ipl-logo

Todd Strasser's If I Grow Up

605 Words3 Pages

A FBI report stated, “An estimated 1.4 million people are active in more than 33,000 street, prison and outlaw motorcycle gangs across the country.” In book, “If I Grow Up” written by Todd Strasser discusses that life in the projects is not easy. DeShawn, a young boy who lived in the projects with his gramma and his sister Nia, wanted to get out of the projects, but he thought there was no way out. So after DeShawn started to see that there was no hope for him he decided that there was no hope and made a decision that would forever affect his life, he decided to join the gang. For then on he made poor decisions that caused him to be put in jail. DeShawn did have a choice in bettering his life because he was offered help, he could have got a job somewhere, and he was offered better education, but he didn’t take up on the offer. Others believe that he had no choice because he had no money, he had no role model, and his test scores were too low to get …show more content…

His friend got a job, so that means it was not impossible for him to get a job, it was just the thought of working. Lightbulb, a close friend of DeShawn 's, got a job. “How long have you been working here?” Terrell asked.
“Bout a month,” Lightbulb said.
During the chapter “Prison” the author states, “Darius got out of prison and became a recording engineer...Tanisha is a saleswomen in a department store...Precious is a registered nurse.” I know that if DeShawn really wanted to change his life around, he could have. Most importantly is the fact that DeShawn was offered to get better education at Beech Hill. Mr. Brand, DeShawn’s teacher, talked to him about transferring schools. According to the text Mr. Brand stated, “...it’s a magnet school over in Beech Hill.” he said, “You’ll get a better education there.” He got offered a better education, but practically turned down the offer. DeShawn stated, “I’d never gotten around to studying the list of words Mr. Brand had given

Show More
Related

Hoop Dreams And The Other Wes Moore Analysis

533 Words | 3 Pages

In this essay I will be talking about how educated Wes Moore and Arthur Agee have in common with their families. In Hoop Dreams and The Other Wes Moore these two kids went thru a lot in life that brought them down but there was always something that kept them going to accomplishing their dreams. Arthur Agee grew up poor and was tough for him and his family. Beginning of his life he grew up watching his dad beat his mom and taking drugs, one of the toughest thing for a child to witness at a young age.

Read More

The Other Wes Moore Sparknotes

911 Words | 4 Pages

Although both Wes’ faced multiple trials during their childhood, the determining factor in their future lives would be their education and the family structure who supported them. Mary did little to prevent her son from peddling drugs, and remained in a sense of denial for a long time. The other Wes had been long lost before his mother could intervene, or anyone in his family for that matter. Wes never received his high school diploma because he’d rather earn money off the streets than study in school. The other Wes felt as if he didn’t belong, his teachers did little in the sense of creating a structure classroom environment.

Read More

Marcus Mabry Living In Two Worlds Summary

491 Words | 2 Pages

In the midst of all of this he finds a balance by focusing on what really matters. At the same time this keeps him focused on his main goal which is education. Education will be his family's way out of poverty. Through seeing his younger brother that is unemployed and will be having a child soon he looks beyond this and is genuinely proud of where he comes from. He realizes how strong his family is when he seems them fighting through poverty and making things.

Read More

Wes Moore Street Culture Analysis

454 Words | 2 Pages

How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.

Read More

Wes Moore Influence

493 Words | 2 Pages

The school he was attending was a private school, therefore impacting his image in his neighborhood. “I was becoming too ‘rich’ for the kids from the neighborhood and too ‘poor’ for the kids at school. I had forgotten how to act naturally, thinking way too much in each situation and getting tangled in the contradictions between my two worlds. ”(pg.53) With this contradiction eating away at Wes’ educational integrity, his grades and general attendance began to slip into a state of be unsatisfactory.

Read More

Crips Made In America Analysis

171 Words | 1 Pages

Watching the documentary, Crips and Bloods: Made in America, I learned that white people never gave black people in America the chance to succeed because they were constantly targeting them. I learned that people who grow up in south California really have no choice but to join a gang and result to violence because if they don’t they will not survive. Kids who are born in this part of LA are born into drug dealing families, broken homes, or to parents who are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. These children have no guidance and no one to show them the right way of life. They join gangs so they can feel protected and like they belong somewhere in this world.

