In the book Monster, we see the story of an eleven year African American boy known as Kody Scott get involved in the world of gang violence. Kody had been living in South Central Los Angeles all of his life, he grew up on Florence and Normandie. Kody was learning about gang life before he was even in a gang. The book starts with Kody graduating sixth grade, he is really excited because it is the day he will be initiated into a neighborhood gang, the Tray Eights, which is part of the Crips. Weeks before his graduation Kody felt proud of himself because he had flashed a gang sign in a school photo. His first initiation to become a member of the Crips was to kill someone from their rival group. Kody learned that a gang was for life and that killing the enemy was an act of survival. With the years, Kody builds up his name as Monster by killing people without remorse. Kody’s only aspiration in life was to become an OG gangster.
Kody was the second youngest of a family of six. His father mistreated him and they never had a good relationship, but fortunately he was not part of the family anymore. Kody also started to have a bad relationship with his mother when he joined the Crips. He started to see the gang as his family they made him feel wanted and supported. Kody and his gang would steal, tag in the streets, and even kill their enemies, which included the Bloods and the Sixties. Kody always felt a sense of accomplishment when killing his enemies. He was always doing what was in the best interest of the Crips. He would feel disgusted and disappointed if a gang member did not back him up, or acted as a coward. For Kody being in the Crips meant a rite of passage to manhood. Many things that Kody did were not acceptable in society, bu...
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...ith Joker, y’all can scrap again, but this time it’s gonna be in Gangstaland at St. Andrew’s Park” (264). Both sides had grievances against each other, and both parts have agreed to fight to resolve their issues. In the end both sides were present the day of the fight, but there was no fight due to other issues.
Overall, we can see that the neighborhood Kody grew up in had a great impact in his life. He grew up believing that gang life was the most important thing in life. In order to get his reputation growing he did not care about putting himself in danger. To Kody reputation and honor were very important factors. Kody was so used to using violence in life, that it was so hard for him to solve a problem without any violence. It was until later when he was in prison and met Muhammad that Kody realized he had to get away from those who continued the street life.
The Monster is a short story that was written by Toby Litt in 1968. From beginning to end, from a third person point of view, we learn bits and pieces of information about a ‘monster’ of sorts, living in a world full of questions. This monster does not know, or understand what, or who, he is, and neither does the reader. The audience is often left wondering just as much as the main character is, resulting in a story that keeps readers hooked. The monster is simply called a monster, and never told if it is, or is not so. The Monster is a short story in which Toby Litt uses experimental story structure, a unique voice, and an unusual theme to challenge conventional story telling.
Growing up in a world of gangs, death, and suffering Kody Scott, also known as Monster Kody, grew up in a life of struggle. From eleven years old Kody knew what he wanted a to be, a gangster. Nothing could stop him from becoming one of the most feared gang member of the late 1970?s and early 80?s except maybe his own conscience. Kody Scott goes through an evolution, from a child to Monster Kody to finally Sanyika Shakur, his Muslim name. Sanyika Shakur is a true survivor, considering everything that has taken place in his life he has managed to make something of himself from nothing.
When Kody Scott was 6 years old, the gang wars started in Los Angeles. It started out as a battle between the Crips and the Bloods, but by the late 70's and continuing today, the biggest killer of Crips is other Crips. The Crip Nation was divided into different divisions, which Monster compares to the U.S. Army. "For instance, one who is in the army may belong to the F...
The book emphasizes the idea of how difficult it is to leave the gang lifestyle. There are frequent cases of relapse by individuals in the book, who were once out to again return to gangs. This case is brought by what gangs represent to this in the book and what leaving entails them to give up. The definition of gangs presented to the class was, three or more members, share name, color, or affiliation, or must exist in a geopolitical context. To members associated with gangs, this definition can include your family members, neighborhood, everyone that they associate with. Take for example Ronnie from Jumped in by Jorja Leap it states,” Ronny’s role models are gangbangers. His family is a hood. His mentors are older homies in county jail.”(102). Ronnie and other gang members like him do not
This can be connected to the Crips and the Bloods by the similar treatment the African Americans receive compared to the roughnecks. This recognition as being a roughneck makes it much more difficult to get a job, and escape the society they are currently in.... ... middle of paper ... ... Anderson discusses the code of the streets and how this set of rules and norms dictates how people behave in South Las Angeles and gives rise to organized gang violence.
