Undaunted is a thought provoking novel. It brings up question, about life. That, no man can equivocate. Throughout the novel, the author (Zoya Phan), goes through suffering, that other people don’t have to go through, simply because she was born in a situation where she had to run, and be in constant fear of the government. “I had been a Karen and had faced fear, persecution, and oppression. By accident of their birth, those students at the St. Theresa  Institute of Technology had never faced one fraction of the hardship that we Karen had experienced.” (Phan pg 187)…………..

This statement really questions the attitude people have about themselves being entitled to a great education, and other things simply because they are part of a certain family or have a certain amount of money, or live in a certain country. Because, if a person sees themselves as better than a person who has not had the same opportunities in education and other things, then that person is only thinking about how the other person should’ve just been able to rise up against war, and famine, and no education in their country, and somehow become successful. While this happens for some people, in war torn country’s like Zoya’s Burma, right now it is very improbable for the lots of Burmese people to get a higher education, and be successful like Zoya because of the situation in Burma and in Thailand’s refugee camps. In Thailand’s refugee camps, there are thousands of “ghost refugees”, of which Zoya was one. “Ghost refugees” are refugees in Thailand from Burma who are in Thailand but trapped in the refugee camps. They’re “ghost” because they are not officially refugees in Thailand, and have no way to become citizens of Thailand, so technically they don’t exist in Thailand. This novel was a great novel because it was sad, thought provoking, enlightening, angering, and inspiring. It was sad because of the things Zoya went through, and the things she saw. For instance, when she went back to Burma after living in the UK, and saw the same things that had happened to her happening to children, the same age as she was. These children were starving, had become orphans, and were in constant fear of the Burmese government the same way Zoya was when she was a child. I learned so much from this book, that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. People in Burma have been suffering like this since the early 80’s and had almost no idea, that has made me want to help donate some things I have to the Phan foundation, and other groups to help Burma.

Undaunted by Zoya Phan’s is an autobiography about Phan’s life in Burma, her childhood in a halcyon village secluded from Burma’s military-government, and her eventual immigration to Britain. I’ve been able to learn some things from the book just from it’s cover, structure and opening pages. The book cover shows a picture of Phan as a child who’s eyes are fixed in a smile, but her eyes and the rest of her face show pain as if she is hiding pain within herself. I deduct from the first twenty pages that because of this photo the rest of the book will be about Phan’s struggle with the pain that she seems to be holding in in the picture, and the pain that she carries for the plight of her people, the Karens. I got the insight about the pain Phan holds for her people because she discussed this in the introduction. “Millions (of my people) have been forced to flee their home.”(pg XV )

The first photo in the book (19) shows Zoya’s family.The picture shows no one smiling except two of Phan’s siblings. I think most of the family does not smile in the picture because Phan wants to reveal with this picture, how many hardships her family had to go through simply because they are Karen. Also, how they had to go to such a secluded place -hence the trees, and nature like setting of  Phan’s home,just so Phan and her family could be safe. Phan calls it a “tranquil paradise” (23).

The book begins with Phan talking about her parents life as Karen,and their life as soliders in the Karen National Union. The KNU is a nationalist group that fights against the astringent Burmese dicatorship.(pg 3)

Phan then talks about the modicum attention other countries worldwide pay to Burma by the media. I can identify with Phan’s frustration of the media virtually ignoring Burma’s struggle because I have seen a type of devestation that the media ignored in Africa. Kibera; the largest slum in Africa located in Kenya, millions of people living without electricity and clean water. When I saw this I thought how could anyone ignore this, much the same as how Phan saw atroctices commited against her people and then thought how could anyone ignore this. The only thing I knew about Burma before starting this book was that they became independent of British India in 1948, proving Phan’s point that the political turmoil in Burma has been largely ignored by people. “More villages have been destroyed in Burma than in Darfur in Sudan, but the world has seemed content to ignore our suffering.”(intro XV) This book has taught me how uninformed I am about Burma, and also about the some of the suffering  people face in this country.

