"I don't want no trouble," said Lorenzo.
"Ain't gonna be none," said the man.
"I'm her father."
"I know who you are."
Lorenzo shifted his feet. "I just want to talk with her."
"That's not gonna happen," said the man. "You already made your choice. You care about Shay, you got to let her be." (118)
So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on. (101)
"Melvin was scared. I could tell by lookin' at him 'cause I been knowin' him a long time. He used to run with my brother James, back when." Green blinked away the image of his brother, playing basketball down by the courts, imitating MJ with his tongue out the side of his mouth, laughing about it, having fun. "Melvin don't belong out here no more."
"You punked him," said Butler with admiration.
"Wasn't me," said Green, a touch of regret in his voice. "He got his ass broke in the cut." (125)
Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out. (89)
"Mommy, why you sad?' said the daughter.
"Just play your game, girl," said Nardine with an angry slashing motion of her hand. (88)
At this point you may be asking when does the conflict of the novel begin—how will all these characters and stories we're getting come together? What does Rico's story have to with Lorenzo? Who cares about Nardine or Deanna or Nixon Velsaco or Rafael Salamanca, any of Rachel's offenders who will never show up in the book again? I'd argue that Pelecanos wants us to know this world intimately so when we judge, as we cannot help but do, we do so with some depth and understanding of the complexities of this world and the complexities of the people who inhabit it. Nixon and Rafael work side by side, but one is probably going back to prison—"Salamanca...had recently confessed to Rachel that he craved drugs as a means of escape from the harsh reality of what his life had become" (96). Nixon will probably make it, not because "jail time, remorse, or conscience had reformed him," but because he "was too old to survive the new game" (95). Nardine is probably going back to prison (where she spent the prior 6 years), leaving her two kids with her grandmother, because life is too hard. Does this make her a horrible parent? A useless human being? Do we poo poo Nixon's success, knowing that if he were younger, he might have gone back to the game? DeEric Green is not the sharpest knife in the drawer—where should he put that television screen?—and he isn't ashamed of the his life in "the game," but he genuinely cares for his younger charge, Michael Butler. As we know Melvin Lee feels for Rico Miller. The book may feel like a beach read, but it strives for an acknowledgement of the ambiguity in this world that most pop books won't go for.
So:
1. What scene or moment in chapters 9-12 jumped out at you and why?
2. Look at one of the quotes I've given at the top of the entry. Write about its significance in the book—what does it open us up to, or show, that's important to our understanding of the character(s) and/or the world we're in? Please don't repeat what you wrote about in question 1. And don't simply repeat what someone else has said.
Tomorrow will be a reading day after you turn in your paper. We'll try to start pulling together all the strands of this book on Tuesday. It's a rich stew: part history, part sociology, part page-turner, part tragedy, and certainly a questioning of the subject of our study, The American Dream.
The scene at the end of 12, when Lorenzo meets with Rayne, obviously has significance. What I am interested to see though, is how Lorenzo is coping with moving on and taking interest in other women when he still drives to his daughter's house everyday. He does not care for Sherelle, but he is now entering into two different lives, and he vacillates between both. The scene with Rayne jumped out at me because he seems to become bolder and bolder with her, and less and less attached to his past life, which in a way represents who he was before jail. Rayne is more responsible, which coincides with his new outlook on life.
ReplyDelete2.So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on. (101)
The book does not shine a intellectual light on DeEric Green. Butler, however, seems to have a certain depth to his character that could be a conscience. This quote is sad in that it alludes to the idea that Butler is heading down the same detrimental road that Green followed, and that Green may have once been like Butler as well. He is quiet but thoughtful, and always calm. Green is hot-headed and repulsive. But he made choices that affected his personality permanently, and changed who he was. One could argue for the worse. If there is any hope for Butler now, that hope dies with his choice of following Green's path.
