I feel so bad for Lafeyette and Pharoah as well as their family. I can never imagine living in a neighborhood like theirs. Every time I read more of There Are No Children Here, it made me want to help kids that are stuck in situations like that. I'm guessing the reason Alex Kotlowitz wrote the book was to try to help kids like Lafeyette and Pharoah. Do you think the book was effective enough to get people to step in and try to help people who live in places like Horner?
I think motivation would be the only thing to really get people out there. Places like Horner are everywhere, some are even close to here. Even though this book was from 20+ years ago these things still go on. A lot of peoples mottos are: "Sucks to be them." I like this book, Alex Kotlowitz shows the true details. He describes the fear of the older children and the clueless lives of the younger children. I give him props for going out and actually getting the real facts.
Yeah, that makes sense. It would be nice if those issues could get fixed, but yeah, there would need to be a lot of motivated people out there for that to be possible.
The author does do a great job of showing the true details and facts. He's probably one of the most involved and dedicated journalists I've ever heard of. I mean he went out and threw himself into his research... his life could've been in danger at any moment with all the shootings and issues going on. He must have been very dedicated.
I liked this book a lot too because it isn't sugar-coated or anything. I agree with you that the book shows the straight up facts and emotions and doesn't try to hide them or mask them behind anything.
This is probably one of the best books I've read in awhile. It is well written and grabs your interest. I had problems putting it down, which is a good thing. :D
I've enjoyed most of this book. I believe he put too many dates and number in the book to remember.
While reading I as able to relate Rickey to children I've dealt with. He, along with Lafeyette and Pharoah, have had to grow up too quick and it shows. They show signs of how chaos can shut them inside themselves but stops when they feel safe. The affect gang violence has on someone's entire life would be enough to pull me away from that idea so it is sometimes hard for me to understand why they are still living that way.
Yeah, to be honest I really didn't really pay attention to a lot of the dates and numbers. lol I read them and got the general effect, but really I can't remember any of them either.
It's hard for me to understand how someone who has experienced the violence and tragedy of gang life first hand still lets themselves be influenced by them. I guess it's just the peer pressure or something.
I have to say, Lafeyette and Pharoah did make a lot of smart choices through out the book, as well as some choices that were pretty stupid. Pharoah pretty much stayed out of trouble, but when Lafeyette started making some bad choices and was getting into trouble, I was pretty depressed. I didn't want him to end up like Terence, who I believe was a good kid... but as they mentioned in the book, the neighborhood took him.
What really made me annoyed though was how it was so hard for the families to move out into safer neighborhoods. I know a lot of the people had problems that would keep them from finding a way out like alcohol or drug abuse, but it seemed like even people with promising futures, like Dawn, couldn't get out either no matter how hard they worked. It also seemed like the government and local housing associations weren't doing much to help.
im only a couple chapters into this book but i can already tell its very sad. like how they have to carry around flashlights even in the day time and how theres always gun shots. it seems really dangerous in horner. the mom Lajoe helps everyone out and i think later in the book someones going to take advantage of her.
so far this book has made me appreicate the way my life is beause theres kids out there that live in a horrible environment and that have nothing.
I like how the author gives the details in the story. He tells us what's going on, gives the facts with the CHA and then goes back to the story so you know why they are going through that. I can't believe that useable appliances and furnature sat in the basement while animals died and rotted on them.
I miss the beginning when Lafeyette was more open with his mom and less of a fighter. I don't blame Rickey for bringing Lafeyette into the "gang", I blame the jects. Seeing that everyday had to atleast interest him. It's crazy to read that because here we don't really have to deal with it but 20 miles away it goes on in other towns.
im only a few chapters in the book but in the second chapter there were gunshots and the police had to come and the next day a reporter asked the police about it and they acted like it never happened. i thought that was bad. i mean they didnt even arrest the guys that were shooting and they could have really hurt someone. they had bad police officers in my opinion.
it seems like the lajoe has already gave up on life. i think she would like to move out of there but she doesnt do anything to try to. i think she thinks she cant do any better and she belongs there just because she lived there when she was a kid.
also its very sad that lafeyette is a father figure at such a young age. he cant be a normal kid he has to watch out for pharoah and the triplets every day.