I chose health care because this topic is very important to me. One of my family members was very sick once, and couldn’t go to the doctor’s office because they couldn’t pay for the hospital bill. That is the first time health care became important to me. On a larger scale, people die in America sometimes only because they do not have healthcare. Elsewhere this would not be true. Honestly, I think that taxes should be raised a little bit so the government can pay for health care for all citizens of the U.S. I also think more money should be focused on healthcare because two much money is spent on other things that could go towards health care. My satirical argument is saying that healthcare should be based on how much money you have, and if you don’t have enough money you should have to do crazy things like hold up a Blue Cross/Blue Shield place, so you can get medical care. The type of person who would read my article would be a person who believes everyone should have healthcare paid by the government. I chose an article format simply because I wanted to make fun of people who say you should be able to get better healthcare then someone else because you have money to pay for it. I have seen articles saying that the public option is evil because it is a socialist ideology. I satirized the issue by showing that people don’t look at statistics when they say they don’t want the public option. I feel as if they ignore the statistisics simply because they don’t want to have anything to do with socialism, and I think that’s foolish, as I showed in my article.

I used Onomatopoeia by saying Roar about the American healthcare system. I used an understatement when I said America’s health care is better than every third world countries, when really the survey said that America is last in terms of healthcare in industrialized countries. Lastly, I used a hyperbole, when Jane Rowley said she hadn’t had healthcare since Joe Biden was five years old.

  "I’ve never had healthcare,” said Jane Rowley. “I’m pretty sure I haven’t had it sense Joe Biden was five years old, and I’m only forty, but it doesn’t matter that I don’t have no health care because I’ve got commercials on TV. about ways I can get health care. For example: begging in the streets, being a hustler (aka slanging some rocks) robbing an old lady, yes the list goes on and on but paying for it is not on the list because no one can unless their name is Bill Gates.” Next the Daily Gazette talked to another citizen, about how he gets health care, he says that he doesn’t want to reveal his whole name, because some of the things he does to get health care are extra shady, and occasionally illegal. “I needed a tonsil replacement, so me and a couple of my guys held up Blue Cross/Blue Shield until they gave me a tonsil replacement.” “The trick to getting health care is to take it from different places, so you know one day me and my boys will take from Kaiser Permante, then the next day, Children’s Care of Atlanta. You got keep your priorities man. When you’re doing this type of thing, you got to keep variety.   If health cares going to stay as high as it is now, then I’ll keep stealing from these rich people who have as much health care as they want. Some people think of me as a thief, but how could someone doing so much to get free health care for himself and others be a thief. I’m a Robin Hood of sorts, if anything the health care companies will thank me as soon as they realize how much better it would be if everyone in America could afford health care.”

Now we will bring you to Joe, a wealthy person who has no problem paying for health care. “You know, America’s the only industrialized nation that does not ensure that all its citizens have coverage. That’s unfortunate, but what can I do about it, it does not matter because I can’t do anything about it, it does not concern me. Also, not many people don’t have health care, and if they don’t its their problem. I’m here to suck up all the health care so no one else can get, it’s the American way. In quality of health care, they say that the U.S. is better than all third world countries, so what does it matter what the British and all those other industrialized countries say about the U.S.? Capitalism’s medical system is obviously better than socialized medicine. I mean look at the numbers, sixteen percent of people in America have no health care, and about five percent in Germany don’t have healthcare. Roar, screams Americas health care system, outraged at all of those who doubt it.  Americas health care system is obviously the best. Plus, look at me, I’m living it up and I have health care therefore I conclude that high health care costs are good for my pocketbook and everyone else’s.” Thank for your well thought out opinion Joe. I want all of you out there reading this to know that Joe is right, and America’s health care system is the best, despite what numbers tell you. Thank you and good day.