There are no Children Here Essay - 1736 Words

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Alex Kotlowitz’s book, There are No Children Here, is a story about two boys, Pharoah and Lafeyette Rivers growing in the late 1980’s in Henry Horner, a housing project in Chicago. The boys try to retain their youth while they see constant gang violence, death of close friends, their brother in jail and their dad struggling with a drug addiction. In Horner, there are two gangs that claim it as their turf, and the Rivers family is constantly ducking from shots of gunfire there. They live in an overcrowded apartment with leaky facets, heating problems and animal carcasses in the basement. The boys’ mother, LaJoe, tries to keep them away from gangs and violence since her eldest children fell to the harsh†¦show more content†¦He continued to tell his mother he was too young to comprehend it all, as if he were trying to prolong his childhood† (Kotlowitz 216). Both boys did recognized at an early age that death occurs frequently in their neighborhood. They had several friends die and they were reminded of this every time gunfire went off outside the apartment. Pharoah tried to maintain his childhood the best he could and excelled in school as a coping mechanism. Lafeyette, at thirteen, acted as a parent to fill his mother’s role when she was out. The government makes one of the biggest contributions to the welfare of the family by providing financial safety. The problem is that the government fails to show any concern for these families unless it is brought to their attention, and even then nothing is changed. The lack of interest by the housing authorities leads to the neglect of Horner for over fifteen years. â€Å"The rotting carcasses explained the putrid odor rising from the Riverses’ toilet. It wasn’t aborted fetuses, as LaJoe had though. It was dead animals, the stench of rotting flesh rising through the pipes† (Kotlowitz 241). The government leaves the projects to fend for themselves, which increased the communities’ turmoil. If the government and the people worked together, more problems could be solved. The family is the closest, most stable element in the boys life. LaJoe tries hard to make sure the boys are surrounded with positive influences so that they will grow up secure. ThisShow MoreRelatedThere Are No Children Here Essay2507 Words   |  11 PagesThere Are No Children Here The book â€Å"There Are No Children Here† follows the life of two young boys, Pharoah and Lafayette as they battle everyday life in the dangerous neighborhood of Henry Horner. Many of the life events of Pharoah and Lafayette’s book â€Å"There are no Children Here† can be tied to lessons in the book of â€Å"Juvenile Delinquency.† Some of the more prominent themes are macro level theories, critical theory of labeling, juvenile justice system, and drugs and gangs. In this book summaryRead MoreThere Are No Children Here2082 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"Chicago Slums: The Other America† Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate. (Anonymous)† In the 1980 Chicago slums this quote couldn’t be truer. The slums were/are a terrible place for not just children, but everyone to live. The Henry Horner homes in particular are full of death, drugs, and poverty. This may not seem like the greatest place for children to be raised, but for some, they know nothing different. The constant gang trouble, drug trafficking, and hidingRead MoreAnalysis Of There Are No Children Here1160 Words   |  5 PagesJackson Evans Sociology Dr. Wernet 11/4/17 There are no Children Here The book â€Å"There Are No Children Here† by Alex Kotlowitz details the challenges two young boy’s face by being raised in the inner city housing project (Henry Horner Homes). 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These three elements blend to form a unique style that is particularly well-suited for There Are No Children Here. If there is one thing on which critics agree when discussing this book, it is that Kotlowitz is a brilliant narrator. He has aRead MoreThere Are No Children Here - Book Review1651 Words   |  7 PagesBook Review – There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz Summary There Are No Children Here is a story of the struggles two preteen boys live with while growing up in the projects. From the first pages the scene is set amongst the all too familiar gun fire blazing through the neighborhood. This story is of eleven year old Lafeyette and nine year old Pharoah dealing with the daily fight for survival in inner-city Chicago circa 1987. The boys are living in an apartment at the Henry HornerRead MoreThere Are No Children Here By Alex Kotlowitz Essay1933 Words   |  8 PagesRenee Driver CCJS 454 0101 November 22, 2016 Final Paper There are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, tells a story about the family of LaJoe and Paul Rivers. The book focuses on Lafayette and Pharaoh, two of the younger children in the family, and their interactions with each other, the neighborhood, their family, their friends, and the police. Following the family over three years shows the importance of neighborhood factors when it comes to crime. According to Sampson and Groves (1989)Read MoreThere Are No Children Here By Alex Kotlowitz Essay1909 Words   |  8 PagesThere Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz tells the harrowing story of the Rivers family and their shocking experiences living in an underserved Chicago public housing project. The story focuses on Lafayette, a middle school aged boy discovering his identity, Pharoah, an elementary school aged boy with high ambition and goals, and their resilient mother LaJoe. Matza’s Techniques of Neutralization discuss how people can create rationalizations to justify d elinquencies and crimes. Specifically applicableRead MoreThere Are No Children Here Essay examples1767 Words   |  8 PagesAlex Kotlowitzs book, There are No Children Here, is a story about two boys, Pharaoh and Lafeyette Rivers growing in the late 1980s in Henry Horner, a housing project in Chicago. The boys try to retain their youth while they see constant gang violence, death of close friends, their brother in jail and their dad struggling with a drug addiction. In Horner, there are two gangs that claim it as their turf, and the Rivers family is constantly ducking from shots of gunfire there. They live in