I'm going to split up my post into sections since my questions as a whole are too big to fit the 4096 character limit
QUESTION 1 SECTION 1- What is your first impression of Newark and the Projects? From what I have read so far, the doctors describe the projects as violence-ridden, drugged, and corrupt. I also believe that their way of speaking may be different than ours. I believe that the projects are not exactly ideal places to live out a childhood. For that reason, this book could help kids like the doctors who lived in this area. However, I also get the impression that this life is quite normal for these people, and that most kids weren't bad. They were just inheriting what they had seen. In reality, these kids were thriving with emotion. I understand that the projects were just a facet of life.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 1 - Describe Sampson's experience at the hospital. What do you learn about him based on his reactions? Sampson Davis drops a slab of concrete on his foot, and subsequently breaks it. His visit at the hospital is eye-opening. He learns about x-rays, and the bones in the foot. The book also says that Sampson would have looked at the pictures for hours, and it is implied that Sampson remembers his confrontation throughout his summer, and probably his entire life. This experience at the hospital is the first thing to spark Davis’s interest in the medical field. We find out that Davis is eager to learn. His fascination of his x-rays shows a career in the medical industry sprouting inside of him at an early age. Davis is also able to bounce back quite easily from his injury; for example, he is excited to receive the light blue cast for his broken foot. As a little boy, Sampson is naturally curious; he asks the doctor if amputation for his foot is necessary. All these pieces form the framework of Davis's medical career.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 1 - How well does the pricnipal at Rameck's school seem to understand him? What feelings does she bring out in Rameck? Rameck's prinicpal, in the mind of Rameck, does not seem to understand his situation very well. Instead of recognizing that Rameck's academic ventures so far have been successful, she assumes that his mischievous behaviour negates his skill, and wants him to partake in special education. The principal only understands Rameck as a troublemaker, and not a smart student who just happens to get in trouble a lot. In effect, she brings out anger in Rameck. After his word with the principal, he proceeds to beat up the bully Meatball. She also brings out curiosity in him. Rameck wonders why someone would place him in special education when his grades are up solely because of his behavior.
QUESTION 4 SECTION 1 - Give your assessment of Rameck's family from Chapter Two. The book describes Rameck's mom as using the "tough love" strategy - and I concur. His mom understands clearly that her son should not enter special education, but also tells Rameck that he shouldn’t whine about his position. She essentially tells him that you should make lemonade out of life's lemons. His grandmother seems to be wise. She gives me this impression by offering words of wisdom to Rameck, saying that life isn't always easy for his mom, and that his mom put him in the Catholic school for a better education. She is also understanding, recognizing the faults in the principal's assessment of Rameck.
Second part of post QUESTION 5 SECTION 1 – What positive message does George’s third-grade teacher convey to her students? Mrs. Johnson appears to give the same message that the three doctors do to open up the book: that success will come as long as you stay out of trouble. She talks about how college is possible for these kids, who see college as a dream, or some luxury that other people have the chance to go to. She also explains to George that there will always be adversity, like the mothball lady, and that sometimes, you just have to ignore it. There are not many teachers who say the same thing. I don’t remember my teacher telling us anything of that matter. I believe, however, that these kids needed it because of their living conditions. Growing up in the projects, where negative influence runs rampant, it is almost necessary to shine a bright light on these kids. And that’s just what Mrs. Johnson did. She conveyed a message of hope and success for her children.
QUESTION 6 SECTION 1 - To which of the Three Doctors can you most relate? Which would have most likely been your friend? I can relate to Rameck Hunt the most. I see that he is good at school, but sometimes gets into mischief. While I'm not as much of a troublemaker as Hunt, I still get into a little trouble at times. Also, people misunderstand me a lot, like the principal misunderstood Hunt. People think I'm going to say this, do that, etc., when in actuality I'm actually thinking about something else. They take what I do at face value and believe that that's what I am going to be, all the time. Like Rameck, I feel confused when people misunderstand my situations. My friend would have most likely been George Jenkins. Jenkins has more of a laid-back attitude in the first chapters than the other two, and I could be friends with someone who is eager to learn and needs a positive encouragement. I enjoy hanging around people with the same sort of tendencies as myself because it makes me feel like I fit in (yes, the stereotype is true).
QUESTION 7 SECTION 1 - Discuss Sampson and his friends' attitudes when they set out to steal the Icees. How do their actions reflect both their ages and their circumstances? Sampson is the brainchild of the plan to steal the Icees. This shows that he is confident and fearless. Will, much like Sampson, is carefree and is excited about the robbery. Although Noody ends up helping in the burglary, he is a bit cautious at first, reminding Will and Sampson that they are out of money. He seems to follow his friends ambitions when he decides to aid in their effort. At such a young age, these kids really do not know any better. They were only adapting to what they had seen. Remember, prior to the incident they had seen the drug dealer "the Bomb" beat a man with a bat. So, to them, stealing from a drug store is not abnormal. Besides, their circumstances were dire. It was a hot summer day, and they were out of money. What else do you think Sampson and his friends are going to do?
QUESTION 1 SECTION 2 - Most of Chapter 5 centers around the difficult financial decisions Rameck's family must make. Discuss some of these decisions and what they mean to family members. Reflect on how their situation compares to your family's.