Read More

Punished: Policing The Lives Of Black And Latino Boys By Victor Rios

652 Words | 3 Pages

According to the book Punished: Policing The Lives Of Black And Latino Boys by Victor Rios, he explores hyper criminalization of Latino and African American young men in Oakland. He was a former gang member and juvenile delinquent. He earned a degree in sociology. He explains and describes how the working class youth of color who lived in Oakland are harassed, disciplined, watched and profiled at a young age by the authorities even if they have not committed any crimes. Moreover, his research are based on forty Latino and African American young men in Oakland.

Read More

Examples Of Conflict In Finding Forrester

886 Words | 4 Pages

Both of these two struggle in their lives to get their goals, and CR after many hours of work achieved the goals. This apartment is so important because Jamal gaines the courage and experience to go to his new school and show his intellect, and for William to find the family that he lost and gain the fortitude to go outside. Another setting where people changed for the better is in Crawford’s classroom. Crawford had a lot of courage in his classroom and challenged everyone who started to gain their own courage in his classroom. Levy states that, “A crucial scene at school, in which Jamal is reprimanded for his conduct, function as the equivalent of a courtroom scene, in which an inflexible teacher is contrasted with good

Read More

Father Greg Boyle Research Paper

267 Words | 2 Pages

People often seek recognition, Even with the sound of their name is a delight like being acknowledged by someone that cares. People don’t normally join gangs, there are contributing factors such as substance abuse, physical abuse, parental neglect, thrill seeking, and suicidal. So they seek it elsewhere, like gangs. Homeboy Industries provides opportunities for the who

Read More

Why Boys Become Vicious Analysis

924 Words | 4 Pages

Even seemingly barbaric gangs search for order in society and provide security and comfort for the impoverished. People are naturally inclined to help others and act socially, especially

Read More

Teenagers In Gangs In The Outsiders, By S. E Hinton

998 Words | 4 Pages

There is a number of reasons that range from simple to complex, on why teenagers join gangs, and we can help by finding solutions to their specific problem before they choose to join one. To help someone get out of a gang, we as a society need to show there’s more out there in the world that they could do that will make a positive impact. Teenagers have different reasons to join gangs depending on their life situation. Everyone in the “Greasers” in The Outsiders had different reasons to be part of the gang. “We were used to seeing Johnny banged up-

Read More

What Are The Pros And Cons Of America's Prison System?

507 Words | 3 Pages

When in prison, we see that those who were in gangs are still in gangs and that those who were not, are likely to join during their sentence. Naturally the prisons are filled with criminals who not only bring with them a record of past wrong but also an attitude of anger and or survival when they walk behind the walls of prison. This attitude of anger fueled by the thought of survival keeps most from ever experiencing renewal or change when behind bars. While in the world they were criminals running from the law and while in prison

Read More

Gang Related Crimes

362 Words | 2 Pages

References Egley, A., & Howell, J. C. (2012). Highlights of the 2010 National Youth Gang Survey. Retrieved from: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/237542.pdf Sanders, R., & Moore, S. (n.d.). Mandatory Waiver for Juvenile Gang Members in Tennessee. Retrieved from: http://www.belmont.edu/burs/pdf/Social%20Work-%20Sanders%20and%20Moore.pdf Searles, K. (2017).

Read More

Mark Slobin's If I Stay

329 Words | 2 Pages

A narrative knot is a filmmaker’s way of tying together music and plotlines. Narrative knots follow patterns throughout the entire cinematic world. One of Mark Slobin’s examples of a narrative knot is the practice of couples listening to classical music in a concert hall. During the concert the relationship usually transforms. An example of this narrative knot in a recent movie occurs in If I Stay (2014).

Read More

Analysis Of Jan Carew's Ghosts In Our Blood

611 Words | 3 Pages

Malcolm’s mother worked day and night to support her children. Seeing his mother work so hard to support her family led Malcolm to decide that he wanted to become a lawyer (23). Malcolm said, “I hate seeing my mother working night and day like she did… I began to hate the system that made her life one of endless drudgery, so what I did was shut the thought of my mother out of my mind, and lock it away” (Carew 23). He was thinking to become a lawyer and support his mother. After he grew up and saw that he cannot support her or change her life, then he left his

Read More

More about Todd Strasser's If I Grow Up

Related Topics

Open Document