Summary: The Last Spin

Emily Hawley
Mr. Guastella
English period 7
25 November 2014
What reading really teaches us
In the short story “The Last Spin” By: Ray Bradbury, two boys Tigo and Dave, they were both part of gangs that were enemies. This short story shows us what it means to really be yourself, how culture can affect you and the subject of life. This story shows us personal insights on what it means to live in an area with a lot of gang violence. Tigo and Dave never meet each other before the gangs sent them to battle to the death, but once they get talking we are able to see what they think, also their personal insight on being involved in a gang. In the last spin the boys had to learn how being a individual not just a member of the “club” and to do what

they think is right. By reading this it can help us understand that you don’t need to follow the crowd and you need to be your own person. “Sometimes instead of choosing one’s friends, one is clumped together with others based on geographic location, physical characteristics, or religion.”
Everyone wants to be part of group and fit in, but what you really need to do is know who you are. These boys were not treated as individuals, they were treated as just another low life that they didn't care about “ This is what the club said. This is how the club said we should settle it” (Hunter 2). These two boys were in separate gangs, that are “enemies” so now they have to be “enemies”. They had to play a game where they would spin the gun and whoever it landed on that person had to put it up to his head and pull the trigger. The jacket represents the different clubs that the boys are from. The jackets are saying that they are just a person in the crowd, not their own individual. The jacket represents a higher power that the boys are listening to. They are just following orders and just doing what they are told because of fear that if they don’t they will be hurt by their own gang because they didn't do what they were told to do. This is showing that they are just a person in the club not there own individual.
The boys rival gangs seem to have problems in the street, instead of having full on war in the streets the two clubs seattle the issues their own way.

The way that the solve this issue is each gang chooses a gang member (one of the lowest people, not important to the gang. One of the members that they wouldn't care if he got killed) is chosen from each gang to play Russian roulette, a game that one person must die and the game doesn't end until that happens“The explosion rocked the small basement room, ripping away half of Danny's head, shattering his face. A small cry escaped Tigo's throat, and a look of incredulous shock knifed his eyes. Then he put his head on the table and began weeping” (Hunter 7). That was the way life worked in the gang, getting killed was no big deal and that was the scary thing about it. In most cases like this Tigo wouldn't care that he was dead, he would be happy that he won this round for his club. But in that basement with Danny, Tigo realized that there was more to life than the gang. During that game of Russian Roulette the boys understood that there were more than members of the gang that they were their own person and the gang didn't get to control everything that happened in their lives. Before Danny took that last shot the boys had made plans talked about their girlfriends, and what they want to do later in life. The boys understood the culture of the gangs and the area that they lived in. That because of what is going on around them they

can not be friends, the gangs had control of them because they let them run their lives, but before the last shot they understood that they could get out of the gangs and they would and they would join the army right after they got out of the basement. The boys never got to do that because they took the last shot and Danny ended up dead. But this is telling you don't let anyone control your life and to always remember to just do it because you never know when life will end.
By reading “The Last Spin” By: Ray Bradbury it can help us understand that you don’t need to follow the crowd.

The story is trying to tell the reader that they boys are doing what's right for their families, even though its dangerous and takes place in what seems to be an city where there is a lot of gang violence. Just because it is all around you doesn't mean that you have to take part in it “Like sometimes-well, don’t you wonder what you’re doing stomping some guy in the street? Like- who’s the guy to you? What you got to beat him up for? Cause he messed with somebody else’s girl” (Hunter 9). The boys are talking in the basement during the game and they realize that they don’t need to take part in it anymore and that they should be able to stand up and so no to it. By showing this in a book its able to show the reader that they can do the same thing as the boys did to question society. In the last spin the boys had to learn how being an individual not just a member of the “club” and do what they think is right. “in the gang, the characters begin to lower their guard through the story and as they do their dialogue becomes friendlier and the sentence becomes longer, more involved, the tone is more friendly. The tone is less tense, but as they come to the firing of the trigger the sentences are shorter to build up tension and concentration.” The tone at the beginning of the story at times In the last spin the boys had to learn how to be a individual not just a member of

the “club” and do what they think is right. By reading this it can help us understand that you don’t need to follow the crowd and you need to be your own person. by the end of the story theybegin to change even more "Hey you know, I'm glad they got this idea. You know that? I'm actually glad!” (hunter 6). By reading this it can help us understand that you don’t need to follow the crowd and you need to be your own person. In this story you could argee that it didn't teach you anything and you got nothing from reading this book. The book is able to teach you how to stand up for what you believe is right, how to be your self even when its much safer to just be part of the crowd, and honestly just that you never know what's going to happen next so always make the best of life.
“The Last Spin” By: Ray Bradbury, shows us what it means to really be yourself, how culture can affect you and the subject of life. This story shows us personal insights on what it means to live in an area with a lot of gang violence. Tigo and Dave never meet each other before the gangs sent them to battle to the death, but once they get talking we are able to see what they think, also their personal insight on being involved in a gang. In the last spin the boys had to learn how being a individual not just a member of the “club” and to do what they think is right. By reading this it can help us understand that you don’t need to follow the crowd and you need to be your own person. The story is trying to tell the reader that they boys are doing what's right for their families even though its dangerous. As they went on with the game and started to talk to one another and realized that they actually had a lot in common and could’ve been good friends, they also both started to not want to be in their gangs anymore, they were able to realize that they didn't need to let the gangs control them. But in the end Dave took the chance of taking the Last Shot and ended up shooting himself in the head. The book is able to teach you how to stand up for what you believe is right, how to be your self even when its much safer to just be part of the crowd, and honestly just that you never know what's going to happen next so always make the best of life. So what does reading really teach us? Reading teaches us who you are, what is really going on around you and what life really is all about.