Now I finished the book. You know what really bugged me? Like it has stuck with me from the beginning. The shooting that Terence was blamed for. The sentence says: "Her friend, a Vice Lord, had tried to kill her." How backwards is that sentence? Friends do not try to kill friends.
Spoiler alert: The end is sort of hopeful. They get newer things and almost moved. Lafi didn't go to jail and Pharoah almost overcame his studded.
The main point to There are No Children Here is how much poverty really does affect a life. An example of this was Craig Davis’s life. Davis, a role model of the community, was shot while being incarcerated on gun charges. Poverty left Davis in the ghettos and the ghettos pushed Davis to buy an illegal firearm. The police officer may not have sent a bullet into a citizen of a richer neighborhood, but only he knows what happened. Rickey is an example of how poverty changes a person. Rickey may have been exposed to drugs, death, gangs and violence without living in Horner. Horner may not be to blame, maybe Rickey was just one of those kids who would be drawn to it but ghettos gave him that doorway into it. The ghettos also affect a persons mind set. Pharoh was a happy, care free child but when he realized he could no longer go through life without growing up he developed a stutter. His stutter shut him inside himself causing him to harbor his secrets and only grow worse.
I could never imagine living in the conditions that Pharoah and Lafeyette are living under. I cannot imagine being in constant fear that you may get shot,or someone in your family may get hurt just by walking outside. I cannot believe that the government wouldn't try to help in cities where poverty is so strong and violence is unbelievable. I cannot even fathom living under these conditions.
I would hate to have to live the way these families do. A thing i don't understand though is Jimmy Lee loves kids and won't have them in his gang, but he doesn't consider what violence and worry he brings into these kids lives by having shoot outs with rival gangs. He also doesn't even seem to take into account that the kids could be killed during the shoot outs.
My gosh this book is good so far! The message of it is so powerful! I'm grateful I don't have to hear gunshots in the night or worry about getting robbed in my neighborhood. It seems odd that even though LaJoe wants to give her kids a better life, she still sticks around in Horner. Perhaps she feels it is her obligation to care for the people of Horner and can't bring herself to leave. What really makes me sad is that she is a strong woman with so much potential for greatness, but she can't achieve it where she currently resides.
I know that I haven't really been on here yet but i've just been so busy. so anywho... I LOVE this book! I think subconsciously I sort of knew this kind of thing went on but I never really wanted to address it. I'm amazed that LaJoe still has the courage and strength to stay where she is. It makes me so grateful that I don't have to worry about my siblings being strangled or gunshots firing for hours with the possibility of the bullets coming into my house! I agree with you, Elyse, that LaJoe has so much potential for greatness.
I was the same way, Justine. I knew that people lived in dangerous slums, but I was never fully able to understand the hardships they faced until I read this book. The chapter where it talks about LaJoe constantly cleaning to deal with stress and how it never seems to do anything really made me sad... Imagine having roaches crawling around in your bedroom and bathrooms that smell like rotten meat! xP The saddest part is, there could be people living a few miles away from us that live in these sort of homes, too! :(
Katelin, we have to find words we don't know from the book, write down the sentences where they came from, the definitions, the synonyms, and the antonyms. The trouble I'm having is that I already know most of the words. xD
I can relate, Katelin. xD Honestly, the whole vocab chart thing seems a bit too easy for an advanced L.A. class. :/ It has helped me understand some words better, but I would think that everyone enrolled in this class would know how to use a dictionary and online language resources.
*Spoiler Alert* What do you guys think about the gangsters' dealings with the people of Horner and the other project homes? It really weirds me out now Jimmie Lee, a dangerous mob boss that kills for kicks, can deal drugs, then send letters to the neighborhood children telling them to stay away from drugs. O_o What really shocked me (AFTER I found out more about him) was that he defended a young girl from her violent father AND actually had a family of his own! While he is a gangster, he does seem to have a strong commitment to the project home communities.
The purpose of the vocab chart is to prepare you for the format we use in Honors for your SAT/ACT vocab words, when the words will be undoubtedly more difficult than what you are experiencing with this book. (:
And Elyse i feel the same way about Jimmy Lee. It just seems wrong that he's putting his gang out there for the children to see, and the children are being pressured into it even if he doesn't want them involved and he has to know what's happening. It just seems wrong.