1. The scene in these chapters that stood out to me the most was the scene in which DeEric and Michael were confronted by Melvin and Rico. the entire interaction between the two pairs and the fact that it occurred in the middle of the neighborhood for anyone to see was interesting to me. There was no fear of the interaction being observed, and up until DeEric intimidated Melvin with the gun in his pants it remained completely non-violent. But what really struck me about the scene was Rico. We've discussed Rico Miller in class, and this scene only adds to the ridiculous violence of his nature. Throughout the scene he did not look away from Michael once, and he was grinning the whole time. From what we have learned about Rico, and the details of the scene we know that Rico is focused on violence and causing Michael pain. I feel like this aspect of Rico Miller will play an important role in how the story progresses.
ReplyDelete2. "I don't want no trouble," said Lorenzo. "Ain't gonna be none," said the man. "I'm her father." "I know who you are." Lorenzo shifted his feet. "I just want to talk with her." "That's not gonna happen," said the man. "You already made your choice. You care about Shay, you got to let her be."
This quote illustrates Lorenzo's relationship with his daughter, and what his visit to prison cost him. Shay doesn't even know who he is, and her mother's new boyfriend is yet another roadblock between Lorenzo and his daughter. What the man says makes some sense. His comment that he's got to let go of Shay at this point has an aspect of truth to it. Due to Lorenzo's time in prison she doesn't know him and were he to be introduced into her life it would only complicate her childhood even more. The way she is now she is in a family who loves her, and that is better than some of the kids who we have witnessed so far in this book.
1. The confrontation between DeEric and Melvin sticks out the most in my mind. Leading up to this point, Melvin has acted tough around Rico, believing that he was a role model and wanting to feel like a father. He’s acted the part up to now, when DeEric utterly humiliates Melvin in front of Rico. It surprised me how quickly Melvin’s act broke in the face of DeEric’s assault, and also made me see the similarities and differences between the two groups. Michael and Rico are both under mentors, but Michael respects DeEric, thinking to buy him candy, while Rico just feels sorry for Melvin. Melvin is trying to hold on to something that he doesn’t belong to anymore, and can’t move on like Nixon had.
ReplyDelete2. "So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on". (101)
Growing up in this environment, Michael and DeEric had few choices to begin with. The world they were brought into doesn’t allow for ascension into a different life; “coming from the house where he came from… what else was a young man in his situation supposed to do”? The only choices that a bright young man like Michael had were to join a gang or work a low paying job for rent money. The choice that a kid who has nothing would make is pretty obvious. Michael and DeEric didn’t have the chance, and wouldn’t know how to fit into the “straight” world, due to their upbringing. Unfortunately, Michael is now unable to change his path because of these choices that he made early on. However smart he may be, he’s still just a drug dealer. Kids born into those surroundings are doomed to stay in those surroundings. Their position is immobile.
1. The scene that stood out to me the most was when Lorenzo went to see his daughter. It was as if he was drawn by some uncontrollable force to her. I could tell in this scene that Lorenzo really does love his daughter. But this scene showed another aspect of Lorenzo: his insecurity. "That's right. I ain't shit", is Lorenzo's final thought of the chapter. He seems really harsh on himself because he can't see his daughter. This really stuck with me because so far Lorenzo has seemed like a super tough guy. But in these chapters we saw a much sweeter,sadder side of him. Like John was saying, Pelecanos makes it very clear that Lorenzo is multi-dimensional.
ReplyDelete2. "Mommy, why you sad?' said the daughter.
"Just play your game, girl," said Nardine with an angry slashing motion of her hand. (88)
This scene was really sad to me. Nardine knows that she has messed up, and it is devastating too her. It seems that Nardine doesn't know how to handle having a daughter, especially as she is slipping back into her drug habit. I would assume that this might be an issue Rachel views a lot. Nardine is pulling away from her daughter instead of bringing her closer. It seems like the little girl wants her mother's affection though, which makes it especially sad.
1. The scene that stood out to me was the very short scene at the end with Lorenzo and his grandmother. I really just loved the little picture it painted of Lorenzo’s maternal figure in his life: “Saw you through the window, talking to Rayne.’ ‘Uh-huh’ ‘That’s a good woman right there. Responsible.’ ‘You just about gave her my whole life story.’ ‘Someone had to,’ said Willetta. ‘Didn’t look to me like you were gonna do it” (130). I think that Lorenzo’s grandma really cares for him and he really cares for her and it shows so much even in this one little scene, just by how they interact with each other and talk to one another.
