The themes in this chapter are Crime, Mentoring, and Parallel Biographies.
Crime:
"Three days earlier, in broad daylight, two masked men had run into J. Browns Jewelry, waving guns at the customers, ordering them to the ground." (Page 146)
Many people turn to crime in order to provide for their families. Most of the time, they do not have a job or they have a very low-paying one. Places such as jewelry stores are prime spots to get money, due to the expensive items that are present in the store. Many young people had dropped out of school, making it hard to obtain jobs. Since dropouts often have a hard time getting a job due to their lack of education, they have to find other ways to make money to support themselves and/or their families. Robbery was one of the most popular ways to do that.
"Baltimore City was now averaging over three hundred murders a year, making it one of the per capita deadliest cities in America."
Crime was prevalent in Baltimore City in the 1990s. Only 38 percent of high school students graduated on time, leaving the rest of them to make money on the streets. Dropouts will often turn to crime to try to provide for themselves, and also to protect their fellow gang members. Since there were a lot of high school dropouts, a lot of young people started to turn to crime. Their lack of education, combined with a lack of guidance in some cases, led them to turn to a life of crime. If a student goes through their life without having someone who was a good influence on them, they are more likely to get into trouble when they get older because they don't know how to handle their emotions in a professional manner, and they don't know the difference between right and wrong.
"This wasn't the first trip through the criminal justice system for either of them. Both men, in their early twenties, had long criminal records that included drug charges, handgun violations, and assault charges." (Page 149)
Many times, people who make their money off of the streets get into trouble more than once, which can lead to their downfall. Sometimes, convictions for crimes such as drug charges and handgun violations can start a chain reaction to them committing larger crimes that require more jail time. Other times, they commit larger crimes such as felonies right off the bat without there being any warning signs whatsoever. In this case, the men who were part of the crew to rob the jewelry store had engaged in crimes before, which shows how common crime was in Baltimore City.
Mentoring:
"'…But make sure you do not leave without understanding the history. Make sure you understand who Cecil Rhodes was and what his legacy is. Know this before you apply for his scholarship.'"
This is an example of mentoring because the mentor (Mayor Schmoke) is giving the mentee (the author Wes) advice that is needed to apply for a scholarship that has the potential to impact their life. The mentee is receiving good life advice that will help them stand out and be picked for the scholarship. Mentors can be very valuable in a young person's life because they lead their mentee in directions that can be prestigious. Someone who has someone like that in their life will be better off in the long run than someone who doesn't.
Parallel Biographies:
" I realized just how similar were the challenges the young boys here and kids like the ones I grew up with faced. In both places, young men go through a daily struggle trying to navigate their way through deadly streets, poverty… but they also have the history of determined, improvisational survival…" (Page 170)
This is an example of parallel biographies because it shows the similarities between Wes's life and the lives of South African kids his age. Many problems that youth face are universal no matter what region someone lives in. While the West tends to have better facilities in general and not a whole lot of people are under the poverty line compared to other regions, big decisions still have to be made in both regions, and this quote shows that.
No comments:
Post a Comment