Free Essays on There Are No Children Here

There are no Children Here Alex Kotlowitz's book, There are no Children Here, deals with the subject of race, values, and community responsibility of the urban underclass. The American inner city deals with the issues such as violent crime and drug wars. With these two explosive issues, the neighborhood experiences the downward spiral of social separation, unemployment and welfare dependence. The lives of two black boys, Lafayette, 10 and Pharaoh, 7 are followed as they struggle to grow up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Lafayette and Pharaoh are not any different than many of their neighbors. Their mother is welfare dependent. Their father is an alcoholic and drug abuser. In the home, there are other siblings, an older brother and sister along with younger triplets, just like so many other families in the area. Kotlowitz takes you into an offensively maintained housing project infested with gangs, where murders and shootings are an everyday thing. The image of the devastation and the despair of no hope of the people living inside the project are vivid. One can truly sense the hopefulness, grasping the loss of family and ardently desire a new life for the boys. You hold out hope that things will work out for the boys. In America's minefield of urban life, Lafayette and Pharaoh are surrounded by violence and poverty through their lives. The neighborhood had no banks, no public libraries, no movie theatres, no skating rinks, or bowling allies. The lack of respectable businesses only contributes to the demise of the neighborhood and unemployment in the area. With the drug lords keeping shop in an abandoned building, drug abuse is rampant and shooting is common. There were no drug rehabilitation programs or centers to help combat the problem. Police feared going into the ghetto for their own safety. There are no Children Here embraces Lafayette and Pharaoh over a two-year period in which they struggle with school, attemp... Free Essays on There Are No Children Here Free Essays on There Are No Children Here The subject matter of the book shows the conditions of poor people in the subsidized housing projects of Chicago, Illinois. The Riverses are members of a poor family. The family lives in Henry Horner Homes, a subsidized housing project in Chicago. The family relies on welfare and federal assistance for support. They cannot afford most luxuries and many necessities; therefore, life is an ongoing struggle to survive. Many adults and children reside in the family's household. These extra family members further strain the family's resources and cramp their living room in the family's apartment. LaJoe has eight children, all living in the apartment: LaShawn, Weasel, Terence, Lafayette, Pharoah, Tammie, Tiffany, and Timothy. LaShawn has three children: one of which is named DeShawn. Terence has three children also: one of which is nicknamed "Snuggles." Paul, LaJoe's ex-husband, stays with the family on occasion. Leila Mae, LaJoe's mother, sometimes stays with the family. Gangs control the buildings in the projects. Gang members hire residents of the buildings to store weapons and drugs in their apartments. Gang members sell drugs in the neighborhoods and attempt to obtain help selling drugs from small children. Some gangs break into apartments to steal from them and use them as safe havens against the police and other law enforcement agencies. Gangs have "turf wars" which result in gun battles which injure and kill many people, most of which are innocent bystanders. The buildings of the Chicago Housing Authority are in disrepair and mismanaged. The employees at the Chicago Housing Authority embezzle money from the budget. A review finds several employees guilty and they are fired. The buildings of the Chicago Housing Authority are in disrepair. Rusted appliances litter the basements. The heating coils in the buildings' furnaces are missing. The buildings have not been painted in many years. Some buildings have numerous bloodstains in them fro... Free Essays on There Are No Children Here There are no Children Here Alex Kotlowitz's book, There are no Children Here, deals with the subject of race, values, and community responsibility of the urban underclass. The American inner city deals with the issues such as violent crime and drug wars. With these two explosive issues, the neighborhood experiences the downward spiral of social separation, unemployment and welfare dependence. The lives of two black boys, Lafayette, 10 and Pharaoh, 7 are followed as they struggle to grow up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Lafayette and Pharaoh are not any different than many of their neighbors. Their mother is welfare dependent. Their father is an alcoholic and drug abuser. In the home, there are other siblings, an older brother and sister along with younger triplets, just like so many other families in the area. Kotlowitz takes you into an offensively maintained housing project infested with gangs, where murders and shootings are an everyday thing. The image of the devastation and the despair of no hope of the people living inside the project are vivid. One can truly sense the hopefulness, grasping the loss of family and ardently desire a new life for the boys. You hold out hope that things will work out for the boys. In America's minefield of urban life, Lafayette and Pharaoh are surrounded by violence and poverty through their lives. The neighborhood had no banks, no public libraries, no movie theatres, no skating rinks, or bowling allies. The lack of respectable businesses only contributes to the demise of the neighborhood and unemployment in the area. With the drug lords keeping shop in an abandoned building, drug abuse is rampant and shooting is common. There were no drug rehabilitation programs or centers to help combat the problem. Police feared going into the ghetto for their own safety. There are no Children Here embraces Lafayette and Pharaoh over a two-year period in which they struggle with school, attemp... Free Essays on There Are No Children Here As we are often clouded by our optimistic views of society and equality, we tend to assume that every child has an equal chance at growing up and achieving their own â€Å"American Dream.† We would all like to believe that children are growing up in equal environments that allow them to develop and succeed in life. However, these optimistic views are not at all realistic. Though we want to see equal opportunities for every child, the stark truth about poverty stricken housing projects is a matter that certainly exists. The idea of fairness we have made up in our minds is not often the case, and through Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here, our eyes are opened to many of the harsh situations such as poverty, gangs, racism, and violence that children are forced to grow up in. Alex Kotlowitz attempts to expose the truths of poverty, race, and children throughout his literary works. He is widely known for his concerns for urban affairs and social issues in his writings in The Wall Street Journal. Kotlowitz grew up in New York City and worked as a community organizer in Atlanta in the mid-70’s. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where he received two degrees. Before the start of his career with The Wall Street Journal he worked as a freelance journalist, contributing to â€Å"The MacNeil-Lebrer Newshour,† National Public Radio, and numerous magazines. In 1985 he was approached to write an essay for a Chicago magazine on the subject of children living in poverty. His first book, There Are No Children Here, came about from a series of articles he wrote for The Wall Street Journal. This book has received a number of awards including the Helen B. Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Carl Sandburg A ward and a Christopher Award. His ability to accurately portray the children of the Chicago projects while still informing the reader’s heart has been recognized by many and earned the...