One of the decisions that is put away very subtly in this chapter is the fact that Rameck's mother ran out of money to support his education at his Catholic school. However, since Rameck wanted out anyways, it did not cause a big ordeal. The two bigger decisions focused on Rameck's want of Nikes and an interest in an acting course which requires a portfolio. The first decision, mostly due to its materialistic nature, is cut down quickly by Rameck's grandmother during their car ride home. The second, while more costly, is more important to Rameck and his future, and therefore his grandmother gives him the cash necessary to sign up for the class and get the pictures. However, Rameck arrives home to see his mom in a bind over the electricity. She herself is having financial troubles. When his mom asks for any money, Rameck hesitates at first, but gives her the money eventually. His mom then tells him that his debts will be paid. While it never happened, and Rameck's acting chances were likely shattered, Rameck knows he did the right thing. I cannot truly see how any of the previous could compare to my family, being that I attend a private school, live in a 2 story house which is going to be extended, and get the nutrition I need. The only time I could think of worry is in Dec. 2011 when my dad quit work and my mom told me that we would have to budget a bit. To me that doesn't really count either.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 2 - Discuss Rameck's decision to give Ma's cash to his mother. In your opinion, did he do the right thing? Why or why not?
I briefly explained this part of the book in the previous answer. Rameck wasn't sure whether to give the money for his acting career to his Mom, or to keep his dream. I believe he did the right thing, only because it was his mother. After I read the conversation following the chapter, my mind sort of changed when I saw that Rameck said that his mother was a bit of a drug addict. If Rameck knew that money could have helped feed her addiction, which I'm sure he did, he could have lied. However, at the end of this same conversation that decisions made with the right intentions are always right because they were made with right reasons. In that case, then his decision was a good one. I believe that principle barely beats out Rameck's mother's addiction.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 2 - George states, "I knew the moment I walked into that office that I had found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life" (49). How might the dentist himself have contributed to the formulation of George's dream?
George asked the dentist if he was a Godzilla or a King Kong. The dentist replied he was like Superman, in that he would beat up both Godzilla and King Kong. I think this helped relate characters such as Superman, which George could understand, to the field of dentistry. The dentist was never negative with George, much like the doctor that inspected Sampson's broken foot. He always told George what was going on, in a comfortable way. He could handle all of George's questions and dish back a well informed answer.
2nd part of 2nd post QUESTION 4 SECTION 2 - Chapter Seven contains three clear parts: kung fu lessons with Reggie, the shoplifting incident, and Razor’s car crash and death. Why do the authors choose these three events to capture Sampson’s life at age 11? How do the events relate to one another?
Sampson seems to be a kid with many different sides to him. In all 3 parts the chapter encompasses the life of Sampson. After the kung fu lessons, we learn that Sampson wants to be successful when he talks to Reggie, and asks him about how he can prevent himself from drowning in the water of adversity. He also, like any kid, wants to know and understand things. When he is played by Eddie, we learn that he is still innocent and naïve, and that he does not have a big sense of urgency. But most importantly, we see that Samspon realizes what can happen to him if he gives in to the streets when he sees Razor’s death. After Reggie tells Sampson his words of wisdom, Sampson realizes what he meant when he is swindled into a carpet-cleaning company by Eddie. Sampson knew how easy it was to get in trouble and yet he was still able to. He had gone under. When his friend Razor dies, he comes back up for air, but then looks around and finds that Razor is nowhere to be found. He had drowned in the ocean. Only later does he “BE the ocean” and find people like him that have similar goals.
QUESTION 5 SECTION 2 - Discuss reasons why students in the book would rather be perceived as dumb or as slackers than achievers. How does this attitude compare to the culture in your school?
Dr. Davis reveals in his conversation after Chapter 8 that you would be called names and be excluded. In Dr. Hunt’s conversation following Chapter 9, he says that peers would expect you to do the wrong thing. I believe that both of these reasons are viable for that age and social group/demographic. Street life was much different than school life. This attitude, at least in the Honors class, is seldom used. Most people think that getting good grades is cool. However, some people know that others excel and use them for their own benefit. For example, I won’t help people with things all the time because I’m not just going to let someone use me. They can go use some other guinea pig to do their work.
3rd post - 1st part QUESTION 1 SECTION 3 - When Sampson walks away from Spud and the drugs, the narrator says, “he’d been able to navigate that delicate road between what was right and what was real” (80). Normally we describe a choice of that nature as being between right and wrong. Why use the word “real” rather than wrong?
The word real is used in place of wrong because drugs were wrong, but they were wrong up to the point to where they were almost, in a sense, “right.” Therefore, the idea of taking the money was real as well as wrong. The right thing to do in this situation is treated as “obscure” or “abnormal” for the sake of the setting and circumstances. In that way, we can relate every facet of drugs and violence in this book as real as well as wrong. This line sort of illustrates the broad idea of everything bad in the book being a reality. Kids that were in jail had no future; jail was their reality. Wrong and real in this book seem to go hand in hand. This makes it easier to understand how hard it must have been for Rameck to make the right decision.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 3 - When Sampson turns down drugs on his birthday, Hock accuses him of thinking he’s better than his friends. Relate this incident to Sampson’s conversation with Rameck and George earlier in Chapter Ten. Why is staying clean such a challenge in their surroundings? That’s because it’s hard to say no to your old friends. The trio knows that their old friends in reality have no future, and will be swallowed by the streets, but they are still friends. It’s also hard because fighting against the current is tough. Usually kids will follow what someone says, and it’s easier to do that because you might look weird if you don’t. So, when it came to Sampson’s decision to not get high, he knew what he had to face. However, his willpower helped him overcome the adversity. Sampson says that he is still looking for his blueprint on how to make it; that he can’t let the streets take him under. This decision helped Sampson step away from the wrong path. QUESTION 3 SECTION 3- Discuss the walkout Rameck and the other USO members stage. Were you surprised by their success? What did Rameck gain from this experience? Rameck and his USO group staged a walkout to protest their history program that had little to no African-American or Hispanic branch. It only covered the basic black people, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was not surprised by the success mostly because there have been other successful strikes in reaction to racial discrimination. This story must have been set maybe a bit after the Civil Rights era, so the nation had seen other acts such as the Alabama bus boycott and the protest in Washington D.C. draw attention. Therefore, it was relatively easy to pull off a stunt like this. Aside from the attention that he got from organizing the strike, Rameck gained a sense of achievement. This may foreshadow a successful career in the future.