Jimmie Lee certainly is a strange character... He's kind of like Batman in The Dark Knight, not quite a hero, not quite a villain. Strange analogy, I know. xD
I think that Jimmy didn't know where to go if he left the gang. If he left then how would he make money? It's like one of those house wives who live at home until one day they have to find a job. He was probably afraid for his life too. Can you say hypocrite?
Your right, Hannah. Plus, if he did leave, his fellow gang members would probably be furious. I don't know how gang laws work, but I would think that if someone of high status in a gang left, they would be thought of as a traitor and may be hurt or killed because of it.
I finished the book a few days ago. I really liked the book but could not believe how the killings and shooting were just the every day norm. I was also shocked to see that the news stations in the book never covered the shooting, when anything happens here its all across the news in a matter of minutes. Jimmie Lee was a person I never really understood in the book, he is a HUGE drug dealer but he does not do drugs....I didn't quiet get that, but I thought the book was phenomenally written and really enjoyed reading it.
I dropped the book in cold blood, I didn't like it that much. So I got this book and I like this book 100 times better. I just feel so bad for this family, it just makes it way easier to get into the book in my opinion.
I just finished the book as well, Rachael. :) I know, its crazy to think that those kinds of places still exist! What really made me mad was that the cops tended to show prejudice on most of the project children, all because they were African American. It isn't right for anyone to do that, particularly someone who enforces the law.
Anica, I know what you mean. I read the first chapter of In Cold Blood and I really didn't like it.
well im only like 3 chapters into the book but i already know its gonna be really sad:( i mean like these kids are really young and they had to lay in the grass so they wouldn't get shot it's just not even right
I think this book was written to not "cover up" the hardships of poverty, but more or less really open your eyes and tell you. I think tv doesn't explain in good detail the small things we take for granted....like insect free bedrooms(i mean no roaches) and not having to dodge bullets as a child(hopefully). We may think Pontiac or Detroit is bad, but there are worse places, and someone is always going to have it worse then you.
Mrs. werener, why are we writting a non-fiction analaysis for this book, is it non-fiction? Can a true story be technically be called non-fiction, cause in my opinion its more like a biography or an autobiography.
Jordan Richmonk- I realise that your comment was'nt directed towards me but maybe I can answer your question. A Non-fiction novel is a novel that the aurther beleived was true or realy happened where as an Biography is an acount of something that happened (had some kind of witness to or documents on the subject by a witness) I dont know if that helps you any @.@
Katelin- I'm not really sure. :/ I talked about how Kotlowitz wrote in the true language of the characters in my essay. I also wrote how he didn't alter their slang or spelling, so it made the characters' true personalities come out more.
I feel like I've been answering the same questions over and over for the nonfiction essay... >_< Has anyone else felt the same way? Could I be answering the questions wrong?
Elyse- I seem to repeat myself a lot in the non-fiction essay too. It's really bugging the meticulous writer in me. lol It's the only way I can find to answer the questions too.I wouldn't worry about it too much because many of those questions are the same, just reworded.
My non-fiction essay is as boring as heck. >.< I need to do better on the Scarlet Letter one.
Wow! Everyone is so far ahead of me! I just finished chapter 22! Okay, first of all, I can't believe that LaJoe didn't stand up for herself and, more importantly, her family when public aid cut off her income! Second, I can't understand what is going through those police officers' heads when they tell lies about killing people. Why can't they just say it was a mistake and let it go? Third, why did the newspaper say that Craig was part of a gang? It just isn't making sense to me.
I have a question for anyone who feels they can answer it; on the non-fiction analysis, does "the main points" mean the main focuses or ideas of the story or parts of the actual plot?
the only thing that i dont like about this book is that it'll be talking about one thing and then suddenly start explaining something else for like 3 pages and then start talking about what it was before. idk it just annoys me
and Justine i know right?!?! jeese i hate the stupid cops in this story like its not even right how they're lying and trying to say that Craig was part of a gang. he was like one of the coolest and nicest kids in the book :(
For the essay are we supposed to do all of the questions on the page, like all the questions under content, all the questions under form and organization..etc...Or are we supposed to pick one and write about it and answer the questions under the one we picked, because I'm a little confussed.
