In today’s world there are millions of people who grow up in situations that make them powerless. Poverty, violence, and drugs surround children from birth and force them to join the cycle. In L.B. Tillit’s Unchained a young boy named TJ grows up in this environment. With both his mother and father struggling with addiction, he is often left alone on the streets to fend for himself. He turns to a local gang for protection and a sense of place in Jr. High, but is quickly taken out of the life he knows when his father overdoses and dies. TJ is sent to live in a foster home where he learns to care for others and meets a girl and falls in love with her. However, when his mother regains custody of him, TJ is forced back into the gang where he uses violence and drug dealing to stay alive. With help from his foster care manager he soon realizes that he can make it out of his life and return to his foster home and the girl he loves. A central theme of Unchained is that people have the power to make decisions to determine their future. …show more content…
In the book this happens after TJ returns home from foster care and becomes involved in gangs, violence, and drugs. TJ is spinning out of control with no direction until one day when his foster care manager comes to school to check in on him. She says, “I can’t save you. You have to do that on your own. You may not know this, but you have choices that you can make. You can choose, TJ” (Tillit 161). This quote directly relates to the theme of the story. In the story TJ is letting others influence his future and leading him down a bad path until his foster manager consults with him. The meeting helps TJ see that he can escape his life of poverty and violence and live a better life
Sahara Special, by Esme Raji Codell, is a shining piece of adolescent nonfiction that authentically and sensitively captures the Heart-Wrenching Life Story and Amazing Adventures of a two-time inner-city fifth grader. Inspiring and empathy inducing, Sahara Special exemplifies Russel’s guidelines for culturally and socially diverse literature as outlined in our textbook in many ways.
The author Wes Moore dad was a hard worker and he had dreams & goals set for the future. The other Wes’s parents didn’t have as much drive and ambition. The other Wes’s dad walked out on him and his mother was left to work jobs just to provide for the family. Author Wes’s parents ambitions rubbed off onto him and his mother’s love for education drove her to push Wes academically. The two mothers had different expectations and ambitions for their sons. The other Wes states “‘We will do what others expect of us, Wes said. If they expect us to graduate we will graduate. If they expect us to get a job, we will get a job. If they expect us to go to jail, we will go to jail.” (Moore 126). The expectation the families had on both Wes’s shaped who they were and that influenced the decisions they made, that caused their lives to end up so
Parental influences can negatively impact a child’s life. An example of this is in the novel
Both Wes lived through similar circumstances that if one act had been done different their future could have been drastically different. This novel sheds the light on how two similar Lives can have surprisingly different outcomes when one chooses school and education while the other goes for the money and drugs. Growing up everyone has someone they look up to, and that certain individual helps shape the person they end up becoming as they get older, in the Wes’ case they did not have a father figure to guide them, but the different role models they did have played a big part in the person they each came out to be. The author Wes had a mother who was determined to guide him into the right path and went out of her way for
As Roland was forced to grow up away from his home, he also was exposed to many terrible attributes of life included physical, mental and sexual abuse. The first account that Roland shares is his story of
Parents want what is best for their children, but sometimes they expect too much and children can feel trapped. The only way kids feel they can escape from the pressure is to gain independence through rebelling. The short story “Brother Dear”, by Bernice Friesen suggests the idea that when individuals pursue independence by rebelling against expectations set out for them, they can become estranged from loved ones and feel like they have let them down; however, despite the pressure an individual may feel they can often remain optimistic about their situation. Greg grows up with a lot of pressure from his family to do well in life, the only way he feels he can escape this pressure is rebelling against what they want.
“Visualize Child Protective Services (CPS) walking up to your home to take your children away from you. Now picture this, picture what the children feel like escorted away from their parents left to wonder where they will end up.” Says Larry in the beginning of our interview. “Many children experience these thoughts as they walk out the front door of what they call home.” What can we do to ease the anxiety of these young children taken away from parents? Kinship care is one viable option that can ease the worry for children. However, kinship care is not the only placement for children who are taken away from their homes. Other out-of-home placements include group homes, residential treatments, private child welfare institutions, shelters, and even correctional facilities. “Children need a stable and healthy environment” says Larry the Vietnam Veteran. Kinship care is safe and can help many children by preparing them for a successful future. In this essay, I will have two main sections interviewing a Veteran friend of mine named Larry Pearson, whom served in the Vietnam War. The first section of this essay will be titled “Crabs”, which will discuss how all things came together in Larry’s life just as the critters all came together in the home in Mexico in the book “Tropic of Orange.” Many people made their way to the plot, just as many people were placed in Larry’s life, and this has played a major part in my life as well. The second section will be titled “Orange”. The orange in the book “Tropic of Orange” symbolized magic and dreams, so in this section of my paper I will discuss the great benefits of Larry’s decision to serve in Vietnam War. I will use Larry’s life to explain how I have linked together with variations of people ...
With the right mindset, anybody can achieve successfulness. It doesn’t depend on the social ranking, amount of money, or any other factors. If somebody was brought up like Jeannette was, they could follow in her foot steps. With parents who offer out no help, it would require all the effort to come for the child wanting change. They cannot rely on anybody for help because it is rare and temporary. They also shouldn’t count of moving at such a young age, it was miracle even with Jeannette’s parents that they let leave. In a whole, Jeannette’s story can be achieved by anyone if they are up for the challenge. Liz’s story can relate to more children or teens around America. Many children have the struggle of drug addicted parents in tod...
