In The Outside Circle by Patti-LaBoucane-Benson, the main character, Pete, spends a significant amount of time as a criminal. Pete is affiliated with the gang Tribal Warriors. He engages in violence, crime, and has a bad character. Moreover, the cause of these actions are because of the fact that he is confused about his identity, comes from a broken family, and lives a rough life. A song that expresses this phase of Pete’s life is “People Like Us” by Kelly Clarkson. The lyrics “Here’s to the damned to the lost and forgotten, it’s hard to get high when you’re living on the bottom,” describes Pete’s situation. Young Indigenous men like Pete live “a hard life in the inner city...don’t know who they are… [and] [are] living in pain and confusion.” …show more content…
During the family tree activity, Pete knows very little about his family and where he comes from. After presenting, he explains that “There was no other family stepping up to help [them]. It was just [him], [his] mom, and Joey. [They] didn’t have nobody else.” A song that relates to this phase of Pete’s life is “Paralyzed” by Against the Current. The lyrics “Have you searched for something deeper out of fear that life’s a lonely road?” further supports the fact that Pete has minimal family members in his life, since most of his family history is unknown. Therefore, he is unable to dig deeper and discover his family roots. He never had the chance to feel deeper love, care, or the sense of a complete family. Also, while using the feeling cards, Pete feels shame for his actions towards his pregnant girlfriend. He abandons her and accuses her of sleeping around, refusing to accept his responsibility as a father. He realizes that “the truth is [he] [is] no better than [his] father,” and is “so sick of being like this.” His actions of neglect and betrayal mimic those of his own father, since Pete’s dad did not support their family and was never around. Likewise, the lyrics “I can’t control myself, don’t know who I’ve been, and who’s this monster wearing my skin?” emphasize Pete’s confusion and shock towards his own cruel
Bruce Springsteen once wrote in his song “Spirit In The Night” does “anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake?” T. Coraghessan Boyle referenced this Springsteen song in his short story “Greasy Lake.” Unlike the song which is supposed to be about people having a fun and rebellious night, Boyle turns Springsteen’s lyrics into dark and painful memories. The story was about the narrator, who remained unnamed throughout the entirety of it, and his friends Digby and Jeff who went to hang out at Greasy Lake. They lived in a time where it was “good to be bad” and they did not care about anything in the world. These characters did whatever they wanted, and their actions did have consequences. Throughout the story, the narrator’s personal growth was seen with how he viewed the
"Where I came from, in order to be down you had to be 'in'" (Shakur, 226). This quote, taken from Sanyika Shakur's (aka Monster Kody Scott) Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member relates the mind set of those growing up the concrete jungle of South Central L.A. This powerful account of the triumph of the human spirit over insurmountable odds brings the reader into the daily battles for survival. His story starts at the beginning of his gang life (being initiated at age 11), moves through his teen years (mostly spent in various correctional facilities) and ends up with his transformation in a member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement.
father “Your son was a ballplayer, wasn’t he? He didn’t have any missing parts, did he?” Mack sits on the edge of the roof as “The pain sat between them even as the rain beat down.” This demonstrates that Mack doesn’t think that he’ll ever heal and become the person he was before. Mack believes that he had let everyone down by not being the successful person he was before. He feels as if he will never reach people’s expectations of him now because of the tragedy.
As Rob’s Dad gets to hear everything that Rob was trying to hold in, from the loss of his Mom. His Dad understands and has the same problem holding back his emotions of the loss of his wife, and how it impacts Robs
Not only did Chris not want to call his parents, he did not want to see, speak or even come in contact with them. After Chris discovered his father’s affair he had no desire to even have parents at all. He was so angry at everything they have done. In a letter to his sister, Chris explained that their parents were being irrational and he had passed his breaking point: ‘“’I’m going to divorce them as my parents once and for all and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live’” (64). Chris believes his parents have caused so many thing to go wrong in his life that they do not even deserve to have him anymore. To come to this statement and the conclusion of divorcing his parents, Chris had to have been emotionally hurt to a crippling point. He cannot see that they are only trying to protect him and give him a happy, secure future. Chris lived thinking that his parents were horrible people and did not feel loved or cared for, and that led him to rebel. Not caring about what his parents’ feelings crippled Chris with anger and led him to, ultimately, his
Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” does just that. The entire story shows the struggle that people in the inner city face to be truly free, let it be the lack of any hope for advancement because of color or economic factors, or from drugs. Baldwin show’s that the struggle is universal, and by so doing hopes to open everyone’s eyes to the problem. He also brings great attention to the problem of drugs in America with characters such as Sonny, whose life came to ruins after struggling with heroin. This is exemplified when Sonny gives voice to how heroin makes one feel “It makes you feel in control”.