ReplyDelete2. "Mommy, why you sad?' said the daughter.
"Just play your game, girl," said Nardine with an angry slashing motion of her hand. (88)
Here you see the first female offender of Rachel’s so far in the book. She seems to be a lot different from all of Rachel’s other parolees and it’s an interesting juxtaposition to the male parolees that we’ve met thus far. This scene almost felt like a continuation of what Shirley (from NA)’s life would have been like had she kept her child. Is it better or worse to lose the child in this situation? That’s the question this scene brings up for me. I don’t know what I would pick in that situation, but it’s an interesting question to consider. Raise your children, even if you are back into drugs? Or lose them to their grandmother to be raised in the right way? It would a painful and difficult decision to make as a mother.
1. I found the back-story that Pelecanos gives for Lorenzo and Nigel’s relationship pretty interesting. Lorenzo was caught and interrogated, but he refused to turn Nigel in. He did 8 years in prison instead of turning in his friend. We also found out that the key to his success in a new, clean life was a modest quantity of heroine. Lorenzo isn’t mad at Nigel and he doesn’t seem to feel any animosity for people who do their kind of work for a living. He doesn’t have moral objections about his old life. It’s purely self-preservation. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but I had gotten the sense that he was on the straight an narrow because it was the right thing to do in addition to his incompatibilities with that lifestyle. I think it’s a little more realistic that he’s not presented as a changed man but as a smart man doing what’s necessary to live his life.
ReplyDelete2. “I don’t want to trouble,” said Lorenzo.
“Ain’t gonna be none,” said the man.
“I’m her father.”
“I know who you are.”
Lorenzo shifted his feet. “I just wan to talk with her.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” said the man. “You already made your choice. You care about Shay, you got to let her be.” (118)
This is a key example of the themes of judgment and redemption in the book. Lorenzo, and everyone he knows, seem to feel he’s turned over a new leaf. Only his ex-wife and her boyfriend seem to think otherwise. I wonder what the exact reason is for that. Did Lorenzo do something to them that we haven’t learned about yet? Is the fact that he left them for 8 years because of his mistakes too much to forgive? Do they truly not trust him enough to let him even speak to his daughter? Do they think he’s still involved in crime or that he will get involved again? Lorenzo has done some bad things and made some bad choices. He’s clearly doing his best to live a good life. It’s an interesting thought that, no matter what happens, your past will always be your past, and there are aspects that won’t be forgiven. Lorenzo is probably in the best position out of anyone in the book. If he can’t truly be made whole again, what hope does anyone else have?
1. "She was aroused, not by the sight of her own body, but by the preparation itself...Rachel had a fourth glass of wine, gathered up her purse and cigarettes, and left the apartment. She drove downtown"(121). This scene with Rachel was very striking. It seems like she's a street-walkin' prostitute, but I have a hard time believing that. Her character is becoming more and more complex, and this scene helped muddle her up even more. I'm trying to figure out if there is a higher motive for her drinking and going out like this, like my she's going undercover? Or maybe she really does have problems like each of her clients.
ReplyDelete2.So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on. (101)
This was the most depressing insight of the entire book so far. Butler is a bright kid, he's gentle and kind too. But, as Green pointed out, of course he went into the drug world. It was all he had known. To Butler it seemed the obvious choice. What does that mean for these kids growing up on these streets? Even if you are smart, and love learning, and maybe want to do something with yourself, gangs are still the better option. The safer option in their mind.
1) As we read this book, we learn more and more about each character. We are thrown into a story half way through and are forced to pick up the pieces of these people's lives. We put the pieces together and our image of Lorenzo becomes clearer and clearer. At the end of chapter twelve, we find one huge piece in this puzzle. Lorenzo has a daughter. Not only does he have a daughter, but he isn't an active member in her life. We realize the man we have been following and supporting is leaving his daughter and the mother of his child to fend for themselves. Lorenzo is not a clear protagonist.