I went ahead and just answered almost every question in a paragraph... I don't suggest doing that, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to just answer each question and make a paragraph with 8-10 sentences.
i'm actually almost done with this book and i'm not saying its a bad book but it is so forgettable, i find mself having to use my brain really hard to remember events that occured, unfortunately this book kind of dissapointed me :(
Elyse, thanks. It's just so annoying! I kind of want to go over there and give those cops a piece of my mind. Although, that probably wouldn't be very wise.
Loni, how did it disappoint you? I totally understand where you're coming from with the forgetfulness though. I just kind of ignored the dates and numbers. It made it easier.
Thanks Hannah, that helped me a bit. Also does anyone know if we are suppossed to write it how we wrote The Scarlet Letter essays? -"..." (Kotlowitz #) with a quotation from the book and stuff
I cant really explain how it dissapointed me, maybe its just because i dont really read non-fiction books so i was expecting this amazing plot but there really wasnt one, it was so interesting though to learn about their lives
oh and i just finished the book, and i only want to comment on a couple things, like the story didnt really seem to lead anywhere, the ending didnt have much closure for me, and i was really upset at Lajoe because she couldnt hold down her own job and she was on welfare, in my opinion that is not a good mother, i mean i know she loved her kids but she didnt provide for them, she seemed lazy to me for not wanting to get a job or work
I felt bad for lajoe because the reason she couldn't get a job is because she had to watch her children. I think that she shouldve put more effort towards getting food stamps instead of just giving up.
I feel bad for the poor boys and their family, and the whole neighborhood for that matter, I don't know how anybody so young could hold themselves together as well as Lafeyette and Pharoah do.
I think that Jimmie Lee is actually kind of good for the boys to see how he wants young children off the streets and I also think it's good that he has stayed with the same wife.
I cannot blame LaJoe and the kids for having mixed feelings about the police because they have seen all sides of the officers, so they have every reason to be confused.
Craig Davis was such a good influence on the kids. I had troubles understanding the chapter where he was killed but what I got of it was that it was unfair.
i agree with everything you said, h. chambers! loni, i completely agree, i didn't like how the book ended, either. but what i disagree with is that LaJoe doesn't try. she can't get a job because they live in a sucky economy and she needs to stay home with her kids. but i do think she should have tried harder to keep her welfare.
anyways, the chapter where Craig Davis dies was completely unfair. He was chased on an assumption, which is fine, but he ran, which was bad on his part. The cops chased him, got him and he "struggled" so they shot him. Sounds like the Tom Robinson case from To Kill A Mockingbird
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ReplyDeleteI feel so bad for Lafeyette and Pharoah as well as their family. I can never imagine living in a neighborhood like theirs.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I read more of There Are No Children Here, it made me want to help kids that are stuck in situations like that. I'm guessing the reason Alex Kotlowitz wrote the book was to try to help kids like Lafeyette and Pharoah. Do you think the book was effective enough to get people to step in and try to help people who live in places like Horner?
I think motivation would be the only thing to really get people out there. Places like Horner are everywhere, some are even close to here. Even though this book was from 20+ years ago these things still go on. A lot of peoples mottos are: "Sucks to be them." I like this book, Alex Kotlowitz shows the true details. He describes the fear of the older children and the clueless lives of the younger children. I give him props for going out and actually getting the real facts.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that makes sense. It would be nice if those issues could get fixed, but yeah, there would need to be a lot of motivated people out there for that to be possible.
ReplyDeleteThe author does do a great job of showing the true details and facts. He's probably one of the most involved and dedicated journalists I've ever heard of. I mean he went out and threw himself into his research... his life could've been in danger at any moment with all the shootings and issues going on. He must have been very dedicated.
I liked this book a lot too because it isn't sugar-coated or anything. I agree with you that the book shows the straight up facts and emotions and doesn't try to hide them or mask them behind anything.
This is probably one of the best books I've read in awhile. It is well written and grabs your interest. I had problems putting it down, which is a good thing. :D
I've enjoyed most of this book. I believe he put too many dates and number in the book to remember.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading I as able to relate Rickey to children I've dealt with. He, along with Lafeyette and Pharoah, have had to grow up too quick and it shows. They show signs of how chaos can shut them inside themselves but stops when they feel safe. The affect gang violence has on someone's entire life would be enough to pull me away from that idea so it is sometimes hard for me to understand why they are still living that way.
