Summary
This book's setting is taken place in Harlem, New York.In the year between the 1940-1950. This book is basically about a boy who keeps on doing bad things with his friends. He always get into fights, sometimes he goes to school, sometimes he does not even come home he sleeps at parks. He already has a group of friends that do the same type of things with him. They are constantly stealing playing a game called "Hookey "which is basically when they just skip school. The main character has two sisters and a little brother named Pimp. Although he does not care that he is setting a bad example for his bother and sister. His group of friends teach things they do not know to each other like for example if a place is crowded they will still try to steal by either blending in or distracting the cash register person the other friend goes behind the counter and take the money. He gets beating from his father with the belt but that does not seem to work when they parent is trying to give him a lesson. He does all these bad things over and over again. He makes friends by having a fight with them like a physical fight a few times next thing you know they are close buddies. This boy has even gone to juvenile.
Quote
"Seem like nobody can't make him understand. I talk to him, I yell at him, I whip his ass, but it don't do no good. His daddy preach to him, yell at him, he beat him so bad sometimes, I gotta run in the kitchen and git a big knife on him to stop him from killin' that boy. You think that might break him outta those devilish way she got? Child, that scamp'll look Jesus dead in the eyes when he is standin' on a mountain of Bibles and swear to God in heaven he ain't gon do it no more. The next day, or even the next minute, that little lyin' Negro done gone and did it again- and got a mouthful a lies when he git caught." [page 39 Claude Brown]
Reaction
so I love this book from the first page automatically I was like this was going to be an action book. It started of with the main character getting shot and his friend is asking him are you going to tell the police I was with you. At that moment I was like his friend got to be kidding. Your friend is bleeding and shot lying on the floor and your asking him if he is going to tell the police I was with you. You are not going to ask if he is okay? But I feel bad for the main characters family you can tell from the quote above which is his mother talking that she does not know what on earth she is going to do with him. I do recognize the mother has a dialect. One thing that I think is the problem with this family is there is no trust or communication. The main character hates his dad he even says in the story I am going to kill him one day. Like who says that you are suppose to respect your parents yes it is alright to be mad at them at times but kill them that is going a little too far. But the mother is too soft on her son at times. Like there was one part where someone had to go pick him up from the police station and he knew automatically it was going to be his mother. Because she always comes to his rescue. I believe that if you actually sit down with your parents and have a talk with them once in a while then they start trusting you they will understand where you are coming coming from in certain situations and you will understand where they are coming from. The only bad thing I do not like about this book is that they talk about the same thins sometimes like they will always talk about stealing and cutting school. And after a while from reading that kind of stuff you tend to get bored after a while. Although i am interested on if he will change.
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