Tattoos On The Heart Book Report

Gregory Boyle begins chapter eight: “Success with a few questions that seem so simplistic at first glance. What is success and what is failure? What is good and what is bad? Setback or progress?” (Boyle 167). Taking a few moments to process these questions, one realizes that the question is quite complex and difficult. Success has such a subjective definition that it can only be defined by the one who answers the question of “what is success to you?” and has no universal definition. Specifically with gang members, success in the context of their lives is about personal growth and less about tangible results. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will

Non-conformity is skin deep is an article by David Brooks of 27th August 2006, which argues that people fail to adopt the violations that are socially acceptable such as tattoos shallowly. Brooks notes that people’s nonconformity is superficial because they adopt to some transgressions only to look powerful but still remain unchanged inside. The writer made a positive observation through this work because many people have transformed to the socially acceptable violations in the society.

In his novel Tattoos on the Heart, author Father Gregory Boyle S.J. shares his experiences as a pastor in the gang capital of the United States, Los Angeles, in an attempt to persuade his readers to look at gang members with a more humane perspective. To help his readers relate to the gang members, Fr. Boyle recounts personal anecdotes about the many gang members he works with and their journeys towards changing their lives. Through his use of colloquial language and informal diction and his narration of personal stories, Fr. Boyle creates an intimate tone accomplishes his purpose of discrediting the stereotypes associated with gangs and depicting a human face worthy of respect and sympathy. Though Boyle published this novel in 2010, his insight and wisdom on the state of gang violence still hold true today, and he continues to inspire his readers to recognize the tragedies many gang members face in their everyday lives.

In Tattoos on the Heart, the reader accompanies Father Gregory Boyle throughout a series of heart-warming conversions he conducts through his interactions with numerous gang members in the Los Angeles projects. Likewise, J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy constructs a memoir of his tumultuous upbringing in the Midwest as well as of his familial roots in Kentucky. A commonality throughout the novels is the poverty faced by members of these communities and how it contributes to the conflicts that drive the plot. The topic of poverty, its causes, and possible solutions has always interested me a lot due to a concept of the Lottery of Birth, which is a philosophical position that comes up frequently in my debate competitions. Basically, where we are born, in terms of one’s position and class in society, is arbitrary; I did not choose to be born in the socioeconomically comfortable neighborhood of Massapequa Park. This is a perpetual unfairness to which there is no solution, but there has to be some action that can alleviate the suffering of the over three billion people worldwide who live on less than three dollars a day (DoSomething.org).

Tattoos on the Heart is a novel by Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest and the founder of Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program. He invites the reader to gain insight into the need for solidarity in our world. With this quest for solidarity, Gregory Boyle invites the reader to develop compassion, to alter the margins, and to gain understanding of unconditional “no matter whatness,” love.

Outcasts in society are in need of love and compassion. In the book Tattoos on The Heart by Gregory Boyle, Father Greg gives gang members an opportunity to better themselves by providing them with jobs. Attention makes gang members realize they are worthy.

Tattoos on the Heart encompasses many themes, but Fr. Boyle predominantly focuses on life and death. In one distinct instance, Fr. Boyle depicts the story of an unnamed sixteen-year-old homegirl who tells him, with such joy, that she is pregnant. Fr. Boyle is unable to hide his disappointment, which leads the homegirl to say “I just want to have a kid before I die.” (90) This narrative was unfamiliar to my own life experiences, which consequently made the story difficult to relate to. Growing up in a middle class neighborhood I was never fully exposed to death that occurs in young adults due to gang violence, as a result I never knew what it was like to genuinely fear for my life or believe that I was going to die before I turned eighteen.

In “Tattoos on the Heart,” by Gregory Boyle, Boyle experiences how to deal with gangs. The novel, a compelling story about gang violence and one man’s response towards giving those buried within it, tells a story of gang members working for a chance of redemption and solace. Can others be seen as fathers or even as a role models when gang life is such a large force in their lives? Through the story gangbangers that try to change themselves for the pursuit of a better future and a desire to succeed and escape gang life, Boyle tells an emotional, human story about life in the Los Angeles barrios. Boyle characteristics represent him as a father for three gang bangers: Joey Cesar, and Scrappy. While

The book I read to better understand and gain sympathy for returning citizens is Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (ISBN 978-1439153154) by Father Gregory Boyle, S.J. $14 can afford this 240-page autobiography about a Jesuit priest serving one of the most troubled neighborhoods in the most unique way.

Resilience is the power or the ability to return to the original form. “Resilience is born by grounding yourself in your own loveliness, hitting notes you thought were way out of your range” (94). Father Gregory Boyle says this because he knows that resilience is needed in order to change. Resilience is important because we can become better people by doing things, we thought we couldn’t do. In the book, Tattoos on the Heart, The Power of Boundless Compassion, Boyle claims resilience is essential in our lives because it is the key to do better.

• Scrappy wants to undo the things he did when he was younger, so Boyle hires him for a fresh start

The book “Tattoos on the Heart” is written by Father Gregory Boyle S.J. who is the founder Homeboy Industries. The book is composed of many stories that father Gregory lived while he was working with the gangs in Los Angeles. He was working at the Dolores Mission Church. The majority of the gang members were Latinos or African Americas. Throughout the book, father Gregory shares his experiences with us, taking us to a ride with him where a variety of emotions are felt.

In the novel “Tattoos on the Heart” Gregory Boyle one afternoon receives a phone call from a man named Cesar who was recently released from prison. Cesar explains over the phone that he has no clothes and he asks Pastor Greg for help to purchase new clothing. Father Greg responses with kindness towards Cesar and agrees to help him out, without judgement, or expecting anything back in return. Later that night, Cesar calls Pastor Greg with a urgent question, “Have I been your son?” And Pastor Greg reassures Cesar with a simple “Oh, hell, yeah” to show his genuine compassion and he simply listens as Cesar talks to him over the phone and answers his questions with sincere responses that leads Cesar to “discover that he was a son worth having” (31).

We all have our opinions on if teens should have tattoos and piercings, some parents do not care but there is some that do. But if you think about it is how society looks at us, we all care about how people look at us we see people with tattoos we want that, all we care about attention. I feel like teens want to be someone they are not Just like when they listen to rap music they want to live the lifestyle they living. They think trying to be someone is being "cool" is trying to be like someone else. I feel like that's why kids try smoking and trying drugs because they see these celebraities doing them so they want to try them. Teens try to grow up to fast when they need to just have fun being a teen.

Tattoos, piercings and hairstyles are a few examples of ways our appearance can be judged. In our modern day society, we are taught or manipulated to believe that various appearances, we see are the way a person acts or does. Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompsons “Tattoos and Body Piercings:Self expression or Self mutilation”and Veronica Chambers “Dreadlocks: You see my hair, But do you see me? ”convey this idea.Both these articles thoroughly explain the premise of self-expression. Therefore, judgment of a person’s character shouldn’t be based off looks, but by the content or substance of their character.