1 Corinthians 13: 1 & 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

13 January 2011

Book Report:The street lawyer (4B Chan Ka Yan)

Book: The street lawyer
Publisher: Penguin Books
Writer: John Grisham
Student name: Chan Ka Yan (4B)

Story / Plot:
Michael works for Drake and Sweeney as a lawyer and he earns lots of money. One day, a homeless man, Mister, goes to Drake and Sweeney because of an eviction. He attacks Michael, but Mister is shot by the policeman and is dead. Michael tries to discover who this man is, but he discovers a secret about Drake and Sweeney. The eviction is illegal and it leads to the deaths of Lonatae Burton and her children. At least, Michael’s life has changed. He is still a lawyer, but a lawyer for the homeless.

Setting / Blackground:
There are 400 lawyers working for Drake & Sweeney and they are paid an unbelievable amount of money. Although the lawyers earn a lot, they do not even help poor people. The cost for their lunch can feed a hundred of homeless people with soup, and Mister becomes homeless because of Drake & Sweeney’s eviction. That’s why Mister attacks the lawyers of D& S.

The main male character/ hero is called Michael
Short description of his appearance, personality etc: Michael is a rich lawyer. He has a wife called Claire, who is a doctor. Since both of them are very busy, it causes the end of their marriage. After their divorce, he meets Megan, who works for the homeless and it changes his life.

My favourite character is Michael
Reasons: At the beginning, Michael is not a good or kind person. He only cares about money and ignores his wife. But after the attack of Mister, he tries to know more about the homeless people. He tries to change himself from a person who is against homeless people to the one who helps them. I like him because he become a kind person. Although all of us are not perfect, we should change ourselves and try our best to achieve perfection

The most impressive episode/ scene is the march to the government buildings.
Reason(s) why impresses me:
Lonatae Burton has three children, Alenzo, Untario and the baby Temeko. They were homeless. In a cold night, they sleep in a car and Lontae Burton starts the engine of the old car to keep themselves warm. The air in the car poisoned them and they all die. After their funeral, there is a march to Capitol Hill for Burton family. It impresses me because the homeless people are very poor, but they unite together and march for Burton family. Their kindness really impresses me. I wonder why rich people in the story can’t do that or help the homeless people.

Comments / Reflections:
From the story, I can learn money is not everything. Michael has lots of money, but he is not happy and his marriage is not good. Later, when Michael begins to help homeless people, he becomes happier. To sum up, we will be happy when we always help people. Also, it’s important to talk with our families, friends regularly so that they can know more about each other and there will not be any misunderstanding.