The theme of the book, We Beat the Streets, spins around collaboration and determination. The three characters, Sampson, Rameck, and George experienced childhood in a unpleasant neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. Even at a young age they were confronted with risks. Some of these risks included prisons, gangs, and drugs. They needed to choose at a young age to stick together and make it out of the ruined neighborhood they grew up in. Things were never basic for these young men. They were totally encompassed with a wide range of dangerous circumstances and it appeared like there was no escape. Sam, Rameck, and George were all very bright kids. They were great at academics and not all that terrible at sports either. Unfortunately, practically everyone around them said they could never make it and chuckled at them whenever they would talk about their hopes and dreams. They began off in different schools and had their own little gangs. It was so easy to fall down to the level that their friends were on and end up locked up or dead. People were dying all around them everyday and they debated whether it was even worth trying to make it out. They would later meet in high school and express their thoughts and beliefs to each other. That is when the process of their escape began to take place. …show more content…
They were all from various groups of people and different hoods. They all had one major thing in common, to beat the street. They did not want to be sucked into all the street situations. They made a pact and promised each other they would make it. They all wanted to end up as doctors. They had all these magnificent visions and dreams but knew it would take all of their combined power to make it. The presentation at their school was the real mind opener. They wanted to make it into the medical and dental fields. They gathered the info and leaped into a positive
To be acclimated to the everyday struggle of the lawlessness of the hood and growing up in the ghetto is tough for these three young individuals. Looked at as just more statistics. Although they grew up with substandard role models in an inadequate environment I see them having a lot of injustice in their lives.
The book We Beat the Street by DRS. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck hunt is a captivating autobiography about three boys, Sampson, Rameck, and George, who overcame several obstacles and became important doctors. This story took place in the dangerous location of Newark, New Jersey, in the 1980-1990’s. Violence, peer pressure, and drugs were often found in this location, so the majority of people were greatly impacted by the negativity around them. In this book, Sampson and Rameck were involved in unfortunate situations, and often had to face severe consequences, some as serious as being arrested.
In the book, Gang Leader for a Day, a rogue sociologist passionately dives into the lives of one of Chicago’s toughest housing projects in an attempt to develop an insight as to how the urban impoverished lived. Throughout the text it becomes clear that a conflict paradigm is being reflected. A conflict society is based on social inequality, in which some individuals benefit and thrive more than others, which tends to lead to conflict and thus change. This is evident both in the housing projects where a gang known as the “Black Kings” take over and also in the surrounding neighborhoods where the more elite citizens, including persons from the authors university, shy away from associating with the nearby poor black nearby public, thus
The theme of this book is that the human capacity to adapt to and find happiness in the most difficult circumstances. Each character in the novel shows this in their way. For instance, their family is randomly taken from their home and forced to
He constantly reminded them of the benefits of graduating from college and succeeding in what they wanted to do. Sam and Rameck might have had other options but their plans would not be beneficial in the long run. Some of these options included, starting a rap group, selling drugs back in their home town, and playing basketball. These might have sounded good at first but they would only last for a certain time. Graduating from college with that degree and helping out those in need was more of a priority and turned out to be a better plan, the key plan during that time was to follow through with their higher education.
One of the themes that stand out the most in the film is the struggle to overcome adversity and push through problems in one’s life that could otherwise get in the way from achieving goals. In the film, many
There is many examples of differences and similarities of good vs. evil between these boys. At the end of the day these were very young boys put into a horrendous situation that most adults couldn't even handle. Human nature came out in these boys and they just handled it in many different ways but also in many similar ways. I believe their behavior on the island really stemmed from their lives away from the island and their maturity levels for sure. Maybe think about what would be dangerous for you on an island now and if you would succumb to
On September 25, 1957, Nine african american students entered Central High and made it through a whole day. They are called, “The Little Rock nine.” The names of the students are Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, and Melba Pattillo Beals. These nine had a hard time getting through the mobs of people, but they made it the front doors of Central High. They volunteered themselves to try
This book is about two black children, Layfette and Pharaoh, who grow up in inner city Chicago. They are faced with racism and hardships because of their race and social class. They have different ways of coping, but are better at facing the worst the city has to offer than are many of the other young black children who live around them. During the story the boys are faced with many adversities that stem from the social system. They are faced with gangs, drugs and Chicago housing. However, they also must face their own inner demons that may lead to either of them giving up and giving in to the corruption of the inner city. One of the major turning points in the story is when Layfette gets arrested for vandalizing a car, even though he says he did not. He gets released and is gets off with probation and 100 hours of community service. After this incident the author gets both kids in to a private school where Pharaoh thrives and starts to make good grades instead of daydreaming. Unfortunately Layfette could not handle the pressure and returns to public school. During this time Rickey starts running drugs for one of the local gangs. He is later arrested for carrying a butcher knife. The CHA finally cleans out the horrendous mess in the Henry Horner basements and reclaims the buildings from the gangs. Dawn and Demetrius finally get an
The novel ‘Runner’ by Robert Newton describes the slums of Richmond, where life was really difficult for the Feehan family and the general community. Charlie Feehan is lucky enough to win the prime job, running messages for Squizzy Taylor, who is the most dangerous gangster in Melbourne. But things start to get a little too dangerous for Charlie so he decides to quit the job and run in the Ballarat Mile Race. Life was tough in Richmond and it was the support and love that family and friends gave each other that gave everyone the fuel needed to keep going through these difficult times. The following points will be discussed throughout this extended response; Mr Redmond’s family looking out for the Feehan’s, Charlie using his money for Alice’s
The Black Wall Street, Harlem Renaissance, Great Migration, and Great Depression are all period that came in mind, while reading this novel. To begin, the novel presented aspects of The Great Depression and Great Migration because it represented African American people escaping from the poverty, segregation, racism, violence, and lack of job opportunities they were exposed to in the South by migrating to the North. The novel itself represents The Harlem Renaissance because it was written when importance of literature during the time period for the African American people and the Black experience was growing. To continue, the Brothers throughout the novel were reminded of their class and race, which made them constantly aware of who they were and where they came from. This can be related to modern day Black men who experience poverty because they ar
Have you ever read a very hard hitting and the phenomenal story about rival gangs and the effect it has on the lives of the people and the society. In The Outsiders, is a story of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his two older brothers, Soda and Darry. The boys are orphans and struggle to stick together in their lower-class neighborhood, known as the East Side. They and their friends are part of a gang of tough street boys called the Greasers. Even though other people might think you're unimportant and below them. You will always have your friends and family. In The Outsiders, we see the idea of the difference in the society based on the economic level of the characters, honor among the lawless and violence among the youth.
The movie Boyz N the Hood is an illustration of how a group of early adolescents’ lives was affected negatively due to the environment they lived in. These adolescents lived in an environment where drugs, gangs, and shootings were the center of their community. Living in a predominantly African American community these adolescents were faced with many misfortunes. Ricky one of the adolescent characters I have decided to evaluate for this particular paper was faced with adversity.
The theme hate is present in all the stories that we read this semester. Every story has an overwhelming amount of hatred, all hatred of another race. There is no other reason for the hatred other than the race they are. The goal they have is to mock or hurt or kill the others for being exactly who they are, and they can’t help it. I will talk about all the stories we learned about in this class and how this theme made it the book that it is.
All five of these individuals come from very different backgrounds which create tension among them at first, but also the ability to bond and connect with each other past those differences later on.