S-Town and Ysrael

Brian Reed is the author of "S-Town" and is known for doing other works from This American Life and Serial. He investigates a town that John B. Lemore calls "shittown" in Alabama. John is a guy that lived in this town he has called "shittown" ever since he was born, and so did his mother and family. He never left this town because of the fact that he considers it home, even though he finds it furiating that the people that live here aren't as educated as they should be and he often finds himself in depression because of how things that people shouldn't do, like getting away with murder, happen in his town. The time in this podcast is chronoligical but also leaves room to let interviewees reflect and talk of past memories.

In Junot Diaz's story "Ysrael", the two main characters Rafia and Yunior set out to visit Ysrael, because of his interesting characteristic, that has made him famous in the city. A lot of people know of Ysrael because of his rare condition, where he has to wear a mask to hide his face due to a tragic event where a pig tore off his face. Yunior and Rafa have to travel far to visit Ysrael since they live in the campo. Their mom is a working woman, and in the summer, she doesn't have time to take care of them as much. The relationship between these two brothers, Rafa and Yunior, is unique but at the same time, it's relatable. I say unique because of the way the older brother, Rafa, goes about doing things, almost as if he is an adult, but at the same time has a cold relationship with his younger brother, just like how most siblings have. The older brother is responsible for the younger one, but sometimes doesn't care as much and is trying to teach their younger brother how to grow up, except in the case of Yunior and Rafa, Rafa is trying to teach Yunior how to grow up in a third world country, where things are different from what most people are used to here in America.