ReplyDelete2) "Mommy, why you sad?' said the daughter.
"Just play your game, girl," said Nardine with an angry slashing motion of her hand. (88)
2) Pelecanos has made an effort to simply tell a story and allow us to make judgment at this point. We are told the story though Lorenzo and Rachel's perspective, but we don't get to feel each emotion that they have for each character. In this section, we are told the story through Rachel's eyes. Pelecanos wants us to see the contrast in the people that Rachel deals with on a daily basis. This story is by far the most depressing. We see Nardine's struggle and we sympathize with her as a mother. We also see her daughter's ignorance. We know this will not end well for her daughter and it's terrible to witness her innocence fade as she gets older. This was told in a matter-of-fact tone that makes it that much more depressing.
1. The scene that stood out to me the most was the scene where Lorenzo saw his daughter. I think you could really feel the regret he was experiencing for leaving his daughter behind and I think we were able to see this side of him where he shows how much he cares for his daughter. This is the first time that we get to see him be so vulnerable and we get to read his thoughts again and it was just really sad to see him realize that he isn’t anything and that he isn’t proud of who he is.
ReplyDelete2. “Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out. (89)”
I think this quote shows that we are dealing with people who think that it is better to go off to prison than to try and fix the mistakes they have made in their lives. I also think it shows that Rachel doesn’t know what else to do with them than hope that one day they will go in and come back out and see that they need to change. However, I think we also see Rachel’s intuition that she has about these offenders and how she really does hope for the best for them, but they don’t take matters into their own hands and do anything about their lives. She wants to help them and she gives them every thing she can to help them but there isn’t much reciprocity in her job.
1.One of the scenes that stood out to me was in the beginning of chapter 10 when DeEric was trying to decide where he should put the DVD screens in his car. In this world that Pelecanos is describing, we’ve seen absolute poverty, and in this scene he’s further exploring this false opulence where problems consist of whether or not to put the DVD screens in headrests or the steering wheel. It is bizarre to see these two things coexist in one world, but I think it only adds to the complicated nature of this story. Not everything is what it seems not only when it comes to the characters but also the environment that these characters reside in.
ReplyDelete2. "Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out." (89)
I thought this was a harsh reality that the book has been building up to. Not everyone comes out of jail and starts to live a (somewhat) honest life like Lorenzo. Salamanca can barely deal with his life outside of jail. Not every case is a success story. Rachel is the person that is supposed to believe in these individuals, but sometimes there is no point. In some cases, a “straight” existence is just unachievable, and maybe it is useless to even try. I think Pelecanos does not want us to think that once you head down a good path, you are there for good. He’s showing us that in a lot of cases staying on that path is too hard for people to bear, and it is just easier to go back to bad habits.
1. The scene that stood out for me was the confrontation between DeEric Green and Melvin Lee. This confrontation was had been built up over the last few chapters by suspense. The end results were not predicted to be pleasant especially with Rico Miller along for the ride. What really shook me in this scene was the intense roles each individual had in their gang. The pressure to look good and protect your turf is extremely high. Neither Green or Lee seem to be very high on the social ladder of their gang, yet we still see both ready to duke it out for the greater good of their gang. The pride of their gang is more important than their own lives. The way Green pushed Lee around was embarrassing. Green saw the weakness in Lee and dominated the conversation. It is sad that any weakness you show or flaw in emotion results in relentless attacks on your pride.
ReplyDelete2. "Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out." (89).
This is the parole officer, Rachel Lopez, thinking about what she has dealt with through her job. The obvious question this quote raises is how can she tell her offenders to break the law on purpose? A parole officer is trying to help the offender to get better and check on their well being, which Rachel does a very nice job of doing. Always getting involved with the offenders family Rachel is in control of the situation. Though I believe last line of this quote is more important: "Many, of course, never did come out." Rachel doesn't show her emotions here with dealing with these people. She sees right through them, always knowing if they are back on drugs or how they are dealing with their children. The real question this quote is asking is what does Rachel Lopez do with her emotions? How do these offenders that she gets close to affect her emotional state?