Subject- The lyrics in this song brings up a reoccurring problem that everyone faces throughout their lifetime. Everyone wants to fit in or belong to someone, or something. This song easily compares to the book Frankenstein, when the reader is introduced to the monster. The monster that Victor created does not understand the world he has been put into, or how to operate in everyday society. In the first stanza Phil Collins writes,
Strangely enough, the “War on Drugs” should be thought of as a physical war; one that has used force and violence against certain communities, to obtain certain political purposes. Race has impacted the method in identifying the communities that have become targets of the drug war. Similarly, former President, Ronald Raegan, was accused of using racist ideals in his campaign. Alexander (2012) quotes President Raegan, “forcing liberals into a position that would soon become familiar-arguing that something is racist but finding it impossible to prove in the absence of explicitly racist language.” In relation, cultural practices in these communities have been exposed to military style and brutal police control. Stalley is an artist that speaks about the struggles of people of color. Stalley speaks of mass incarceration and announces to his audience that the war on drugs and racism was not started alone. Racism is an issue that impacts people of color, it mainly focuses on black males, although many people of color, are also affected. Stalley speaks out on the struggles of what is called the ‘hood” and that people of color are tired of the injustices of the criminal justice system. Stalley (2013) has a song with provoking lyrics that expresses
Early in the film , a psychologist is called in to treat the troubled child :and she calmed the mother with a statement to the effect that, “ These things come and go but they are unexplainable”. This juncture of the film is a starting point for one of the central themes of the film which is : how a fragile family unit is besieged by unusual forces both natural and supernatural which breaks and possesses and unites with the morally challenged father while the mother and the child through their innocence, love, and honesty triumph over these forces.
In today’s society, people are taught to conform to the masses in order to fit in; however, it is imperative that one’s individuality is maintained, as it preserves their identity and encourages uniqueness. For example, in the song, “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”, Phil Ochs discusses the social norm where people are too afraid to stand out, often times, leading them to pay little to no attention to the wellbeing of others. Instead of adhering to their own judgment and moral values, the person in the song continues to abide by the notions of the rest of the group. In addition, in “The Dying Girl that No One Helped”, Loudon Wainright describes the brutal murder of a young 28 year old women, while over 38 of
They got caught up in a shootout between two gangs. Politicians and Ministers were quick to point the finger at today’s music. influencing gun crime in the U.S. The minister for tourism said, ‘The hateful. lyrics almost connote a culture killing is a fashion accessory”.
Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin tells the story of a man growing up in Harlem in the early 1950s along with his brother. These two brothers grew up in poverty and have seemingly chosen different paths in their lives, Sonny being a drug addict and our narrator a school teacher but they struggle with very similar problems. Both brothers use different methods of escapism to cope with not only their childhood but the struggles they face. Sonny Blues has many examples showing us that although drinking, smoking, drugs, music, and work can supply us temporary fixes to our problems, they won't fix them in the long run and we must ultimately face our demons.
The systematic oppression of the underprivileged is an unescapable loop that keeps people chained. J Cole’s album, 4 Your Eyez Only, shows the difficulties of escaping a difficult lifestyle. J Cole, a young North Carolina based rapper, focuses on the consequences that come with choosing to live a life of crime. Although living this lifestyle is wrong, many are forced into this life and tend to glorify it because it is all they know. J. Cole challenges this notion while also realizing the oppression he is facing while trying to escape the life. He chooses to tell the album from the perspective of his dead friend, who chose this lifestyle. Although this album is dark, it has an underlying tone of hope.
In Pat’s family, he was always seen as the outcast and was not treated the same as others. His father says in the movie that he regrets not spending as much time with him as a kid and that he was trying to make up for it now. His father did not know how to handle Pat’s violent mood swings as a child, and that led to them having an unhealthy father-son relationship. One thing that I have learned throughout this chapter is how important family is in helping a person with a mental illness and guiding them through their process of recovery. There are many factors that can drive and worsen a mental disorder, but there are also many factors that can help improve a person’s mental disorder.
Pat has to readjust to his new life throughout the movie. Pat now has no wife, no job, no house, and many new battles. Pat is a character with emotional regulation issues and poor social skills. As the movie develops we follow Pat as he grows as a person and gains coping skills to adjust to his new