Our President Does Not Read- Phumelele Mothadi

The following is adapted from the Mothadi Dictionary

Jacob Zuma (noun)
Definition: A man with several counts of rape against him, despite his six wives and  twenty children. A polygamist. A man living under the scrutiny of over fifty million people.

How to use it in a sentence:
That bald man with a flashy car looks like such a Jacob Zuma!

After reading two articles about how the president of South Africa does not read, I found myself trying to understand what I personally took from the articles. Being a 14-year-old who believes that the answer to any question can be found in a book, a 14-year-old whose sole motivation are all the books I have not yet read, it is only expected for me to frown upon the fact that the man who is supposed to be intellectual royalty does not even read.

Though surprisingly, that is not how I felt at all, in fact being the self-confessed Ms Read-A-Lot that I am, I know that the power of the way you think after reading is not in your hands but rather in the hands of the author. Reading programmes your mind to think in a certain way, be it for two minutes or two decades. Believing that Jacob Zuma is an unfit president after reading article X that says so, is exactly what the author would like and believing that Jacob Zuma's reading should be left alone because there are bigger problems at hand after reading article Y that says so, is exactly what the author would like.

I personally think that the people of  South Africa are constantly hung up on the expectations that THEY THEMSELVES have set for their president that even a slight slip-up from him is a heart attack inducing apocalypse!!!

I SAY... LET'S (even for a moment) FOCUS ON THE SUSPICIOUSLY DROPPED RAPE CHARGES. LET'S FOCUS ON THE CORRUPTION. LETS FOCUS ON THE SECRECY BILL.

Zuma does not read and Choosing bad reasons to damn Zuma - Emma Oelschig

Reading this article, makes me think what this country is coming to. We started out with racist leaders, moved on to F.W de Klerk who helped one of the world's best leaders yet. Thabo Mbeki was next and is praised for the amount he read in this article. Thabo Mbeki is also criticized in this article because he read too much and didn't pay enough attention to advisory voices around him. Jacob Zuma is criticized for reading too little and not paying attention to advisory voices around him. What's next?

The second article criticizes Jacob Zuma for not reading. It also criticized journalists who were claiming that President Jacob Zuma didn't read. The journalists do not have sufficient evidence for the accusations that are aimed at our president.

Jacob Zuma Does Not Read- Pearl Donzwa

Zuma doesn't read- analyst (news 24)
Choosing bad reasons to damn Zuma (by Eusebius McKaiser, The Star Newspaper)

Jacob Zuma Does Not Read

Jacob Zuma is the star of controversial paintings, many Zapiro cartoons but most importantly the President of South Africa. He was elected as president in 2009. There has been a lot of discussion about how President Zuma does not read. I read 2 articles that spoke about the issue many South Africans have with President Zuma's minimal reading.

The first article highlighted that the problem many have is that the president of our country does not read. He doesn't read the things people feel a president of a country should. He doesn't read cabinet briefs and he doesn't read about important historic and political events like the French existentialism or even the details of Marxist debates. People feel that because of this Jacob Zuma embodies anti-intellectualism and disrespect from the citizens of the country he leads.

The second article was written by Eusebius Mckaiser. He brings to my attention that people choose the wrong reasons as to why Jacob Zuma is deemed a non-intellectual. Jacob's minimal reading is used as an excuse, due to lack of a better one, to why he isn't the right man for the job . I must admit that President Zuma is not among the best presidents that has lead South Africa. The fact that he doesn't sound or look like a person educated enough to run our country leads the mind into thinking that  he is stupid. And because critics need a reason for his 'stupidity' they conclude that it's because he doesn't read enough. Jacob Zuma hasn't given the world many reasons to think otherwise, but the world may have chosen the wrong reason to think that the president of this country is not fit for the job.

Our Leaders Aren't Readers - Julia Brown

Most South African citizens are aware of the media's profound interest in our current president, Jacob Zuma. Some of the latest headlines include: "Choosing Bad Reasons to Damn Zuma" and "Zuma does not read: analyst." This just shows how our country is divided in two due to whether you support Jacob Zuma or not.

The last article mentioned stated how, compared to past South African leaders, Zuma does not read enough, and he is therefore not as exposed to the world around us. The other retaliates by saying that Jacob Zuma recieves too much criticism and he should be amended for all the change he has implemented.