I do agree with everyone else in their choices of scenes that stuck out to them, but I think that an extremely important scene is being overlooked. This is the very short scene at the beginning of chapter 12 with Rachel "preparing" for a night on the town. We see her applying dark make-up, putting on extremely skimpy clothing and provocative lingerie, and growing more and more, well, sexually excited as the scene goes on. While it is not stated, from what is written it is extremely obvious that our character is a hard working government official who helps offenders by day, prostitute by night. Clearly this scene stuck out to me because I don't think anyone saw this coming. Yes, it was clear from the foreshadowing that Pelecanos does that Rachel has been hiding some part of her life that is somewhat corrupt, a part that does not pertain to her hard work and her job, but never is there really any hint given that the part of her life she has been hiding has anything to do with prostitution, or if it is not prostitution than sexual addiction to say the least. But on top of this twist in the story line, it adds to the complexity and the confusion of this world that this book seems to be enforcing so much. Thus far, every character seems to have some sort of moral structure, even if just a little, or some part of them that makes them decent human beings, but despite this they are still criminals, drug dealers, drug abusers, ex convicts, etc. It makes it difficult when judging their character, as John talks about above, and gives a real depth to the situation. And now we find out about the secret life that our one supposedly normal character is leading underneath everything else, which simply adds to this depth and confusion of the book and the question of judgement.
ReplyDelete"So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on." I find this quote to be extremely important in that it brings up this idea of choice, or simply freedom, in this world, this community, this lifestyle. Green talks about his life as a choice, just as many if not all of the drug dealers and gangsters view their lives. But how much of this lifestyle is really choice? In a community that is somewhat hopeless, where this is the only way to reach the top and to succeed, where for many crime is the only option period, how much choice do these characters have to turn away? In a community where drugs are everywhere and everyone is consuming them, how much choice does one really have to say no? In a world where a mother simply cannot afford to feed her children properly or entertain them properly, how much choice is there to change this? These characters are stuck in a world, in a society, that is almost representative of a trench in that, similar to GlenGary Glenn Ross, there really is no way to move up, to progress from this lifestyle they are a part of. They are all being forced down a downward path, whether they choose to acknowledge this fact or not, and they really are not given much choice, despite this quote from Green.
1. The scene that stuck out to me the most was the scene with his daughter. We had heard about this daughter of his before (I forget exactly where), but this is the first time we see him, his daughter, and the mother’s reaction to him. It’s really kind of sad how while Shay, his daughter asks who he is, and Sherelle says nobody. We see almost how broken Lorenzo is, how much he has mellowed down from his previous life, when he admits that the man was right, and concedes to the fact that “[He] ain’t shit.”
ReplyDelete2. So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on (101). I feel like this is a very sad admission of the state of the city right now. We see that Butler is a smart kid. Maybe not the brightest, but he ahs potential. He merely did not receive the kind of education that we do. He has potential. But, like everyone else on the street, he turned to drugs, and selling drugs. And that is a very sad fact, showing that so many of the people in this city just turn to drugs for their problems. And for others, it just shows that this seemed like the only way to go. It seemed like the logical way to go, selling drugs and getting caught up in this violence. It’s sad that these kids, and that’s what they were when they went into the business, that going into the drug business was the obvious choice instead of leading a clean life.
1.I was intrigue by the scene in which both gangs were all up in each other’s face. At first, I thought it was simple gang showdown but the more I thought about it, the more I realize how important this is to the story. The paternal face both DeEric and Lee represent to Butler and Miller respectively shows a greater sense of humanity. This creates a more complex world that is harder to judge than simple good/bad. The fact that a Miller, who is completely unstable, witness the way DeEric ridicule Lee is simply going to lead to more trouble. Also the fact that Lorenzo and Joe live on this street is bringing everything together.
ReplyDelete“Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out.” (89)
2. I think that this is a vital to the story because it talks about the society these men and women live in and what it does to them. Like we talked about, it is a cycle of malevolence where some lucky one are able to break away from while others simply fall back into it. It is sad when some chose to commit a crime simply because they cannot face the outside world. They may relate to Lorenzo meaning that up to this point in the book, he has change but it is still possible for him to be sucked into his former life. Sometimes they make it sometimes they don’t.
