Breaking Night

Breaking Night, an inspirational memoir, shows how Elizabeth Murray went from a homeless child, to a Harvard student. Her success was mainly her resilience, but also with the help of others. Some of them may include her friends and family members. Each of them played an important part in Murray’s life, but the two people who played an insurmountable deal to her success were Perry and Vince, the founder of Murray’s Prep school.

Originally, Murray’s Prep school was called “Failure Academy”. Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities had too many students, with a lot of them failing. A small government committee made a separate school from Bayard Rustin High School for the failing students. The separate school became “Failure Academy”. However, Perry Weiner, the chairman of the committee didn’t approve this idea. He and Vincent Brevetti (or Vince) wanted all children to have a good education, and a second chance. They renamed “Failure Academy” into Humanities Preparatory Academy, which soon became “Prep”

Murray was going school to school, having interviews for a spot. Each school said “no” and when Murray only had one school left, she didn’t feel like going, just to be rejected ¬again. However, after some time, she decided to go, holding on to a ‘what if’. What if this school said yes? Her last school was Humanities Preparatory Academy. During the interview, Perry was looking at Murray in a way that the other teachers didn’t. His eyes didn’t judge her like all the other teachers. He was actually listing to Murray’s story. He asked clarifying questions, sigh at the part of her mother’s funeral, but he never expressed pity. After Murray finished telling her story, Perry’s face was full of emotion. At that time, Elizabeth Murray was 17, too old for high school. She had no high school history at all, and zero credits. Perry listed all the options for her, something her parents were never given. Murray sensed a ‘no’, and tried to explain how desperate she needed to get the spot. Perry took some time to think, while Murray was bracing herself for the rejection. Suddenly, he sat upright and asked Murray if she could get there on time. It was a definite acceptation.

Perry, unlike other teachers, only cares about the students. He wanted to help them in the correct way. At first, he thought 4 years in high school was a bit hard for a 17-year-old. He was only warning Murray about the pressure she’d have to face. The way he acted during the interview gave Elizabeth Murray the courage to speak. He was smiling and laughing, while understanding Murray’s state. He had no wall of discrimination to block her out. Vince was more hard-edged, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care for students. He was patient as Murray’s dad signed the application, even though her dad was nervous and making mistakes. Vince never looked at them judgmentally. Perry and Vince both never had a problem with different people. They never cared about how people seemed, or how they acted. They believed that every one is an equal. If not for them, Murray would’ve been lost. They gave her the strength and the ambition to go to school each day.