Yeah, to be honest I really didn't really pay attention to a lot of the dates and numbers. lol I read them and got the general effect, but really I can't remember any of them either.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to understand how someone who has experienced the violence and tragedy of gang life first hand still lets themselves be influenced by them. I guess it's just the peer pressure or something.
I have to say, Lafeyette and Pharoah did make a lot of smart choices through out the book, as well as some choices that were pretty stupid. Pharoah pretty much stayed out of trouble, but when Lafeyette started making some bad choices and was getting into trouble, I was pretty depressed. I didn't want him to end up like Terence, who I believe was a good kid... but as they mentioned in the book, the neighborhood took him.
What really made me annoyed though was how it was so hard for the families to move out into safer neighborhoods. I know a lot of the people had problems that would keep them from finding a way out like alcohol or drug abuse, but it seemed like even people with promising futures, like Dawn, couldn't get out either no matter how hard they worked. It also seemed like the government and local housing associations weren't doing much to help.
im only a couple chapters into this book but i can already tell its very sad. like how they have to carry around flashlights even in the day time and how theres always gun shots. it seems really dangerous in horner. the mom Lajoe helps everyone out and i think later in the book someones going to take advantage of her.
ReplyDeleteso far this book has made me appreicate the way my life is beause theres kids out there that live in a horrible environment and that have nothing.
I like how the author gives the details in the story. He tells us what's going on, gives the facts with the CHA and then goes back to the story so you know why they are going through that. I can't believe that useable appliances and furnature sat in the basement while animals died and rotted on them.
ReplyDeleteI miss the beginning when Lafeyette was more open with his mom and less of a fighter. I don't blame Rickey for bringing Lafeyette into the "gang", I blame the jects. Seeing that everyday had to atleast interest him. It's crazy to read that because here we don't really have to deal with it but 20 miles away it goes on in other towns.
This chat is kinda lonely :(
ReplyDeleteI think more people should read this, I like it
:D I know, I know...
This doesn't count
im only a few chapters in the book but in the second chapter there were gunshots and the police had to come and the next day a reporter asked the police about it and they acted like it never happened. i thought that was bad. i mean they didnt even arrest the guys that were shooting and they could have really hurt someone. they had bad police officers in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteit seems like the lajoe has already gave up on life. i think she would like to move out of there but she doesnt do anything to try to. i think she thinks she cant do any better and she belongs there just because she lived there when she was a kid.
also its very sad that lafeyette is a father figure at such a young age. he cant be a normal kid he has to watch out for pharoah and the triplets every day.
this is a very sad story so far :(
Now I finished the book. You know what really bugged me? Like it has stuck with me from the beginning. The shooting that Terence was blamed for. The sentence says: "Her friend, a Vice Lord, had tried to kill her." How backwards is that sentence? Friends do not try to kill friends.
ReplyDeleteSpoiler alert: The end is sort of hopeful. They get newer things and almost moved. Lafi didn't go to jail and Pharoah almost overcame his studded.
The main point to There are No Children Here is how much poverty really does affect a life. An example of this was Craig Davis’s life. Davis, a role model of the community, was shot while being incarcerated on gun charges. Poverty left Davis in the ghettos and the ghettos pushed Davis to buy an illegal firearm. The police officer may not have sent a bullet into a citizen of a richer neighborhood, but only he knows what happened. Rickey is an example of how poverty changes a person. Rickey may have been exposed to drugs, death, gangs and violence without living in Horner. Horner may not be to blame, maybe Rickey was just one of those kids who would be drawn to it but ghettos gave him that doorway into it. The ghettos also affect a persons mind set. Pharoh was a happy, care free child but when he realized he could no longer go through life without growing up he developed a stutter. His stutter shut him inside himself causing him to harbor his secrets and only grow worse.
ReplyDeleteHow does that sound for #1 on the analysis?