1. The scene with Rachel "preparing herself" for her night out really stood out to me. I honestly am not surprised at all that she is prostitute. Pelacanos gave us so many clues of this in the previous chapters. This scene was definitely the most intriguing of the book so far. It is interesting to see how her day life and night life are almost complete opposites. During the day she wears no makeup, no perfume, no tight clothes, nothing that enhances her femininity or attractiveness. However at night, she does completely the opposite. I think that Pelecanos is trying to show us that everyone has another side to their story. Lorenzo was a criminal but is now a great guy, Butler is in a gang but has never handled a gun and is incredibly smart. There is always something else to the story, some reason to judge or not to judge these characters. I am really interested in hearing more about WHY Rachel does this with her life (at night).
ReplyDelete2. "So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on" (101). This quote ties into the idea of childhood and mothering that I have discussed in almost all of the past blog posts. I really think that a big part of the way these men are is because of how they were raised. They were raised to drown kittens, to not go outside, to deal with cruelty. These men made choices about what to do with their lives when they were young and stupid and now they cant leave the drug game. They stick with what they have known and felt familiar with their whole lives. It is a really depressing aspect of this book that Butler, a guy with so much potential to do good and help benefit the world, has been brought into the drug game. These men made stupid decisions early on that have effected them now and will effect their entire lives and there is no turning back for most, as stated in the Rachel's quote above.
1. the scene that stood out to me a lot was the scene where we see for the first time Lorenzo with his daughter. Like we know he has a daughter and we have heard about her but this is the first time we see him and his daughter interacting. It is heart wrenching seeing the mother play Lorenzo off as nothing. WE have already talked about the fact that we have seen him change and we know how hard he worked to change himself and to see someone not give him a chance is hard to understand. You can obviously see in this scene how much he adores and truly loves his daughter here and I think for me at least it was the first time since we discovered his love for his dog that we have seen him love something that much and intensely.
ReplyDelete2. “Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out.” (89)
I think like many others in the class that this is a very important quote in the book because it speaks to one of the key problems in the messed up society this book is set in. It shows us the cycle and how these people are treated and how they are not given a chance to change. This also shows us how it is almost encouraged to go to jail because not only is it free to you and you are kept out of trouble it gives u a blank slate when you come out. I think this quote defines one of the main problems with the conditioning of these people.
1. "Rachel had fewer female offenders than she did males, but her female cases tended to take up a disproportionate amount of her time. Women were the most difficult to reform" (88). This part when Rachel is talking about the female offenders hit me hard. I never realized or thought about how there may be few female offenders but all the other baggage that comes with it. It's a totally different world for female offenders. They fall back on different things compared to men. It's more difficult for women to stay strong and stable when they're on their own or when they have children. This moment just shows the contrast of women and men offenders and how they're not all the same.
ReplyDelete2. "Mommy, why you sad?' said the daughter.
"Just play your game, girl," said Nardine with an angry slashing motion of her hand. (88)
This quote just shows the neglect of Nardine to her daughter. But it mainly shows the instability of Nardine. She tries so hard to stay strong for herself and her daughter. But she knows she's failed herself and her daughter once Rachel brings up the drug test. Nardine tries to put up the facade as a strong independent women who can take care of herself, but she has no one to fall back on, so therefore she falls back on to drugs. She pushes her daughter away cause she doesn't want to be reminded that' she's failed her.
1. I agree with Anna, the scene with Rachel preparing herself for her night stood out in particular to me. Her actions felt like they had a sort of methodical or ritualistic feel to them. It also brought up even more questions about what Rachel really does when she is not working. I'm really curious to see what extra-curricular activity the parole officer has been involved in. The book seems to lead me to believe some kind of stripper or prostitute, but I think that would be a little ridiculousness in this book.