QUESTION 4 SECTION 3 - As the boys discuss their futures, what obstacles to their success become apparent? Compare these obstacles to those you face in achieving your goals.
The two that I see that are apparent are the drugs and violence of the streets. The boys know that they can easily be sucked in to the black hole of misfortune. One of the other things they discuss is peer pressure to participate in the aforementioned drugs and violence. These roadblocks are nowhere near anything I could compare to.There really aren't that many bad things in my neighborhood. Ok, there was one break in, and there might be one or two shady people, but honestly my neighborhood is pretty clean. So none of these obstacles are anywhere in play for me. However, the most minor of their obstacles is a big one in my life: peer pressure. There is constant nagging between friends to get others to do things. One time is all it takes. That's what I have to be on the lookout for.
QUESTION 5 SECTION 3 - The narrator describes the incident with the crack addict on the playground and includes a broad range of emotions the boys feel. What are the emotions the boys experience before, during, and after the beating and stabbing of the man. Discuss the relationship between violence and emotion in this incident and in general. What allows people to check their emotions?
Before the beating, there is a sense of normalcy. It's just another crackhead that wants a rock. He gets the rock, and the boys tell him not to smoke near the little kids. However, once he begins to smoke on the playground, they boys get angry. That anger is carried over to the beating, where they hurt him and stab him. However, I believe some of it may have been instinct, only because earlier in the book that these same boys didn't have a reason to fight. I think this position escalated throughout the fight up to the point where Rameck stabs the man. After, when the police comes, there is an obvious shock and worry, but with it there is also a confusion, and amazement at what they had just done, especially for Rameck, who was told earlier by his mom not to hang out with the Plainfield boys anymore. Normally, when you get angry at a person, you want to hurt them. In this situation, the man was smoking near a bunch of innocent kids. If I were them, I would want to do something, and if I were a young black male in the Newark projects like them, I would probably want to hit them. The decision made by Rameck and his friends stayed true to their character, belief, circumstance, etc. So I think the choice was logical from their standpoint. I check my emotions by thinking about the consequences of what would happen. If I were to stab a man, I would first think about the downfall afterward: my prison sentence, my tarnished reputation, etc. My dad has a short temper, but a lot of times he is able to control it because he doesn't want to see Olivia cry. Many people visualize the aftermath of a decision to help calm themselves down.
QUESTION 1 SECTION 4 - Sampson steals partly to have nice things like the kids who deal drugs. Talk about this temptation. Can you relate? Do you ever see yourself or your peers acting out of a desire to have more or at least as much as those around you? How do you overcome this desire?
I cannot relate to any temptation that has to do with drugs/violence/anything of that sort. I’m sort of confused why these relation questions keep coming at me. However, I do see peers acting out of envy. For example, people copy 75% of my jokes and bill them as their own. They just want the attention that comes out of it. That’s not to say that I haven’t done that before. I’ve done things or said things because I’ve wanted attention. To overcome something like that is very hard. However, the first thing to do is stop caring so much. Don’t treat every chance to crack a joke like it will be your last. Worry about yourself. Things will come to you that way. In Samspon’s case, however, it is the very opposite. The minute you stop caring you will be taken out by the blows of the streets. So if I were him I would have to consider the consequences of giving in before I acted out of desire.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 4 - Despite the serious trouble Rameck and Sampson get into, they maintain an advantage over their friends. What enables them to look critically at their actions and turn things around while their friends continue to spiral downwards during and after the crimes?
I think it's the surroundings. Rameck and Sampson want to go to the Seton Hall program. They want to do well in school. They also want to stay out of trouble. Rameck's mom told him that he would be thrown in prison if he continued to hang out with his old boys from Plainfield, and he still did and proceeded to do time. They also don't want to let each other down. The pact that Sampson, George, and Rameck made promised that they would all try to become doctors together. In jail Sampson didn't know what he would tell his two buddies about his incident. Their friends had none of these hopes. To them (well,even to the 3 friends at the time), college seemed impossible. It was something that only rich folks had the time and funds to attend. Therefore, they had nothing to lose robbing and beating people, selling drugs, and the like.
QUESTION 4 SECTION 4 - Discuss how the pact affects the interview results for the boys. How might the outcome have been different without it?
The pact is sort of like the honey on the biscuits. Although all three interviews would have gone smoothly enough without the mention of it, and, quite frankly, they would've all gotten in anyways, the pact helped the interviewers realize the passion that these young men had. They were working as a team, not as individuals. The pact, as I stated earlier, may not have helped the situation too much, but I think the people from Seton Hall saw more character inside these bodies with it. They saw that not only were they book-smart and street-smart, they were unselfish kids. It honestly depends on what they were judging on. If the school was judging on personality, then they may have not made it without the partnership. If the school was looking for smarts, and not hearts (ooh, look that rhymes), then they probably would have made it anyways. It's really up to you on how the pact affected their acceptance.