But the fight for a better life won't stop just because you aren't ready. What we're doing is not something you decide to do when you feel like it. Whether you're ready or not, this struggle will go on.” Pg. 159. The drug issue is relevant in the world today because kids, especially teens, use it as a way to escape the reality they are living in. Some use it to have fun but others to forget of what they are living in and to relieve the “stress” they might have. Reading fiction can teach students the harm and danger of certain things, like drugs. It can show what it does and how it can affect you in the future and even though it may take away the hurt you are feeling, it will only come back when that feeling is gone.“When you win we win but when you go down you go down alone” Pg. 159. The author shows by this quote how not everyone is willing to go down when you go down, but only succeed when you do. This is relevant in the world because when you are doing good everyone want to be surrounded by you, but once you fail no one is there to help you. This relates to the thesis because it can teach students the harm drugs can cause when using them for a temporary
Although I grew up with both my parents, my dad was working a 12 hour shift, so he could provide for all his children. Even though I had the love of both my parents, I chose to hang out with my neighbors most of the day. The neighborhood I lived in was full of drugs, violence, and money. I wasn’t really into the violence part. My dad was working all day just so we could have the things we required. I didn’t want to waist our family’s money so I would never ask my Mom or Dad for any. I started hustling anything I had or could get my hands on. It was a bad decision but at the time I wasn’t thinking about the consequences. I was just trying to get my hands on a lot of money. I started robbing places and people, and ended up getting arrested a couple times. Before I started to realize that in the long run, it would turn out for the worst. The first time I got arrested, I didn’t even care. I just wanted to get done with the process of everything, and get back to what I was doing. My mind was set to think “Damn how could you make a silly mistake, and get caught like that.” My mother was totally shocked when she found out that I was getting into trouble, because I hadn’t gotten any complains from school for bad behavior, or bad grades, and I had never let my mom know that I was doing all these useless stuff. Ultimately I got sent to boarding school and now have completely switched up my life. My environment was having a big affect on my life. I learned from my mistakes and I am making a better future for myself. I don’t regret much because, I have gained so much knowledge from the wrong things I did in my life. The author Wes Moore had a change of environment and influences and turned out in a different situation, than the other Wes moor...
In a normal functioning family, both parent and child care for and love one another, and display these feelings. A parent is required to nurture his or her child and assure that the child feels loved by spending time together, and by giving the child sufficient attention. However, there are often times when a parent is unable to fulfill these requirements, which can ultimately have damaging effects on the child. A child who is neglected by his or her parents “perceives the world as a hostile and uncaring place. In addition to this negative perception of the world, the neglect a child faces affects later interaction with his or her peers, prompting the child to become anxious and overly withdrawn” (Goldman). This neglectful type of parenting proves to be a pattern in the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, as the main characters, Jimmy, Crake, and Oryx are crucially affected by their parents’ choices and are unjustly abandoned by them. In this novel, the neglect of parents, especially mothers, is clearly reflected in the behaviours of the three main characters.
...s can arise, but choices made with some understanding of the alternatives will usually work out better than leaving matters to chance. Also, if choices are made with the welfare of others in mind they are more likely to be the right ones. In particular, if there is a problem to solve that involves conflict between the law and conscience, the best solution may be to follow one's heart. If a decision is guided by conscience, no one can better tell one what to do, or how to do it. That is how Taylor is able to take her loved ones out of Arizona, even though it means breaking the law. She feels she can not do otherwise, and the law has to take second place. Someone else might not do the same. Everything depends on both conscience and courage, but not everyone has these qualities in the same degree. Nonetheless, if even breaking the law must sometimes be considered, it can best be done by an appeal to common humanity, conscience, and the heart. That is exactly what Taylor does here. But, like Taylor, people must be prepared to live with the possible consequences of their choices and actions. Knowing clearly, however, why one's choices are made, makes such risks or obstacles acceptable.
The boy appears to play the role of the responsible adult more so than the father does. The boy has typical signs of a child from today’s broken family relationships; he does not want to disappoint either parent. The boy s...
In society, many kids are exposed to drugs at a very young age such as Baby. Since Baby’s father is a heroin addiction, she would always experience Jules under the influence of drugs. Jules influenced Baby the most by exposing her to drugs which made her lose her childhood innocence. “I was very firm on the idea that I would become a drug addict too now. I didn’t care what drug I was going to be addicted too” (O’ Neill 72). Baby does not have any knowledge about drugs. She believes that her knowledge of drugs comes from her father and her father’s friends; majority of them were “junkies”. Jules’ addiction eventually got worse and he began to release his problems by abusing Baby; the relationship between her father and her becomes more distant. She feels that if she tries heroin, she will be able to become closer to her dad. At this point in time Baby is very vulnerable because she’s basically raising herself on her own; her dad is not there for her which leaves Baby with no choice but to let go of her innocence, due to adult temptation.
The story provides many sources for the boy's animosity. Beginning with his home and overall environment, and reaching all the way to the adults that surround him. However, it is clear that all of these causes of the boy's isolation have something in common, he has control over none of these factors. While many of these circumstances no one can expect to have control over, it is the culmination of all these elements that lead to the boy’s undeniable feeling of lack of control.