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The Jonestown Massacre Jennifer Latson Analysis

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“The Jonestown Massacre, Remembered,” by Jennifer Latson explains about a man named Jim Jones, a cult leader and a socialist in California persuaded over 900 people to drink a poisonous substance to commit suicide. This was one of the events that wasn’t taught about in history classes due to the amount of people that were willing to kill themselves in order to obey Jim Jones. My main point’s that I plan to use on this topic is the author successful in making her point, the information is accurate, and if the information is valid in her article. The main points in this article is explaining what happened in the Guyana jungle on November 18, 1978, when a man named Jim Jones, who was a socialist and a strict tyrannical cult leader. He was strict with his leadership in fact, he would have his own followers beaten if they didn’t listen to his sermons. Then the worst happened when Jones wanted his followers to commit a “revolutionary act” of suicide by drinking Flavor Aid laced with cyanide so they could show they’re no longer controlled by the U.S. government, including the murders of the a California Congressman and journalists who went to Jonestown investigating reports of abuse, only a few of Jones’s followers survived the massacre by running away into the jungle. The purpose the author wants us to know what happened on …show more content…

I agree with what the author said about Jim Jones and all his followers and the way he made people do his bidding. However, I don’t agree with her overall lesson that we the audience should learn as a whole after this incident. The author didn’t give any real reason for us to remember this incident either, was it for her audience to understand what we should learn from this and not trust a maniac, or do the complete opposite. Last but not least, I don’t agree with how the author explains what happened before and after the event

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