ReplyDelete2. "Many offenders she had known, those who were clearly not going to make it, had spoken almost wistfully about going back to prison, In a couple of cases, she had told these offenders to violate themselves, go back to jail, get fat and recharged, and then come out and try it again. Many, of course, never did come out." (89)
This quote stuck out to me because it reminded me of someone that I actually knew in real life. He has a homeless guy that lived in Little Five points that knew he had mental issues, but he couldn't get access to his medication. He knew that he was do things he would regret if he was off his meds, so he would go break a window or something similar so that he would be arrested and could get his meds in jail. He went to Georgia Tech and studied something like aerospace engineering, but he lost everything because of his illness. I think the quote speaks to how crazy a world it is when someone's best chance for success is incarcerating themselves. Coming from a background that most of us at Paideia share, that reality would seem almost inconceivable. It highlights a system where in people from Lorenzo's neighborhood are really locked into a cycle with little chance of social mobility. It seems like everyone deals drugs and runs with gangs in their youth, some die and the lucky ones go to jail and retire.
1. The part of the reading that stood out to me in the reading was when Rachel talked to Ramos about Rafael and Nixon. Afterwards he started to flirt with her, "You ever go out for a beer, something, when the day is done?" (98) and then "You should enjoy yourself more. Good looking woman like you" (98). Rachel comes in to his office to talk about the people that she is a parol officer and all he wants to talk about is how pretty she is, "Even with no make up" (98). This is probably not a one time occurrence for Rachel because she has to go see her parolees in all types of places with all types of people. Sexism runs rampant throughout this book. Whenever a guy talks about a girl, he is talking about how she is in bed or how her boobs or butt are really like. Women are treated like objects, and the only thing that these guys think that a woman needs to think about is the guys. These guys have been brought up in a way where women are not treated with respect. It is sad that this is where the women of this neighborhood fall in the caste system of the area.
ReplyDelete2."I don't want no trouble," said Lorenzo.
"Ain't gonna be none," said the man.
"I'm her father."
"I know who you are."
Lorenzo shifted his feet. "I just want to talk to her."
"That's not gonna happen," said the man. "You already made your choice. You care about Shay,
you gotta let her be." (118)
This book is all about choices. Every choice that these characters make affects the rest of their lives. Lorenzo made an agreement to not be with his daughter, and now he wants to talk to her. He wanted to give Shay her best chance, but watching her with another father figure is too painful to watch. He misses her everyday, and this shows a lot about his character. Shay drives him to be a better person. In some part of his mind, he thinks that if he can be a good person he will be a part of her life again. He wants redemption, which is a key factor in this book. Obviously, Lorenzo made bad choices in the past and now he wants nothing more than to be relieved from the burden of guilt and regret. He went to prison and missed out on the life of his daughter. If he had made different decisions he might be with her now. He loves being around Lakeisha because he is reminded of is daughter and he can be a father for a few minutes. In Lakeisha's eyes Lorenzo is just a nice man with a dog who can "love people with her heart" (7). Lorenzo desperately wants to be the man that Lakeisha sees, but he knows that it will take lot more than a loving dog to make up for the things that he has done in the past.
1. The scene where he sees his daughter. We see how hard it is for him to accept that he doesn't have a role in her life. We see him get emotional. So far I feel like he's accepted who he is and what he's done. He's sucked it up and done the best he can to be an active member in the community but this is the one area where he's not allowed any redemption and this is really hard for him.
ReplyDelete2. "So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on." (101)
As i mentioned in number one, much of this story is about redemption, second chances. Even though Butler is a good kid at heart, can people ignore the choices he's made? We talked a lot about Rachel and how she has a pretty optimistic attitude for someone who's seen the worst of the worst, but it's because she believes in second chances, as long as you show you deserve it. She trusts Lorenzo so much because he showed her from the beginning that he was dedicated to not being just another criminal. Lorenzo wants so badly to see his daughter but he can't take back his choice to leave. Butler has fallen into the same pattern as everybody else and the question is does he deserve a second chance?
