Manchild In The Promised Land By Claude Brown

Manchild in the Promised Land Essay

Why is the title ‘Manchild in the Promised Land’?

While it is impossible to completely ascertain any author’s direct purpose without a direct statement, Claude Brown likely chose to use the word ‘manchild’ because of the tough nature of his childhood. From the age of five, he had been spending his time with children who were not just older than he, but rougher too. Additionally, as with Itzok Isaac Granich, who wrote Jews Without Money, the environment where Claude Brown was raised was incredibly volatile and unmistakably adult. “Although none of my sidekicks was over twelve years of age, we didn’t think of ourselves as kids. The other kids my age were thought of as kids by me. I felt that since I knew

more about life than they did, I had the right to regard them as kids” (p. 22). Claude Brown, like Itzok Isaac Granich, was compelled to mature earlier in order to live in his environment.
The “promised land” portion of the title is a reference to the American Dream, which is supposed to be available to any person who works, no matter their socioeconomic standing.

Realistically, the American staircase of success is far more complex than suggested. In America, in its infancy, in the nineteen forties, and still today, there is a ceiling to the success that some people can achieve based on their religion, race, gender, political beliefs, and economic standing. While some people are able to conquer the obstacles of their environment, the ability to do so depends on the character of the person and on the opportunities they are given, it is not ‘promised’ as the American Dream suggests. The title ‘Manchild in the Promised Land’ is therefore a social commentary on the realities of the lives of many Americans, many of whom are forgotten in most media contexts, because they fail to match the ideal American WASP persona -- based on their religion, race, gender, political beliefs, or economic

standing.
Explain how the “coming of age” experience was impacted by living in the environment of Harlem? Was “coming of age” different for males and females?
The development of any person is directly influenced by their environment. Especially in tougher environments, as in both Jews Without Money and Manchild in the Promised Land. Like many others, Claude Brown’s home environment and his surrounding neighborhood caused him to not necessarily mature, but to become an adult at a young age. The Harlem Claude Brown describes is wrought with familial issues, which cause further detriment to the development of a child. For instance, Brown’s own development, and introduction to street life, was impacted greatly by his turbulent relationship with his father. As a child, Brown’s father had introduced him to alcohol and beatings. Bildungsromans, or “coming of age stories,” For example, Bucky, one of Brown’s friends, had an alcoholic single mother who could not care for all of her children. While many of the children in this memoir were sent to children’s shelters at some point in their life, including Brown, none of the children depicted visited as frequently as Bucky: “... he [Bucky] only had to walk in and they [the policemen] would send him to the Shelter without asking him anything… he liked it [the shelter] more than his first home. At the shelter, he always got three meals a day, and three meals beats none any way you look at it” (p. 32). Bucky was a member of Brown’s gang and, like many of the other members, likely would not have if he did not have to rely completely on his own abilities to provide for himself and in a shotty welfare system.
What role do poverty and crime play in the lives of the residents of Harlem?
In the first chapter of Manchild in the Promised Land Claude Brown writes the following, “Somebody was always trying to shake us down or rob us.

This was usually done by older hustlers in the neighborhood or by shopkeepers or cops … We accepted this as the ways of life. Everybody was stealing from everyone else (p. 21).” This quote not only establishes the high rate of criminal activity in Harlem at this time period, but the cyclical nature of crime and poverty. Brown, like the majority of Harlem was impoverished and, to make up for it, stole. The people who were stolen from, in turn had to steal. (INSERT MORE ABOUT THIS) Poverty breeds instability, and the children forced to live in tempestuous environments often fight to survive, rather than to thrive. For many of the children in this memoir, and indeed children in similar situations throughout history and still today, their involvement in crime and fights was born from fear of not doing so, as that would lead to a loss of protection; “... you had to fight and… you should fight. Everybody would accept it if a person was scared to fight, but not if he was so scared that he didn’t fight. As I saw it in my childhood, most of the cats I swung with were more afraid of not fighting than they were of fighting (p.

253).”
How might the American culture lead many in Harlem (and other similar communities) to feel isolated, alienated, and targets of discrimination?
Racial prejudice and stereotyping has long been an issue in American culture. “This was the first time that Mama had been in court, and she was pretty angry about the whole thing. All the way uptown on the bus, Mama kept telling me that I should be ashamed of myself for making her come down to that court and face those white people (p. 23.”
How does Claude Brown rise above the difficult experiences of his youth? What does this say about the individual’s ability to “handle” his/her environment?