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The Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace

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Robert Peace is presented by Jeff Hobbs in “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace” as a young black man struggling with life. Rob was born in a poor background with racial segregation, economic disempowerment and crime high. He, however, faces his biggest task ever when his father is wrongly convicted of murder. Rob idolizes his father, although he is a drug dealer and his wrongful conviction strongly affects him. Roberts’s quality of life is affected in general as he grows into an angry young man. Jackie, his mother worries that, his deep hidden anger might land him in trouble. This is well shown in the book where Jeff (58) says… “She knew that any anger could be dangerous…” The imprisonment of Robert Douglas greatly affects his son Robert Peace as he grows a sense of anger in his personality. It is however important to note that, the imprisonment extends to other members of his family, especially Jackie. Jackie struggles to balance work and taking care of her son in the rough neighborhood (Hobbs, 2015). Drug abuse and crime are some of the problems associated with their neighborhood. She also struggles to keep her son in a private school owing to the high tuition fees. Robert Peace found it difficult to deal with his father’s imprisonment at a young …show more content…

Douglas is offered life imprisonment, although the evidence is harsh and undeserving as we see Hobbs (52) say, “As I said from the beginning, as God is my witness, I’m innocent of this crime” It is difficult for Robert to regain a normal life given that racism is in play. Societal values such as acceptance of criminal activities and prevalent poverty contributes to Roberts problem. He is able to get a chance to join Yale, where he studies biochemistry and molecular biophysics. Education is supposed to offer him with an opportunity to better life. Poverty influenced by racial segregation, however, prevents him from

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