1) One thing that really stuck with me was the scene between Nigel and Lorenzo. I liked how you could see fairly clearly that they are still close, despite what has come between them. Lorenzo has definitely proven that he cares for, or at least respects, the people that he used to deal with by mentioning no one in court but I feel like there is a deeper connection with Nigel. The fact that Nigel respects Lorenzo's boundaries enough that he never even fears that Nigel will "try and make him reenlist"(111) is really cool. I want more backstory on Nigel's string of "personal projects" because I feel like that may show us more about who Nigel really is. I wonder how many of these "promising" and "intelligent" men, and boys, that "never did work out"(112) reached that point because Nigel picked the wrong people and how many reached that point simply because it is simply hard to really make something of ones-self in the drug dealing world.
ReplyDelete2) "So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on" (101)
I think this quote holds true for most people in this novel. It reminds me, in a way, of Esther and her figs. Once this kind of life is chosen, many other options just fall away. It is fairly sad to think about but I think that the people in this book have more freedom than Esther does. Although I still do not deeply understand the main characters yet, I do feel that the people in Drama City seem to live double lives and therefor have more options. Some people, like Lorenzo, had a different life in the past while other people, like Rachel, have two very separate lives at one time.
1. The scene that really spoke to me, was the scene when Rachel goes to see Nardine. I thought it was pretty obvious that Nardine was most likely back on drugs, but I also thought it was really sad how her sons were growing up. The quote where Rachel sees them in the background playing some game with "hookers, drugs, and cop-beating" aka Grand Theft Auto. I just thought it was such an important fact because it really shows the environment that the boys have to grow up in. Like I'm going to talk about in the second question, Butler didn't really have a choice either.
ReplyDelete2. So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on. (101) The environment that these boys are growing up in is horrible. Butler is a great kid, just corrupted by the community around him. His only choice is to go into the drug game, and I don't think he even notices that its not the best choice. Like Anna said above, its the normal thing in this city, so he barely notices. I think if Lorenzo wants to help the kids and the city he will have to start by cleaning up the drugs and the gangs first. Butler deserves to have a better life and a second chance.
1. The scene that really spoke to me was when Lorenzo visits his daughter. It's very tough to see him realize that he will play no part in her upbringing, that she will never know him as a father. But, like many other things in his life, Lorenzo simply accepts it as a result of his choice that landed him in jail. Thus far, he has been trying to lead a straight life, and has largely been successful, but this is the first barrier that he has come up against that simply does not budge, and where he will not be allowed to redeem himself.
ReplyDelete2. So Butler had made his choices. Same way Green had made his, early on. (101)
This book is very centered around the choices the individuals make, perhaps because their surroundings are so terrible that the only thing that can define them is their choices. The gang/drug related life is what these two boys grew up around, and so they see no other valid paths. Butler is relatively new to the game, and can still disentangle himself from the lifestyle, which, while it might be extremely difficult, is an option for him.
I was surprised when Nigel was trying so hard to reconnect with Lorenzo. I guess I am a little suspicious of Nigel’s motives. Lorenzo says that Nigel knows he will never get back in the business and that they will only always be friends, but it almost seemed like Nigel was trying to lure Lorenzo back anyways.
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue between Lorenzo and the big man who is with Shay and Sherelle showed Lorenzo’s want to connect with his daughter, which is something we haven’t seen in the book so far--such a desire to be a part of children’s lives. Lorenzo seems to really struggle with keeping away from his daughter, especially when it’s so easy for him to drive by where she lives. However, it is obvious that Lorenzo has got his act together as far as Shay is concerned. He tells us earlier in the novel that he is saving up money for her education and so he can help support her. Although we did not “know” Lorenzo before he was incarcerated I would argue that he has really matured and gone from that young, wild, and free reckless young man to someone who has very much potential to be a good father figure.
1. Why is there a masturbation scene? I'm sorry, but this book is so ridiculously male oriented. Every single time a car drives by, Pelecanos feels the need to describe it make and model. There doesn't seem to be much to the book other than testosterone. Not much plot, and not much substance.
ReplyDelete2. Everyone seems sort of angry and on edge when they talk to each other. Sort of like everyone is hyped up on testosterone. I think it would serve most of the men in the book well if they just got neutered.