplyDeleteIn Salvation on Sand Mountain traditional religious practices are rivaled by the snake handling practices of the residents of east Tennessee. The handlers believe the presence of the Holy Ghost within them allows them to handle the snakes without being bit. A journalist, Dennis, enters the church and tells his personal story of handling snakes. By reading his encounters the reader gets a real glimpse into the faith and for a while it seems to truly be the presence of the Holy Ghost that allows the handling to occur. This causes the reader to question his or her faith and the validity of the faith in question.
In Zeitoun, as an arab man is unlawfully imprisoned during a natural disaster, opinions concerning our country's fairness towards people of different ethnicities are questioned. The story is told through Zeitoun's eyes and gives his personal account of the horrors of the system. The reader has no choice but to think of his or her view on the United States judicial system.
While one may find entirely different things from these books, they are each meant to provoke thought on the subject through a character who is not accustomed to it.