Anyone know what these mean

What does"after getting my report card i knew it was time to hit the books mean

Article one: the new york tribune from december 5, 1859on leaving the jail, john brown had on his face an expression of calmness andserenity characteristic of the patriot who is about to die with a living consciousnessthat he is laying his life down for the good of his fellow as he stepped outof the door a black woman, with her little child in her arms, stood near his way. thetwain were of the despised race for whose emancipation and elevation to the dignityof children of god he was about to lay down his he stopped for a moment in hiscourse, stooped over, and with the tenderness of one whose love is as broad as thebrotherhood of man, kissed [the child) affectionately. article two: the cincinnati enquirer from december 3, 1859we rejoice that old brown has been hung. he was not only a murderer of innocentpersons, but he attempted one of the greatest crimes against society-the stirring upof a servile and civil war. he has paid the penalty for his crimes, and we hope his fatemay be a warning to all who might have felt inclined to imitate his aggressive conduct. now it is your turn. you need to synthesize the two articles mentioned above into one or two paragraphs. you may lookat the synthesized paragraphs above for an example, but your paragraph should be different. remember to follow theprocess hints mentioned earlier in this lesson. iuflad

How did adichie allow a single story to construct her understanding of other people?