2nd part of 4th post QUESTION 6 SECTION 4 - What sort of adjustments do the three young men make in their new lives? Why, with all that Seton Hall offers, might Rameck feel "restless and incomplete"?
The boys adjust to the difference in the people and their lifestyle. There is little to no drugs, alcohol, or violence, and there are not too many African-Americans there. Even when Rameck punches the kid, he is surprised that the boy did not engage in a true fight with him, because in the projects, problems are solved by the fist.
Rameck may feel the way he does because of the aforementioned absence of trouble. There's no one to pick a fight with, and if you do, then you'll be in deep water. The school is almost "too innocent" for Rameck. It also might be just too much to take in. Life at University High School is nothing like life at Seton Hall University.
QUESTION 7 SECTION 4 - Why do people keep giving Rameck second chances? Could you have done the same if you were the mother of the boy Rameck attacked?
I think Rameck lives to fight another day because of where he is from. In this case, where Rameck lets out his anger on this boy, the mother knows that punching where Rameck is from is commonplace. Rameck's innocence is the non-innocence of most people.
If I was the mother, I would have done the same. I'm not trying to say the politically correct thing either, because earlier this week there were some people that were annoying me. At first I wanted to complain, but I figured that all these people knew was to annoy and laugh, because maybe that might be their background at home. I didn't feel like trying to fix a perfect ship (in this case, an annoying one).
I believe the boy's mother felt the same way that I did in this situation. She felt that Rameck had learned his lesson. I'm hoping that the people that got on my nerves have learned theirs.
1st part last post QUESTION 1 SECTION 5 - Do you think the boys should have abandoned their pursuit of a rap career for less flashy but more stable medical careers? Did they owe it to anyone to stick to their original plan?
I believe it was a smart idea to end the rap career. I believe Sampson would have grown discontent as a “manager” while Rameck and George performed. I also think it would have been a cop out from the pact that they had made. Although it could have been highly successful, it was smart for the boys to continue their doctoral careers instead of throwing all the education that they had received away.
I feel like the second question is asking me to answer it, because it’s not a great question. But they owed it to themselves. The pact that they had made to stick through school would have faded if they had turned away from it. All 3 had worked really hard, and for them to give it up just before medical school would have been devastating. If they were to fail, there would be nothing for them to lean on, and they probably would have returned to the streets to meet their demise.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 5 - Although academics don’t seem to pose great problems for the three doctors, Chapter Nineteen illustrates some of the challenges their schooling creates. Discuss some of the difficulties the young men and their families face through their education.
The first is Sampson’s regret of his decision to become a doctor. He says to George and Rameck that he “stumbled into this program.”
Sampson wanted to start his career early in hopes of supporting his family, and medical school obviously did not warrant that. He felt he was out of place, that he was the only one there who had not wanted to be a doctor from the jump. Also, Sampson missed the sounds of his old home; sirens, the chatter, everything.
George, however, loved his new life. He worked harder to study the material, even in the absence of George and Rameck. When he came back to his neighborhood, lots of people were proud of him. However, when he gets robbed by the man, it catches him off guard because he had forgotten to be cautious. It was hard to balance school, Sampson and Rameck, and his old friends all at once.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 5 - Discuss Rameck’s final brush with the police. Note the variety of emotions he feels thoughout. How does this scrape differ from the others Rameck has been in with the law? What does it illustrate about the injustices the men face despite their accomplishments?
Rameck is surprised but upset when he is arrested. When he first sees that he should stop, he brushes it off because he knows they are only tracking him because of his race, even though his law school friend Dax thinks otherwise. Then, when he is stopped, his is shocked that the police would just search through his car for drugs or weapons. He feels embarrassed getting arrested right in front of his friend.
This is different because he did not hurt anyone. He was just driving down the road at night, and the police were making a big, fat assumption that he was up to no good. Rameck knows he did no wrong, as opposed to the other times where he had beaten someone.
Obviously this arrest was made because of a stereotype that blacks are usually shady people. The police saw a black person driving at night, and arrested him and searched for drugs just because of his skin color. It’s sad to see medical students who have worked hard being cut down by law enforcement just because a lot of people in their demographic have done wrong.
2nd part last post QUESTION 4 SECTION 4 -Discuss the improbability of Sampson ending up in his desired specialty at his home hospital. How does this one experience illustrate any number of the themes and lessons of the three doctors’ stories?
It was pretty special that Samspon was able to jump at this opportunity because the applications for emergency careers were gone. Sampson thought he would get roped into internal practice for the rest of his life, until he looked online and saw that Beth Israel Hosptial was offering careers. He was able to call just in time to register for the program. The chances of Beth Israel not being included on the list and still offering jobs were slim.
It illustrates all the troubles that the 3 had with the law. In everyone of these instances the boys were able to sliver by without little to no punishment. If it had gone the other way, they may have not been in the medical industry. The chances were slim that this would happen, but sure enough, overtime the boys were convicted they escaped unscathed.
It also speaks to the lesson of working hard and preserving. Had Sampson thrown in the towel and accepted his internal career then he would have never treated anyone in the emergency room. Samspon was not discouraged, and he kept working until he found what he wanted, and gave good interviews to get the job.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to split up my post into sections since my questions as a whole are too big to fit the 4096 character limit
QUESTION 1 SECTION 1- What is your first impression of Newark and the Projects?