For the children of the projects, the pressure to join a gang never waivers. Quick cash and protection are hard forces to resist in a world of poverty and violence. However, the children's role in these gangs is inferior to that of the leaders. At first, the concept of joining is quite attractive. According to Lafeyette, one of the two brothers profiled in the book, " 'When you first join you think it's good. They'll buy you what you want' " (31). However, " 'You have to do anything they tell you to do. If they tell you to kill somebody, you have to do that' " (31).
To sacrifice oneself and save others is what we've known as human love, and we have also learned that we should respect those who could perform that in any situation, but in reality, the numbers of those people who don't care about what others do seems much greater than the number of those who do. In Stephen Crane's story, "The Monsters", Henry Johnson who sacrifices himself into the fire in order to save a little boy gets treated like a monster just because his face has "burned away"(84). This is very serious problem because it's not what happens only in the book, but also in our present lives.
Some kids have no other choice but to join the gangs at an early age. Lack of parent supervision has been shown to be linked with both boys and girls joining a gang. Even though most have men to prove they are the violent ones, not every gang member is shown to be violent. While the rest of Luis’s gang members treat women with disrespect, Luis seems to respect everyone no matter what gender they are. Being told his own mom the pain she had to go through influenced his ways of viewing and treating
...me. Certainly I had little respect for life when practically all my life I had seen people assaulted, maimed, and blown away at very young ages, and no one seemed to care” (Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member 102). Monster reflects on his life after he is mortally wounded in a hospital, and in his thoughts he confirms what the two theories state. Violence was everywhere, and the people he knew were apathetic, thus he became apathetic to violence. This instance in the hospital is the first time we get a look at Monster reflecting on why he is what he is. As a victim he realizes he is desensitized to violence. At this point in his life however, he does not change his ways and continues to participate in gang activities. In Kody Scott's life situation it was less of a creation of a monster, and more of a destiny of a child doomed to be become a monster.
This book was about a street gang called the Mighty Vice Lords. They were the second largest gang in Chicago with about 30,000 members. The Vice Lords started in the Illinois Training center (Juvenile Correctional Facility) for boys in St. Charles Illinois during 1958 and was led by Edward “Pepalo” Perry and Alfonso Alfred. This group was known to be brutal and violent. It discussed how a violent gang can become a community organization and change the way things were done for the betterment of the community. This information is important because it showed that gangs can become a positive force.
One direct quote from the film, Crips and Bloods: Made in America that Differential Association Theory can be used to explain is “I joined a gang not only for the protection but for the love for the unity, to be a part of
Peter Brooks' essay "What Is a Monster" tackles many complex ideas within Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the main concept that is the title of the essay itself. What is the definition of a monster, or to be monstrous? Is a monster the classic representation we know, green skin, neck bolts, grunting and groaning? A cartoon wishing to deliver sugary cereal? or someone we dislike so greatly their qualities invade our language and affect our interpretation of their image and physical being? Brooks' essay approaches this question by using Shelley's narrative structure to examine how language, not nature, is mainly accountable for creating the idea of the monstrous body.
We are all monsters who are striving to fight in order to survive in this cruel world. The book entitled The Different Kinds of Monsters renders a peculiar and astounding storyline. This book was written and copyrighted by Seth Chambers and was published on August 14, 2017 by Robot and Dragon Press. The Different Kinds of Monsters will take you to the strange story of the protagonist named Dylan Armitage.
We live in a world where creatures have abilities that can blow our minds, however we are ignorant of this. We live in a world where a constant power struggle is occurring between these secret species, a struggle that most human beings have no inclination of. We live in a world where people who know the truth are sworn to secrecy, and those proclaim this truth are considered crazy and locked away; to be sane is to be ignorant. Well, that is what I would love to be true. In actuality, I am fascinated with the topic of monsters; I love them all: lycanthropes, Frankenstein’s monster, witches, fae, necromancers, zombies, demons, mummies, and my favorite: vampires. This fetish has been manifested in the movies I view, the televisions shows I watch, and the books I read. When my obsession with reading is crossed with my obsession with monsters the result is a bookshelf containing more vampire novels than most people would consider healthy. I have discovered that every vampire novel varies vastly; no two books are ever alike. For example, the Twilight Series, the Anita Blake Series and the Vampire Chronicles Series have different legends and lore, different relationships between vampires and society, and different genres, theme, and purpose; this array of novels display most clearly the range of audience for vampire genre can cater.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]