The ANC played a major role in creating a free South Africa, and many South Africans believe that the ANC should be kept in power as a sign of respect, whilst others believe that the ANC has played its role, and it is now time for a new party to take over.

Choosing bad reasons to damn Zuma Jessica Lobe

A Brief Synopsis Born in Nkandla, South Africa, on April 12, 1942, Jacob Zuma was elected president of South Africa in 2009. In 2007, he won the presidency of the African National Congress, which he joined at an early age in 1959. Zuma served as deputy president of South Africa from 1999 to 2005. He is a controversial politician, involving himself in several legal scandals associated with corruption and racketeering.

Zuma has put himself in a bad light once again in the public domain .I believe this is a huge problem for South Africa as a president that does not read cabinet documents by put Thabo Mbeki in a bad light by saying he over read in his term he serviced  but you cannot read to much as knowledge is uncapped  in the world  although he did not take peoples  opinions into consideration  he made good choices in his term and has brought South Africa in a good light to the rest  of Africa also implementing Sadeck . While Jacob Zuma has continuously putting South Africa  in a bad light  and not reading papers in cabinet cannot help himself or the country to improve economically or politically 

So I believe this is  a huge problem for himself and the country as a whole 

Zuma doesn't read- Chantel Olivier

These Zuma stories state that he does not read and is not clever. The stories are quite true and they are also written well but they are very harsh and quite pessimistic. I think Jacob Zuma doesn't use his punctuation correctly and he is not the best public speaker but I still think that we shouldn't be so harsh on him and maybe we should think about if we had to stand up in front of all those people and say a speech like Jacob Zuma, it isn't a very easy thing to do. I think that we are all very critical and maybe Jacob Zuma didn’t get the best education.

Chantel Olivier 9Z

Zuma does not read- by Emma Zyde

President Zuma, is the president of South Africa  and is leader of the ANC ( African National Congress). According to some people, President Zuma does not read, which is a major problem if true, as he is in charge of our country. While I was reading both of the articles we were given, I found out that they are both pessimistic articles. So, we did not really get another view.  We only got the negative side of the story so I find it kind of influences you to think in a certain way.

Personally, I don’t know if these stories are true as I have never heard President Zuma speak, so I have no idea of his intellectual capacity. But if you listen to the people around you, you create an understanding that he is quiet dumb.

What I ask myself now, is how did he become president? How would anyone be able to run a country if they don’t have enough knowledge to know what is going on? Is it responsible of the government to support a president that does not even know what he is talking about?  I think the government finds it easier to work with a president who doesn’t know a lot because then they can easily influence him to follow their choices.

I Am David - First Impressions - Julia Brown

I am David sounds like such a heroic title. It is almost as though the title itself is said with much pride and assurance of what is being said, but as I began to read the book, I almost immediately felt that David has no idea who he is, and for me that really contradicts the title. I know that in pages to come David might find himself, and build himself up to be a strong individual, but according to my first impressions, David is a lost soul, tied down by religious prejudice.

Another thing about the book, was that for such a major part (when David escapes the camp) very little detail was gone into, and I found myself wanting more, and a more in depth description. Perhaps it was written like this on purpose to emphasise how quickly it all happened, in a mindless flurry.

Later on in the book, I am hoping that the writer will let us in a little bit more into David's struggles but more importantly I am hoping that David will grow into the confident, self-assured young man that is portrayed in the title.

I am David 1st impressions Jess Lobe

I am David it was an interesting book which I was generally not fond of reading only a few pages it did not interest me but the characters I though did not change but reading further I enjoyed the use of the English vocabulary used in the book.

Thanks for reading thus far

I Am David - First Impressions & Conclusions - Amber Anglin

From the moment I saw 'I Am David' it annoyed me. The way it was barely half an inch thick and the fact that a 7th grader's name was written inside. I felt insulted at having to read a book thinner than those that my 9 year old sister is reading.

However, after putting it off for several days, I finally read it and ... It was just as bad as I had expected. The concepts were too simple and I found the whole book to be rather confusing and anti-climatic. I felt as though the book had so much potential but couldn't quite deliver. In short, I seriously disliked the book.

Then I was told to write a report on my thoughts towards the book and I felt I owed it to 'I Am David' to at least attempt to see it in a more positive light. 

I see now that the reason for the simplicity of the concepts is the age of the main character, David. Not only is he a very young boy but he also (as he mentions in the book) spends almost all of his time avoiding thinking. This would mean that naturally his comprehension of concepts is a little rusty. Also the fact that he is a child, no matter how intelligent, would mean that there are many little details he misses. This would account for the lack of clues in his duration of the camp about his surviving family.