From what I have read so far, the doctors describe the projects as violence-ridden, drugged, and corrupt. I also believe that their way of speaking may be different than ours. I believe that the projects are not exactly ideal places to live out a childhood. For that reason, this book could help kids like the doctors who lived in this area.
However, I also get the impression that this life is quite normal for these people, and that most kids weren't bad. They were just inheriting what they had seen. In reality, these kids were thriving with emotion. I understand that the projects were just a facet of life.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 1 - Describe Sampson's experience at the hospital. What do you learn about him based on his reactions?
Sampson Davis drops a slab of concrete on his foot, and subsequently breaks it. His visit at the hospital is eye-opening. He learns about x-rays, and the bones in the foot. The book also says that Sampson would have looked at the pictures for hours, and it is implied that Sampson remembers his confrontation throughout his summer, and probably his entire life. This experience at the hospital is the first thing to spark Davis’s interest in the medical field.
We find out that Davis is eager to learn. His fascination of his x-rays shows a career in the medical industry sprouting inside of him at an early age. Davis is also able to bounce back quite easily from his injury; for example, he is excited to receive the light blue cast for his broken foot. As a little boy, Sampson is naturally curious; he asks the doctor if amputation for his foot is necessary. All these pieces form the framework of Davis's medical career.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 1 - How well does the pricnipal at Rameck's school seem to understand him? What feelings does she bring out in Rameck?
Rameck's prinicpal, in the mind of Rameck, does not seem to understand his situation very well. Instead of recognizing that Rameck's academic ventures so far have been successful, she assumes that his mischievous behaviour negates his skill, and wants him to partake in special education. The principal only understands Rameck as a troublemaker, and not a smart student who just happens to get in trouble a lot.
In effect, she brings out anger in Rameck. After his word with the principal, he proceeds to beat up the bully Meatball. She also brings out curiosity in him. Rameck wonders why someone would place him in special education when his grades are up solely because of his behavior.
QUESTION 4 SECTION 1 - Give your assessment of Rameck's family from Chapter Two.
The book describes Rameck's mom as using the "tough love" strategy - and I concur. His mom understands clearly that her son should not enter special education, but also tells Rameck that he shouldn’t whine about his position. She essentially tells him that you should make lemonade out of life's lemons.
His grandmother seems to be wise. She gives me this impression by offering words of wisdom to Rameck, saying that life isn't always easy for his mom, and that his mom put him in the Catholic school for a better education. She is also understanding, recognizing the faults in the principal's assessment of Rameck.
Second part of post
ReplyDeleteQUESTION 5 SECTION 1 – What positive message does George’s third-grade teacher convey to her students?
Mrs. Johnson appears to give the same message that the three doctors do to open up the book: that success will come as long as you stay out of trouble. She talks about how college is possible for these kids, who see college as a dream, or some luxury that other people have the chance to go to. She also explains to George that there will always be adversity, like the mothball lady, and that sometimes, you just have to ignore it.
There are not many teachers who say the same thing. I don’t remember my teacher telling us anything of that matter. I believe, however, that these kids needed it because of their living conditions. Growing up in the projects, where negative influence runs rampant, it is almost necessary to shine a bright light on these kids. And that’s just what Mrs. Johnson did. She conveyed a message of hope and success for her children.
QUESTION 6 SECTION 1 - To which of the Three Doctors can you most relate? Which would have most likely been your friend?
I can relate to Rameck Hunt the most. I see that he is good at school, but sometimes gets into mischief. While I'm not as much of a troublemaker as Hunt, I still get into a little trouble at times. Also, people misunderstand me a lot, like the principal misunderstood Hunt. People think I'm going to say this, do that, etc., when in actuality I'm actually thinking about something else. They take what I do at face value and believe that that's what I am going to be, all the time. Like Rameck, I feel confused when people misunderstand my situations.
My friend would have most likely been George Jenkins. Jenkins has more of a laid-back attitude in the first chapters than the other two, and I could be friends with someone who is eager to learn and needs a positive encouragement. I enjoy hanging around people with the same sort of tendencies as myself because it makes me feel like I fit in (yes, the stereotype is true).
QUESTION 7 SECTION 1 - Discuss Sampson and his friends' attitudes when they set out to steal the Icees. How do their actions reflect both their ages and their circumstances?
Sampson is the brainchild of the plan to steal the Icees. This shows that he is confident and fearless. Will, much like Sampson, is carefree and is excited about the robbery. Although Noody ends up helping in the burglary, he is a bit cautious at first, reminding Will and Sampson that they are out of money. He seems to follow his friends ambitions when he decides to aid in their effort.
At such a young age, these kids really do not know any better. They were only adapting to what they had seen. Remember, prior to the incident they had seen the drug dealer "the Bomb" beat a man with a bat. So, to them, stealing from a drug store is not abnormal. Besides, their circumstances were dire. It was a hot summer day, and they were out of money. What else do you think Sampson and his friends are going to do?
1st part of 2nd post
ReplyDeleteQUESTION 1 SECTION 2 - Most of Chapter 5 centers around the difficult financial decisions Rameck's family must make. Discuss some of these decisions and what they mean to family members. Reflect on how their situation compares to your family's.
One of the decisions that is put away very subtly in this chapter is the fact that Rameck's mother ran out of money to support his education at his Catholic school. However, since Rameck wanted out anyways, it did not cause a big ordeal.
