Alex Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here

The book “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). These challenges stem from racism, discrimination, the social construction of reality, social location, social class, and the deviance theory, which is due to their location and influences at which causes many youths to lead a life of crime. The book focuses on the Conflict and Symbolic Interaction theories of sociology. What is the true cause of their struggle? Is it the run down housing, lack of education, race, gangs, violence and drugs? I think that all of these play a part into their everyday

Self preservation and personal comfort, another consistent theme throughout the story is continuously perpetuated as generation-after-generation of residents are introduced to the unspeakable treatment of this helpless child. Ironically when first exposed to the atrocity, most children were more disgusted and outraged by the horrible predicament of the child than the adults who by all accounts should have been responsible for its protection. This obvious moral role reversal signifies a purity and innocence that is often present in a child’s perspective that is untarnished by corrupt societal teachings and norms. Additionally, the comparison between the moral integrity of

Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here is a documentary exploring life in inner-city Chicago during the late 1980’s. The book follows the lives of two African American youth, Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, who live in Chicago’s Horner Homes over the course of two years. It tells of a lifestyle that is a reality for many Americans and forces the reader to acknowledge a broken system that so many turn a blind eye toward. Kotlowitz does not sugarcoat the struggles and hardships that the citizens of the inner-city face every single day. The Rivers’ boys, like all the children of inner-cities, experience situations and know of unimaginable horrors that rob them of their innocence and childhoods. Lafeyette and Pharoah have to face and overcome many forces that can change their lives for the worst, such as: gangs and drugs, the social system, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the battle within them to give into the worst of society. Sociological concepts, including: racism, strain theory, and social stratification can explain some of the exploitation of Lafeyette and Pharoah.

The play “No Child”, written by Nilaja Sun showcases a teacher, Ms. Sun as a teaching artist who is under a grant to facilitate the production of a play, teaching and encouraging live theoretical performances in a dysfunctional environment.No Child is a reflection of Nilaja Sun’s experiences as a teaching artist in the public school system in New York. In the play Ms. Sun brings a senses of hope and inspiration not only to the students but to the teachers as well in one of the toughest classrooms of Malcolm X High School, in Bronx, New York. The narrator of the play is a observant Janitor of the Malcolm X High School. Since he has been performing his job related duties as a janitor he witnessed the struggles and obstacle faced by the school and students. No Child accurately illustrates students, teachers and communities imprisoned by a corrupted public school system.

In There are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, the way of life in Chicago's Henry Horner projects has a profound effect on all the residents who live there. The children become desensitized by the constant violence that they are forced to witness every day. Children are forced to walk home from school through the urban war zone of these housing projects. It is not unusual for the children to run home from school to avoid becoming casualties of the ongoing battle between rival gangs. The violence has affected Lafeyette and Pharaoh as much as anyone in the projects.

   Throughout There Are No Children Here, a continuous, powerful tension always lurks in the background. The gangs that are rampant in the housing projects of Chicago cause this tension. In the Henry Horner Homes, according to Kotlowitz, one person is beaten, shot, or stabbed due to gangs every three days. In one week during the author's study of the projects, police confiscated 22 guns and 330 grams of cocaine in Horner alone (Kotlowitz 32).

     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 “Invisible Child,” a New York Times article written by Andrea Elliot, we follow a day in the life of a young African American girl, Dasani, growing up in New York City. However, instead of living in an “Empire State of Mind,” Dasani lives in the slums, growing up homeless with her two drug addicted parents and seven siblings. Dasani often finds herself taking care of her siblings, making sure they have enough to eat, tying shoelaces, changing diapers, getting them to the bus stop in time, and the list goes on. An 11 year old girl, essentially taking care of a whole family, as well as taking care of herself by going to school, receiving an education, and partaking in extra-curricular activities. Elliot captures the life and struggles of a family well under the poverty line, giving us an unprecedented look into what Dasani must do each day not just to grow up in New York City, but to survive.

In Karen Joy Fowler’s novel, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, readers become very attached to the antagonist and narrator, Rosemary Cooke. As we read about her life beginning in her college years, flashing back to childhood days, and then returning to the present day (2012), we are intrigued by her humor and complexity. When Fowler introduces Rosemary’s sister Fern, the initial feeling is that of shock once the reader realizes Fern is a chimp. Readers can also see how this ties into Fowler’s style of writing regarding alienation and the lives of women. For this reason, as we read we become aware of something even deeper; Rosemary Cooke is struggling with acceptance following Ferns absence. Fowler uses a repetition of phrases to show the wanting of another’s affection to portray how Rosie desperately craves the attention and acceptance of not only her friends and family, but herself.

Chapter 4 of “Generation Me” by Jean M Twenge; a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. Twenge explains that Generation Me is going through depression at a higher rate than the previous generations, causing loneliness and isolation. Twenge does a fantastic job showing all the statics from Americans born before 1915, compared with Americans born in Generation Me. Twenge describes how college students are stressed after college trying to find a job. Twenge says that student’s loans used to be payed off with a part time job in college thing have now changed. Twenge also states on how the economic system is changing. Twenge shows that things are changing for Generation Me, chapter 4 is a true warning sign for Generations to come.

The Marquis de Lafayette is best remembered for the part he played in the American War of Independence. He contributed in helping the Americans gain free control over the colonies by breaking away from British home rule. For sixty years he fought with consistency and insight for political ideals and social reforms that have dominated the history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hence, Lafayette can be attributed to the spreading of liberty and freedom throughout America and France. Therefore, he is viewed as a symbol of liberalism in a once absolutist world.

As the people of Omelas continued to accept the truth of their city, some have begun to see the child as more of an it than a person and regarded the child similar to a wild animal. “One of them may come in and kick the child to make it stand up. The others never come close, but peer in at it with frightened, disgusted eyes” (245). Not only do the residents accept the child’s misery, they have also

In the first few paragraphs of David Sedaris’ memoir, the author is forced to realize that some people live different realities than he does. Upon learning that his new neighbors, the Tomkey family, have very different views on modern technology than most of first world society, he grows curious of them. The way the neighborhood reacts to this situation has a lot to say about how society tolerates other opinions and beliefs. Observation of their reactions shows how they feel more distant and uncomfortable towards the Tomkey family. David’s own curiosity could be explained by his new lifestyle change, considering the narrator transitioned from a very secluded neighborhood to a much more cramped city lifestyle.

Many things could be said about childhood on the homestead seeing as it was cut short in eighteen eighty-three. Notwithstanding, the children who survived childbirth was more often than not settled into a life of risk. During this time era, children were at constant risk of illness and disease. With this in mind, as chores came into play, an abundance of risks came into existence. As a result, children often became the victim of infection if the wounds were not properly cleaned. In the end, a risk was like a person’s life long companion. In spite of all of the risks and danger, it was the life they lived. Albeit, there was one way for a child to escape their chores and parents’ rules. In other words, a sanctuary of sorts. What is it? Well,

The poem “Mothers and Daughters” is written by Pat Mora. Pat Mora is a contemporary award winning writer, who writes for children, youngsters and adults. She was born in El Paso, TX in the year 1942. She attains a title of a Hispanic writer; however, the most of her poems are in English. In her literary work, one can observe the different aspects of the immigrants’ lives such as language issues, family relationships, immigrants’ experiences and cultural differences (1187).