Critical Book Essay: "Rachel's Tears" by Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott :)

Rachel’s Tears is a biography of 17-year old student Rachel Joy Scott, a girl who was brutally murdered for her faith in Christ at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on Tuesday, April 20, 1999. Told by Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott, Rachel’s parents, this book gives readers a look into the normal, yet not-so-average life, of Rachel Scott. While this book has a sad tone to it, it is poignant and moves the reader as they become more “acquainted” with the person of Rachel Scott. While she is most known around the world for her stand for Christ that she had taken before the gunmen who would take her life, Rachel was extraordinary in that she stood for Christ throughout her everyday life. Rachel’s Tears is a well-written book, filled with stories of fond memories of Rachel written by her family members and friends, journal entries by Rachel, and some of Rachel’s artwork that she had created.

“I am not going to apologize for speaking the Name of Jesus, I am not going to justify my faith to them, and I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything...I will.” These are words from a letter that she had written to a friend of hers exactly one year before her untimely death. Rachel’s passion for Jesus was evident in her life. She would go out of her way to help people and she would befriend the “loners” at her school. She believed in starting a “chain reaction” of kindness and compassion. Even after her death, her family founded a non-profit organization called Rachel’s Challenge, which has continued to spread Rachel’s message of hope and love to others.

“People listened and understood Rachel because she was very real with people about her Christianity. She was real about her relationship with God, and it impacted people in tremendous ways because they knew she was speaking from her heart. She communicated her concerns, her questions, and her triumphs of serving a living God...She spoke in a language of honesty that anyone could interpret as real,” Dana (Scott) Bollwerk recalls of her sister. This is just one of many stories about Rachel that are found throughout the pages of this amazing biography. “I will not be labeled as average”—these words described Rachel perfectly, and were written on the front of Rachel’s journal, the same journal that had been in Rachel’s backpack, and had been penetrated by a bullet from one of Rachel’s murderers. “He gave his life for me, so I will give my life to Him: JESUS CHRIST”—this was written on the border of one of Rachel’s art projects for school, and reflected the young woman’s deep faith.

The memories of Rachel told by her family and friends, her own journal entries, and her artwork that saturate this lovely biography--together these are perfect for an inspiring read. Once finished reading this story, you will not be the same. This book will, no doubt, continue to impact people and encourage them to reach out, just like Rachel did...like Jesus did.

Criticism of Ernest Hemingway's Article "Old Constan"

The Toronto Daily Star's October 28, 1922 article featuring "Old Constan" penned by the late Ernest Hemingway, an author from the "Lost Generation," was designed with the intention of acquainting the reader with the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of early twentieth-century Turkey. Hemingway described the always-bustling city of Constantinople(now the modern-day capital Istanbul) with such particulars that made even the most commonplace sights something of a foreign enigma to be eagerly decoded by the interested reader. Of the East, he depicted both the charm, as well as the harsh realities that were familiar to the area post-World War I.

"In the morning when you wake and see a mist over the Golden Horn with the minarets rising out of it slim and clean towards the sun and muezzin calling the faithful to prayer in a voice that soars and dips like an aria from a Russian opera, you have the magic of the East...," began his vibrant report on "Constan," as the locals fondly then referred to Constantinople. This journalistic piece's descriptions have kept my attention and also have inspired me to one day see some of the awesome sights that Hemingway glimpsed during his time in Turkey.

Hemingway wrote this piece in the first-person form(in present times this is usually discouraged), filling it with vivid imagery of Turkey during the early 1920s. If only there were more reports with such descriptions as these in the newspapers today--perhaps the reader would then feel as if he were actually alongside the reporter, encountering the sights and sounds of the destinations that are novel to his present experiences thus far, instead of simply dismissing the current events happening across the globe as matters that should not concern him; since, he does not, at present, reside there.

While enjoying a number of his lovely descriptions of "Constan," I noted that certain sadness seemed to linger on even after I was finished consuming all of the information in this piece. It seems that he, in my opinion, although justly describing the harsh realities of life post-World War I, continued to paint to a superfluous degree a rather hopeless, pessimistic view of everyday life in Turkey and of life in general.

While I do not argue that his writing career had some fine points in it, I, being an ardent reader, was disappointed by his overall gloomy approach to the topic. While this article was indeed a form of journalism, I would refrain from calling it truly "great."