The two bigger decisions focused on Rameck's want of Nikes and an interest in an acting course which requires a portfolio. The first decision, mostly due to its materialistic nature, is cut down quickly by Rameck's grandmother during their car ride home. The second, while more costly, is more important to Rameck and his future, and therefore his grandmother gives him the cash necessary to sign up for the class and get the pictures. However, Rameck arrives home to see his mom in a bind over the electricity. She herself is having financial troubles. When his mom asks for any money, Rameck hesitates at first, but gives her the money eventually. His mom then tells him that his debts will be paid. While it never happened, and Rameck's acting chances were likely shattered, Rameck knows he did the right thing.
I cannot truly see how any of the previous could compare to my family, being that I attend a private school, live in a 2 story house which is going to be extended, and get the nutrition I need. The only time I could think of worry is in Dec. 2011 when my dad quit work and my mom told me that we would have to budget a bit.
To me that doesn't really count either.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 2 - Discuss Rameck's decision to give Ma's cash to his mother. In your opinion, did he do the right thing? Why or why not?
I briefly explained this part of the book in the previous answer. Rameck wasn't sure whether to give the money for his acting career to his Mom, or to keep his dream.
I believe he did the right thing, only because it was his mother. After I read the conversation following the chapter, my mind sort of changed when I saw that Rameck said that his mother was a bit of a drug addict. If Rameck knew that money could have helped feed her addiction, which I'm sure he did, he could have lied. However, at the end of this same conversation that decisions made with the right intentions are always right because they were made with right reasons. In that case, then his decision was a good one. I believe that principle barely beats out Rameck's mother's addiction.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 2 - George states, "I knew the moment I walked into that office that I had found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life" (49). How might the dentist himself have contributed to the formulation of George's dream?
George asked the dentist if he was a Godzilla or a King Kong. The dentist replied he was like Superman, in that he would beat up both Godzilla and King Kong. I think this helped relate characters such as Superman, which George could understand, to the field of dentistry.
The dentist was never negative with George, much like the doctor that inspected Sampson's broken foot. He always told George what was going on, in a comfortable way. He could handle all of George's questions and dish back a well informed answer.
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ReplyDeleteQUESTION 4 SECTION 2 - Chapter Seven contains three clear parts: kung fu lessons with Reggie, the shoplifting incident, and Razor’s car crash and death. Why do the authors choose these three events to capture Sampson’s life at age 11? How do the events relate to one another?
Sampson seems to be a kid with many different sides to him. In all 3 parts the chapter encompasses the life of Sampson. After the kung fu lessons, we learn that Sampson wants to be successful when he talks to Reggie, and asks him about how he can prevent himself from drowning in the water of adversity. He also, like any kid, wants to know and understand things. When he is played by Eddie, we learn that he is still innocent and naïve, and that he does not have a big sense of urgency. But most importantly, we see that Samspon realizes what can happen to him if he gives in to the streets when he sees Razor’s death.
After Reggie tells Sampson his words of wisdom, Sampson realizes what he meant when he is swindled into a carpet-cleaning company by Eddie. Sampson knew how easy it was to get in trouble and yet he was still able to. He had gone under. When his friend Razor dies, he comes back up for air, but then looks around and finds that Razor is nowhere to be found. He had drowned in the ocean. Only later does he “BE the ocean” and find people like him that have similar goals.
QUESTION 5 SECTION 2 - Discuss reasons why students in the book would rather be perceived as dumb or as slackers than achievers. How does this attitude compare to the culture in your school?
Dr. Davis reveals in his conversation after Chapter 8 that you would be called names and be excluded. In Dr. Hunt’s conversation following Chapter 9, he says that peers would expect you to do the wrong thing. I believe that both of these reasons are viable for that age and social group/demographic. Street life was much different than school life.
This attitude, at least in the Honors class, is seldom used. Most people think that getting good grades is cool. However, some people know that others excel and use them for their own benefit. For example, I won’t help people with things all the time because I’m not just going to let someone use me. They can go use some other guinea pig to do their work.
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ReplyDeleteQUESTION 1 SECTION 3 - When Sampson walks away from Spud and the drugs, the narrator says, “he’d been able to navigate that delicate road between what was right and what was real” (80). Normally we describe a choice of that nature as being between right and wrong. Why use the word “real” rather than wrong?
The word real is used in place of wrong because drugs were wrong, but they were wrong up to the point to where they were almost, in a sense, “right.” Therefore, the idea of taking the money was real as well as wrong. The right thing to do in this situation is treated as “obscure” or “abnormal” for the sake of the setting and circumstances. In that way, we can relate every facet of drugs and violence in this book as real as well as wrong. This line sort of illustrates the broad idea of everything bad in the book being a reality. Kids that were in jail had no future; jail was their reality. Wrong and real in this book seem to go hand in hand. This makes it easier to understand how hard it must have been for Rameck to make the right decision.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 3 - When Sampson turns down drugs on his birthday, Hock accuses him of thinking he’s better than his friends. Relate this incident to Sampson’s conversation with Rameck and George earlier in Chapter Ten. Why is staying clean such a challenge in their surroundings?
That’s because it’s hard to say no to your old friends. The trio knows that their old friends in reality have no future, and will be swallowed by the streets, but they are still friends. It’s also hard because fighting against the current is tough. Usually kids will follow what someone says, and it’s easier to do that because you might look weird if you don’t. So, when it came to Sampson’s decision to not get high, he knew what he had to face. However, his willpower helped him overcome the adversity. Sampson says that he is still looking for his blueprint on how to make it; that he can’t let the streets take him under. This decision helped Sampson step away from the wrong path.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 3- Discuss the walkout Rameck and the other USO members stage. Were you surprised by their success? What did Rameck gain from this experience?
