Caitlyn's response to Patrick's Second Reader Response

Dear Patrick,
      I share the same feelings about the mood throughout the story. Also, in relation to the specific terms used, many different cultures use different things. In Italian culture, the word Nani means grandmother, which is what I used to use for my mother's mother. Also, according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/och, "Och" is a Scottish and Irish term used to show surprise, anger, or frustration. On the topic of racism, it is almost sad to see that this has been going on for centuries. I feel like racism is a way that people express their opinions. My Nani once taught me that there are times to express opinions and there are times where you should just keep quiet, and I feel like if everyone lived by that, there wouldn't be any sort of prejudice or racism in the world. In my opinion., the group that is judged the most is the African population. For centuries, they have been persecuted by the Caucasian group, when in reality, they have done nothing wrong. Also, with the schooling system in 1930's Ireland, there were no laws set against teacher brutality. The school system felt that physical punishment was the only way to reform young men to become better overall. I have read other novels that involve physical punishments in school, and back in those days, it was the only way to punish children. This was okay to them, even though we cringe at it today. Finally, as to the strictness level of parents, I feel like the parents need to enforce their rules, but they also need to be a little lenient so their children can learn from their mistakes. My mother, who I grew up with, was like this. She let me explore, but also held an iron grip on the rules.
                                                                                                Sincerely,
                                                                                                       Caitlyn