Don't jockk :)
I could never imagine living in the conditions that Pharoah and Lafeyette are living under. I cannot imagine being in constant fear that you may get shot,or someone in your family may get hurt just by walking outside. I cannot believe that the government wouldn't try to help in cities where poverty is so strong and violence is unbelievable. I cannot even fathom living under these conditions.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to have to live the way these families do. A thing i don't understand though is Jimmy Lee loves kids and won't have them in his gang, but he doesn't consider what violence and worry he brings into these kids lives by having shoot outs with rival gangs. He also doesn't even seem to take into account that the kids could be killed during the shoot outs.
ReplyDeleteMy gosh this book is good so far! The message of it is so powerful! I'm grateful I don't have to hear gunshots in the night or worry about getting robbed in my neighborhood. It seems odd that even though LaJoe wants to give her kids a better life, she still sticks around in Horner. Perhaps she feels it is her obligation to care for the people of Horner and can't bring herself to leave. What really makes me sad is that she is a strong woman with so much potential for greatness, but she can't achieve it where she currently resides.
ReplyDeleteI know that I haven't really been on here yet but i've just been so busy. so anywho... I LOVE this book! I think subconsciously I sort of knew this kind of thing went on but I never really wanted to address it. I'm amazed that LaJoe still has the courage and strength to stay where she is. It makes me so grateful that I don't have to worry about my siblings being strangled or gunshots firing for hours with the possibility of the bullets coming into my house! I agree with you, Elyse, that LaJoe has so much potential for greatness.
ReplyDeletei was wondering if anybody knew what to do on the Non-Fiction vocab sheet
ReplyDeleteI was the same way, Justine. I knew that people lived in dangerous slums, but I was never fully able to understand the hardships they faced until I read this book. The chapter where it talks about LaJoe constantly cleaning to deal with stress and how it never seems to do anything really made me sad... Imagine having roaches crawling around in your bedroom and bathrooms that smell like rotten meat! xP The saddest part is, there could be people living a few miles away from us that live in these sort of homes, too! :(
ReplyDeleteKatelin, we have to find words we don't know from the book, write down the sentences where they came from, the definitions, the synonyms, and the antonyms. The trouble I'm having is that I already know most of the words. xD
Oh, thats what i thought Elyse, thank you! I'm probably going to have the same problem to, i guess thats what you get for reading a lot of books =]
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI can relate, Katelin. xD Honestly, the whole vocab chart thing seems a bit too easy for an advanced L.A. class. :/ It has helped me understand some words better, but I would think that everyone enrolled in this class would know how to use a dictionary and online language resources.
ReplyDelete*Spoiler Alert*
What do you guys think about the gangsters' dealings with the people of Horner and the other project homes? It really weirds me out now Jimmie Lee, a dangerous mob boss that kills for kicks, can deal drugs, then send letters to the neighborhood children telling them to stay away from drugs. O_o What really shocked me (AFTER I found out more about him) was that he defended a young girl from her violent father AND actually had a family of his own! While he is a gangster, he does seem to have a strong commitment to the project home communities.
The purpose of the vocab chart is to prepare you for the format we use in Honors for your SAT/ACT vocab words, when the words will be undoubtedly more difficult than what you are experiencing with this book. (:
ReplyDeleteoh that makes since Ms. Werner.
ReplyDeleteAnd Elyse i feel the same way about Jimmy Lee. It just seems wrong that he's putting his gang out there for the children to see, and the children are being pressured into it even if he doesn't want them involved and he has to know what's happening. It just seems wrong.
Oh! Thanks for clearing that up, Mrs. Werner! :D
ReplyDeleteJimmie Lee certainly is a strange character... He's kind of like Batman in The Dark Knight, not quite a hero, not quite a villain. Strange analogy, I know. xD
I agree with Katelin and Elyse. If Jimmy Lee doesn't want kids joining gangs and participating in violence then why is he some big gang leader?
ReplyDeleteI think that Jimmy didn't know where to go if he left the gang. If he left then how would he make money? It's like one of those house wives who live at home until one day they have to find a job. He was probably afraid for his life too. Can you say hypocrite?
ReplyDeleteYour right, Hannah. Plus, if he did leave, his fellow gang members would probably be furious. I don't know how gang laws work, but I would think that if someone of high status in a gang left, they would be thought of as a traitor and may be hurt or killed because of it.