Rameck and his USO group staged a walkout to protest their history program that had little to no African-American or Hispanic branch. It only covered the basic black people, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was not surprised by the success mostly because there have been other successful strikes in reaction to racial discrimination. This story must have been set maybe a bit after the Civil Rights era, so the nation had seen other acts such as the Alabama bus boycott and the protest in Washington D.C. draw attention. Therefore, it was relatively easy to pull off a stunt like this. Aside from the attention that he got from organizing the strike, Rameck gained a sense of achievement. This may foreshadow a successful career in the future.
QUESTION 4 SECTION 3 - As the boys discuss their futures, what obstacles to their success become apparent? Compare these obstacles to those you face in achieving your goals.
ReplyDeleteThe two that I see that are apparent are the drugs and violence of the streets. The boys know that they can easily be sucked in to the black hole of misfortune. One of the other things they discuss is peer pressure to participate in the aforementioned drugs and violence. These roadblocks are nowhere near anything I could compare to.There really aren't that many bad things in my neighborhood. Ok, there was one break in, and there might be one or two shady people, but honestly my neighborhood is pretty clean. So none of these obstacles are anywhere in play for me. However, the most minor of their obstacles is a big one in my life: peer pressure. There is constant nagging between friends to get others to do things. One time is all it takes. That's what I have to be on the lookout for.
QUESTION 5 SECTION 3 - The narrator describes the incident with the crack addict on the playground and includes a broad range of emotions the boys feel. What are the emotions the boys experience before, during, and after the beating and stabbing of the man. Discuss the relationship between violence and emotion in this incident and in general. What allows people to check their emotions?
Before the beating, there is a sense of normalcy. It's just another crackhead that wants a rock. He gets the rock, and the boys tell him not to smoke near the little kids. However, once he begins to smoke on the playground, they boys get angry. That anger is carried over to the beating, where they hurt him and stab him. However, I believe some of it may have been instinct, only because earlier in the book that these same boys didn't have a reason to fight. I think this position escalated throughout the fight up to the point where Rameck stabs the man. After, when the police comes, there is an obvious shock and worry, but with it there is also a confusion, and amazement at what they had just done, especially for Rameck, who was told earlier by his mom not to hang out with the Plainfield boys anymore. Normally, when you get angry at a person, you want to hurt them. In this situation, the man was smoking near a bunch of innocent kids. If I were them, I would want to do something, and if I were a young black male in the Newark projects like them, I would probably want to hit them. The decision made by Rameck and his friends stayed true to their character, belief, circumstance, etc. So I think the choice was logical from their standpoint. I check my emotions by thinking about the consequences of what would happen. If I were to stab a man, I would first think about the downfall afterward: my prison sentence, my tarnished reputation, etc. My dad has a short temper, but a lot of times he is able to control it because he doesn't want to see Olivia cry. Many people visualize the aftermath of a decision to help calm themselves down.
Those last two parts were supposed to be 2 paragraphs. Not sure what happened there. In fact, the 2nd one was like 5.
ReplyDeleteQUESTION 1 SECTION 4 - Sampson steals partly to have nice things like the kids who deal drugs. Talk about this temptation. Can you relate? Do you ever see yourself or your peers acting out of a desire to have more or at least as much as those around you? How do you overcome this desire?
ReplyDeleteI cannot relate to any temptation that has to do with drugs/violence/anything of that sort. I’m sort of confused why these relation questions keep coming at me.
However, I do see peers acting out of envy. For example, people copy 75% of my jokes and bill them as their own. They just want the attention that comes out of it. That’s not to say that I haven’t done that before. I’ve done things or said things because I’ve wanted attention.
To overcome something like that is very hard. However, the first thing to do is stop caring so much. Don’t treat every chance to crack a joke like it will be your last. Worry about yourself. Things will come to you that way. In Samspon’s case, however, it is the very opposite. The minute you stop caring you will be taken out by the blows of the streets. So if I were him I would have to consider the consequences of giving in before I acted out of desire.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 4 - Despite the serious trouble Rameck and Sampson get into, they maintain an advantage over their friends. What enables them to look critically at their actions and turn things around while their friends continue to spiral downwards during and after the crimes?
I think it's the surroundings. Rameck and Sampson want to go to the Seton Hall program. They want to do well in school. They also want to stay out of trouble. Rameck's mom told him that he would be thrown in prison if he continued to hang out with his old boys from Plainfield, and he still did and proceeded to do time.
They also don't want to let each other down. The pact that Sampson, George, and Rameck made promised that they would all try to become doctors together. In jail Sampson didn't know what he would tell his two buddies about his incident.
Their friends had none of these hopes. To them (well,even to the 3 friends at the time), college seemed impossible. It was something that only rich folks had the time and funds to attend. Therefore, they had nothing to lose robbing and beating people, selling drugs, and the like.
QUESTION 4 SECTION 4 - Discuss how the pact affects the interview results for the boys. How might the outcome have been different without it?
The pact is sort of like the honey on the biscuits. Although all three interviews would have gone smoothly enough without the mention of it, and, quite frankly, they would've all gotten in anyways, the pact helped the interviewers realize the passion that these young men had. They were working as a team, not as individuals.
The pact, as I stated earlier, may not have helped the situation too much, but I think the people from Seton Hall saw more character inside these bodies with it. They saw that not only were they book-smart and street-smart, they were unselfish kids.