The fact that I understand what the author is doing does not, in my mind, excuse it. I still feel that the book is lacking in so-called rising action before the climax and that the characters are too static (for lack of a better word), verging on monotony.

I am David - Ryan Mac Farlane

I am David

I have not got very far in the book "I am David", but from what I have read I have established that David is a 12 year old Jewish boy who lived in a concentration camp in Germany. He got help from a friend in the camp and escaped. He travelled for quite a while and ran out of food and water. Eventually he came across a delivery van and snuck in...that is as far as I have read.

Ryan Mac Farlane

I am David-Cameron Redman

Cameron Redman

I haven't got very far in the book "I am david" but from what I can tell David is a 12 year old jewish boy in a German concentration camp. At the beginning of the novel david comes across older then he really is. He reasons with himself a lot and manages 2 make the choice of escaping the concentration camp with the help of (who I think is a warden). The warden tells david 2 head south 2 a city called silonica and David follows his instructions 2 the word which takes him through small towns and thorn bushes and into contact with people from time to time. Eventually he comes across to men and from what David can tell they are heading to silonica so David decides to hide in the back of their van and catch a ride without them knowing that he is there

I am David- First impression - Ryan Solomons

When I first read the book "I am David" I thought that it was a book that you were going to read and get bored halfway through it. I Started reading the and it happened to be very interesting book from how it looks. The book is about a boy that escapes from a concentration camp at night and had to find  his way to safety using a compass.

I am David first Impressions Bandz Damoyi

In the beginning of the book I was interested about the story after reading the back ,as I read it intrigued me and made me want to know more about it .As he escapes from the concentration camp I was nervous but wanted to know how he would survive ,also "The man" helped him but the 30 second chance seems like a hard thing to escape ,I'm interested to see what happens as I read on.

i'm david-first impressions-Rita Faria

My first impression aren't very good , because i don't really appreciate this type of books, it is interesting, but not my favorite
For the little bit that i read this is what i can take:  David was a Jews, and he was locked on a concentration camp , he was 12 years old , and one of the things that he always wanted to was to escape, for the concentration camp . Men that work there offered him a chance to escape.
i think that is going to be a book with a lot of adventure, an i think it will inspire me.  

I Am David- First Impressions. Pearl Donzwa

The first few pages of the book have left my mind wondering. i ponder on where it is he could be escaping from and what could be so dreadful that, the man he has a passionate dislike for, would be giving him instructions to his freedom. As I read further and scan through the many places he could be, I come to the conclusion that he is a Jewish boy born in the WW2 era inside a concentration camp. He is unaware of life outside this camp but takes the 30 second chance he is given to escape.

I am David- first impression - Carolyn Warren

Nazis. Jews. Concentration camps. Death. Ruthlessness . An Escape.  Run threw my head as I read through the first pages of the book, ' I am David.' It seems to be set in the era of which the Jews were forced into concentration camps. David is a young Jewish boy of the age of 12 years old that gets the chance to escape the horrifying camp he is staying in. The first couple pages seem intense and quick moving, a lot of information is given but it’s written without any unnecessary information that could possibly cause me to die of boredom.  My first impressions are good, what I have read of the book so far has got me able to carry on reading. 

I Am David First Impressions - Nina Kisbey-Green

I have only recently started reading the book "I Am David" and so far it is not quite to my liking. Much like the plain cover, the writing style is very simple with very little interesting adjectives to paint vivid images in my head. The story happens very quickly, within the first few pages David had successfully escaped from the concentration camp and is already on the run. Everything seems to go Davids way and there is no interesting or dramatic scenes that keep me interested in the story. 

Despite my disappointment at the lacking vocabulary in the book, the actual storyline is to my liking and that alone has me eager to turn the page. David is on the run from the Nazis and is starting to think about the hurt he has promised himself he would forget. With thoughts of the ones he loves racing through his head, David continues to run to his hopeful freedom to start a new life not locked up inside the dreadful camp under the control of the brutal Nazis.

I am David First Impressions - Robin

When I first read I am David, I got a sense of nervousness and paranoia from David. I make the assumption that he is Jewish, because David is originally a Jewish name. I also think he was in a German labor camp during World War 2, before he escaped. Because he claims he was in the camp his whole life, he seems to know little of the world outside the camp.