ReplyDeleteI finished the book a few days ago. I really liked the book but could not believe how the killings and shooting were just the every day norm. I was also shocked to see that the news stations in the book never covered the shooting, when anything happens here its all across the news in a matter of minutes. Jimmie Lee was a person I never really understood in the book, he is a HUGE drug dealer but he does not do drugs....I didn't quiet get that, but I thought the book was phenomenally written and really enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteI dropped the book in cold blood, I didn't like it that much. So I got this book and I like this book 100 times better. I just feel so bad for this family, it just makes it way easier to get into the book in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI just finished the book as well, Rachael. :) I know, its crazy to think that those kinds of places still exist! What really made me mad was that the cops tended to show prejudice on most of the project children, all because they were African American. It isn't right for anyone to do that, particularly someone who enforces the law.
ReplyDeleteAnica, I know what you mean. I read the first chapter of In Cold Blood and I really didn't like it.
What are you guys doing for your thesis statement in the Nonfiction essay? I'm confused by what to do for that.
ReplyDeletedoes the nonfiction analysis have to be a certain amount of pages long?
ReplyDelete- Andrea Lawassani
I don't think there are any page amount restrictions. Since we have to double space the essay, it'll probably require a lot of pages. :)
ReplyDeleteHi all, I'm impressed with your comments. Remember to keep the discussion going throughout August. See you in a few weeks!
ReplyDeleteMs. Victor :)
There are no page restrictions on your non fiction analysis. Just a word of warning: quantity does not always equal quality (:
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda confused about what the non fiction analysis means by a question that asks about the language the author used. HELP!
ReplyDeletewell im only like 3 chapters into the book but i already know its gonna be really sad:( i mean like these kids are really young and they had to lay in the grass so they wouldn't get shot
ReplyDeleteit's just not even right
and i was wondering for the vocab chart if we have to write the entire sentence for the "original sentence" part or if we can just do like '...'
ReplyDeleteI think this book was written to not "cover up" the hardships of poverty, but more or less really open your eyes and tell you. I think tv doesn't explain in good detail the small things we take for granted....like insect free bedrooms(i mean no roaches) and not having to dodge bullets as a child(hopefully). We may think Pontiac or Detroit is bad, but there are worse places, and someone is always going to have it worse then you.
ReplyDeleteMrs. werener, why are we writting a non-fiction analaysis for this book, is it non-fiction? Can a true story be technically be called non-fiction, cause in my opinion its more like a biography or an autobiography.
ReplyDeleteJordan Richmonk- I realise that your comment was'nt directed towards me but maybe I can answer your question. A Non-fiction novel is a novel that the aurther beleived was true or realy happened where as an Biography is an acount of something that happened (had some kind of witness to or documents on the subject by a witness) I dont know if that helps you any @.@
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ReplyDeleteKatelin- I'm not really sure. :/ I talked about how Kotlowitz wrote in the true language of the characters in my essay. I also wrote how he didn't alter their slang or spelling, so it made the characters' true personalities come out more.
ReplyDeleteok, thats what i was thinking. thanks again Elyse.
ReplyDeleteNo prob, Katelin!
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've been answering the same questions over and over for the nonfiction essay... >_< Has anyone else felt the same way? Could I be answering the questions wrong?
Elyse- I seem to repeat myself a lot in the non-fiction essay too. It's really bugging the meticulous writer in me. lol It's the only way I can find to answer the questions too.I wouldn't worry about it too much because many of those questions are the same, just reworded.
ReplyDeleteMy non-fiction essay is as boring as heck. >.< I need to do better on the Scarlet Letter one.
Wow! Everyone is so far ahead of me! I just finished chapter 22! Okay, first of all, I can't believe that LaJoe didn't stand up for herself and, more importantly, her family when public aid cut off her income! Second, I can't understand what is going through those police officers' heads when they tell lies about killing people. Why can't they just say it was a mistake and let it go? Third, why did the newspaper say that Craig was part of a gang? It just isn't making sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI have a question for anyone who feels they can answer it; on the non-fiction analysis, does "the main points" mean the main focuses or ideas of the story or parts of the actual plot?
ReplyDeletethe only thing that i dont like about this book is that it'll be talking about one thing and then suddenly start explaining something else for like 3 pages and then start talking about what it was before.