It honestly depends on what they were judging on. If the school was judging on personality, then they may have not made it without the partnership. If the school was looking for smarts, and not hearts (ooh, look that rhymes), then they probably would have made it anyways.
It's really up to you on how the pact affected their acceptance.
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ReplyDeleteQUESTION 6 SECTION 4 - What sort of adjustments do the three young men make in their new lives? Why, with all that Seton Hall offers, might Rameck feel "restless and incomplete"?
The boys adjust to the difference in the people and their lifestyle. There is little to no drugs, alcohol, or violence, and there are not too many African-Americans there. Even when Rameck punches the kid, he is surprised that the boy did not engage in a true fight with him, because in the projects, problems are solved by the fist.
Rameck may feel the way he does because of the aforementioned absence of trouble. There's no one to pick a fight with, and if you do, then you'll be in deep water. The school is almost "too innocent" for Rameck. It also might be just too much to take in. Life at University High School is nothing like life at Seton Hall University.
QUESTION 7 SECTION 4 - Why do people keep giving Rameck second chances? Could you have done the same if you were the mother of the boy Rameck attacked?
I think Rameck lives to fight another day because of where he is from. In this case, where Rameck lets out his anger on this boy, the mother knows that punching where Rameck is from is commonplace. Rameck's innocence is the non-innocence of most people.
If I was the mother, I would have done the same. I'm not trying to say the politically correct thing either, because earlier this week there were some people that were annoying me. At first I wanted to complain, but I figured that all these people knew was to annoy and laugh, because maybe that might be their background at home. I didn't feel like trying to fix a perfect ship (in this case, an annoying one).
I believe the boy's mother felt the same way that I did in this situation. She felt that Rameck had learned his lesson. I'm hoping that the people that got on my nerves have learned theirs.
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ReplyDeleteQUESTION 1 SECTION 5 - Do you think the boys should have abandoned their pursuit of a rap career for less flashy but more stable medical careers? Did they owe it to anyone to stick to their original plan?
I believe it was a smart idea to end the rap career. I believe Sampson would have grown discontent as a “manager” while Rameck and George performed. I also think it would have been a cop out from the pact that they had made. Although it could have been highly successful, it was smart for the boys to continue their doctoral careers instead of throwing all the education that they had received away.
I feel like the second question is asking me to answer it, because it’s not a great question. But they owed it to themselves. The pact that they had made to stick through school would have faded if they had turned away from it. All 3 had worked really hard, and for them to give it up just before medical school would have been devastating. If they were to fail, there would be nothing for them to lean on, and they probably would have returned to the streets to meet their demise.
QUESTION 2 SECTION 5 - Although academics don’t seem to pose great problems for the three doctors, Chapter Nineteen illustrates some of the challenges their schooling creates. Discuss some of the difficulties the young men and their families face through their education.
The first is Sampson’s regret of his decision to become a doctor. He says to George and Rameck that he “stumbled into this program.”
Sampson wanted to start his career early in hopes of supporting his family, and medical school obviously did not warrant that. He felt he was out of place, that he was the only one there who had not wanted to be a doctor from the jump. Also, Sampson missed the sounds of his old home; sirens, the chatter, everything.
George, however, loved his new life. He worked harder to study the material, even in the absence of George and Rameck. When he came back to his neighborhood, lots of people were proud of him. However, when he gets robbed by the man, it catches him off guard because he had forgotten to be cautious. It was hard to balance school, Sampson and Rameck, and his old friends all at once.
QUESTION 3 SECTION 5 - Discuss Rameck’s final brush with the police. Note the variety of emotions he feels thoughout. How does this scrape differ from the others Rameck has been in with the law? What does it illustrate about the injustices the men face despite their accomplishments?
Rameck is surprised but upset when he is arrested. When he first sees that he should stop, he brushes it off because he knows they are only tracking him because of his race, even though his law school friend Dax thinks otherwise. Then, when he is stopped, his is shocked that the police would just search through his car for drugs or weapons. He feels embarrassed getting arrested right in front of his friend.
This is different because he did not hurt anyone. He was just driving down the road at night, and the police were making a big, fat assumption that he was up to no good. Rameck knows he did no wrong, as opposed to the other times where he had beaten someone.
Obviously this arrest was made because of a stereotype that blacks are usually shady people. The police saw a black person driving at night, and arrested him and searched for drugs just because of his skin color. It’s sad to see medical students who have worked hard being cut down by law enforcement just because a lot of people in their demographic have done wrong.
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ReplyDeleteQUESTION 4 SECTION 4 -Discuss the improbability of Sampson ending up in his desired specialty at his home hospital. How does this one experience illustrate any number of the themes and lessons of the three doctors’ stories?
It was pretty special that Samspon was able to jump at this opportunity because the applications for emergency careers were gone. Sampson thought he would get roped into internal practice for the rest of his life, until he looked online and saw that Beth Israel Hosptial was offering careers. He was able to call just in time to register for the program. The chances of Beth Israel not being included on the list and still offering jobs were slim.
It illustrates all the troubles that the 3 had with the law. In everyone of these instances the boys were able to sliver by without little to no punishment. If it had gone the other way, they may have not been in the medical industry. The chances were slim that this would happen, but sure enough, overtime the boys were convicted they escaped unscathed.
It also speaks to the lesson of working hard and preserving. Had Sampson thrown in the towel and accepted his internal career then he would have never treated anyone in the emergency room. Samspon was not discouraged, and he kept working until he found what he wanted, and gave good interviews to get the job.