I Am David First Impression- Thando Dlamini

While I was reading the book I was curious to find out who's is David. Well David is a 12 year old boy who has lived in a concentration camp for as long as he can remember who escapes from a concentration camp with the help of a prison guard in Eastern Europe and journeys to Denmark and meets many people that teach him about life. Maybe when I read more I'll get a better understanding of the book, I am curious to see what else is going to be in this book about this boy.

I Am David. First Impression. Alvin Oyakhilome

I just recently started reading the i am David book. the book starts of quite weirdly because the man that is trying to save David, hates him and David hates him back.but as the book progresses, it get more interesting, revealing the adventure David goes through to get to his safe destination while resting by day and running all night long.

I am David first impressions- Mpendulo Ndlovu

The first impression so far for me has been that this book is very mysterious and has some stuff that could confuse you but I would continue to read the book and get a better understanding. It has been interesting and makes you wonder if it really was during the Nazis time. It is of a 12 year boy named David and  I also understand that he was born in a concentration camp and is escaping and is in a van with two men that are going to a certain city that he has to get to.

Thanks for reading what I have read so far

I am David. First impressions - Emma Oelschig

'I am David' is a book about a boy who was born in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. The book has been very informing about what it was like for a Jewish boy living in Nazi Germany. David was seperated from the only family he had left.

On his escape out of the concentration camp, he tries his best not to think about his loss and his life at the camp but he can't keep his miseries out of his head for long. He learnt a long time go to not focus or think about his life. The deepest thoughts he allowed himself to think were when his next meal was or when the guards changed. He kept himself from feeling pain but on his journey out of the camp, everything was different. He couldn't resist the thoughts that were kept in a box for most of his life.

Phumelele Mothadi. I Am David- First Impression

First things first, I must be truthful and admit that I was not too eager to open the book, I Am David.

As with every other book I've come across, six pages in, I WAS HOOKED. Once again the universe has taught me not to judge a book by its cover. With a very gripping writing style and a mysterious plot, I Am David promises to be intriguing.

Though I've learnt from past experiences not to be too quick to praise either.
I hoped I'm not made to take back any of my words by the time I've read cover to cover!

I am David. First Impression- Chantel Olivier

I think David, a twelve year old Jew is locked away in a concentration camp and he is sure that sooner or later he is going to die. When a man offers to help him escape he thinks that it is a trap and he's going to get caught and die but David realizes that he is going to die if he stays in the camp anyway and decides to try to escape. After sneaking past the guard he climbs over the fence and starts running for his life across the bare grounds and soon reaches the bushed area where he starts to walk. He is astonished to have escaped and decides to enjoy the night of freedom ahead before the search party is sent in the morning.

He soon reaches a big tree and finds the parcel as the man had said and in it he finds a some food items and a compass. He goes through many bushes and thorns and he thinks that he is going to make it out of the tough bushes when he comes across a town and is forced to wait.

I am David. First Impression- Emma Zyde

When I was reading the first few lines of the book, I was already put into a state of curiosity.

Who is "David"? Who is "the man' that helps David escape?

The only thing I know for sure is that David is a twelve year old boy that is (in the beginning of the book) situated in a camp (probably a concentration camp) and he is probably a person that is disliked by the Germans. So maybe he is a Jew or a Gypsies... so it is not a detailed beginning.

What I like about the beginning of the book, is that it gives you a lot of personal views on things which makes it more interesting. When you analyse the text, you can notice that it also uses a lot of emotive language and I find that it really does make an impact on your emotions. Like the part when he is sent, by his compass, through a thorn bush and he has a lot of pain by the first thorn but when he carries on, he kind of forgets about the pain. This also shows courage and bravery.

The part that I found rather sad is the part when he washes himself with the soap that he got from “the man” to wash away the smell, the feeling and the experience of the concentration camp. It tells you that he had had a very terrible time there and wants to forget about it.

I am David first impressions: Anthony Lambrianos

My first impression of David is vague, his situation and knowledge of the outside world is very limited. The way he worries when thinking about things other than getting away. He doubts others intentions at first but as he gets away from the camp in which he was enslaved, he realises that “the man” really did want him to get away. He then begins his travels across the land and seas to a place where he “will be safe.”

Anthony Lambrianos 

Quadblogging: introducing 9Z (Dainfern College JHB South Africa)