Zafra 1
Jackie Zafra
Mrs. Thomas
English 1H
2/15/2011
Non-Fiction Essay
Non-fiction writing is realistic and true. The subject matter is about a person, place
or thing. Non-fiction writing talks about events that actually happened, real places and
real people. In order to analyze and understand non-fiction, one should be able to identify
and define bias which is when an author gives a one sided view on a topic, tone which is
the author’s attitude toward a subject, style which is the way an author uses language,
perspective which is the point of view and the author’s purpose which is why someone
writes something. Some types of non-fiction are biographies, autobiographies, news
articles, textbooks and stories about historical events. Some non-fiction examples I have
read are: “The Sacred Grove of Oshogbo” by Jeffrey Tayler, “I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings” by Mayo Angelon, “Advice to Youth” by Mark Twain, “Carry Your Own
Skis” by Lina Dolan, “The Ignored Lesson of Anne Frank” by Bruno Bettelheim, “Is
Hunting Ethical?” by Ann Causey, and “E-mail About Book Questioning the Holocaust
Shakes a School” by Frenando Santos. The Pact is non-fiction because it tells of the life
of 3 doctors. This book was intended for boys that are having a hard time in their
environment and are struggling to succeed. There are many different tones in this book,
some of which are regretful, emotional, heartfelt, scared, hopeful, inspiring, funny and
motivational. The purpose of this was to persuade teens and others to choose a better
path.
The Pact starts out with a background of the three doctor’s lives as children and
their families. The doctor’s names are Sam, George and Rameck.They had struggles in
their daily lives with drugs and gang violence. At an early age they decided not to be a
part of any of that. As they got older, Sam and George had been together in junior high
and met Rameck in high school. George had always wanted to be a dentist so he
persuaded his other three friends to go to college and become doctors too. After a
presentation from a lady from Seton Hall, George began planning for college and his
friends followed his lead. They had to take summer remediation before attending college
in order to be at the same level as their fellow college students. Sam, George and Rameck
completed this and did well in their four years of college. Sam and Rameck were
accepted into the same medical school their senior year of high school. George was left
out but not forgotten as he attended dental school near his hometown. All three of them
graduated and found their place in medicine and dentistry, they overcame the struggles
along the way and remained on top of all the negative peer pressure although two of the
doctors did spend time in a Juvenile Detention Center; the charges were dropped.
In general I liked this book, it had a lot of good advice on how to deal with
academic and life problems. It showed how anyone can prevail in an environment that is
less than what is expected. The Pact also demonstrates determination and the power of
friendship. I would recommend this book to anyone, it is very inspirational and portrays
the lives of these doctors the way they actually were, no glamour. I enjoyed reading this
book.