ReplyDeleteidk it just annoys me
i really love Pharoah's personality. i think he's so adorable lol.
ReplyDeleteand Justine i know right?!?!
ReplyDeletejeese i hate the stupid cops in this story like its not even right how they're lying and trying to say that Craig was part of a gang.
he was like one of the coolest and nicest kids in the book :(
For the essay are we supposed to do all of the questions on the page, like all the questions under content, all the questions under form and organization..etc...Or are we supposed to pick one and write about it and answer the questions under the one we picked, because I'm a little confussed.
ReplyDeleteI went ahead and just answered almost every question in a paragraph...
ReplyDeleteI don't suggest doing that, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to just answer each question and make a paragraph with 8-10 sentences.
Hope that helped :\
I am so glad that Rachel Stopchinski recamended me to read this book. It was such a good book and I learned so much about their lives
ReplyDeleteI give mothers so much credit now for what they do for their kids and people around them
ReplyDeleteI like how Pharoah really tried in school when people around him were not
ReplyDeleteok so this book is really interesting but there doesnt seem to be an actual story, its just explaining life in the ghettos of chicago
ReplyDeletei'm actually almost done with this book and i'm not saying its a bad book but it is so forgettable, i find mself having to use my brain really hard to remember events that occured, unfortunately this book kind of dissapointed me :(
ReplyDeleteGood to know I wasn't the only one bored to death while writing the nonfiction essay. xD Thanks, Rachel!
ReplyDeleteJustine, I think its because the cops were too ashamed to admit that they were the ones at fault. It made me so mad that they lied all the time, too!
Elyse, thanks. It's just so annoying! I kind of want to go over there and give those cops a piece of my mind. Although, that probably wouldn't be very wise.
ReplyDeleteLoni, how did it disappoint you? I totally understand where you're coming from with the forgetfulness though. I just kind of ignored the dates and numbers. It made it easier.
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ReplyDeleteThanks Hannah, that helped me a bit. Also does anyone know if we are suppossed to write it how we wrote The Scarlet Letter essays? -"..." (Kotlowitz #) with a quotation from the book and stuff
ReplyDeleteI cant really explain how it dissapointed me, maybe its just because i dont really read non-fiction books so i was expecting this amazing plot but there really wasnt one, it was so interesting though to learn about their lives
ReplyDeletei agree loni, it was kind of a let down for me too... like the same things happened over and over again
ReplyDeleteeven though i still enjoyed the book
oh and i just finished the book, and i only want to comment on a couple things, like the story didnt really seem to lead anywhere, the ending didnt have much closure for me, and i was really upset at Lajoe because she couldnt hold down her own job and she was on welfare, in my opinion that is not a good mother, i mean i know she loved her kids but she didnt provide for them, she seemed lazy to me for not wanting to get a job or work
ReplyDeleteI felt bad for lajoe because the reason she couldn't get a job is because she had to watch her children. I think that she shouldve put more effort towards getting food stamps instead of just giving up.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for the poor boys and their family, and the whole neighborhood for that matter, I don't know how anybody so young could hold themselves together as well as Lafeyette and Pharoah do.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jimmie Lee is actually kind of good for the boys to see how he wants young children off the streets and I also think it's good that he has stayed with the same wife.
ReplyDeleteI cannot blame LaJoe and the kids for having mixed feelings about the police because they have seen all sides of the officers, so they have every reason to be confused.
ReplyDeleteCraig Davis was such a good influence on the kids. I had troubles understanding the chapter where he was killed but what I got of it was that it was unfair.
ReplyDeletei agree with everything you said, h. chambers! loni, i completely agree, i didn't like how the book ended, either. but what i disagree with is that LaJoe doesn't try. she can't get a job because they live in a sucky economy and she needs to stay home with her kids. but i do think she should have tried harder to keep her welfare.
ReplyDeleteThis is my eighth post! I hope...
ReplyDeleteanyways, the chapter where Craig Davis dies was completely unfair. He was chased on an assumption, which is fine, but he ran, which was bad on his part. The cops chased him, got him and he "struggled" so they shot him. Sounds like the Tom Robinson case from To Kill A Mockingbird
For the vocabulary chart there were no antonyms or synonyms for some of the words.
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