"FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS" (H.G. BISSINGER) & "THERE ARE NO CHILDREN HERE" (ALEX KOTLOWITZ).   Term Paper ID:21202 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Describes & compares portrayals of teenage problems, violence & economic struggles in Amer. communities.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Describes & compares portrayals of teenage problems, violence & economic struggles in Amer. communities. Paper Introduction: Two books, Friday Night Lights, by H. G. Bissinger, and There Are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, both begin in the late 1980s. Both books are also about teenage boys struggling in urban and rural towns of America. Both authors document specific instances of violence which occur in the American communities. The citizens of both cities are greatly affected by the shocking events which occur within their cities as well as by local police forces, schools, and unemployment rates. But the similarities end there. The lives which the football players lead in Odessa, Texas are very different from the lives Pharoah and Lafayette lead in Chicago, Illinois. The crime is so bad in the Lafayette's home town that he Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. And althoughPsychology Today ranked Odessa seventh out of 286 metropolitan areas (interms of crime, suicide, alcoholism and divorce), "none of that seemed tomatter;" there was still a sense of community among neighbors in Odessa((Bissinger, pp. In the book's epilogue, Kotlowitz admits having broken the rule thatjournalists should not become involved with the subjects in their stories.Kotlowitz uses his own money to enroll Pharoah and Lafayette in privateschools and says he is using the money from his book sales to set up atrust for LaJoe's children and some of their friends (pp. 299-3 5). In Odessa, there were red-line laws which prevented blacks fromobtaining mortgages and loans, and there was discrimination in localmedical treatment for blacks (Bissinger, p. Bissinger, and There Are NoChildren Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, both begin in the late 198 s. 1 7). 9). Bissinger's book focuses on several high schoolboys who play for the Permian Panthers. Paul blames his failings as a father on his druguse: "drugs really tore my life down, got my family in the shape it's innow. 44). So there was some hope for black youths to achieve insports, even though their families were being openly discriminated againstin other situations. 186-189). Kotlowitz illustrates that gangs are aleading cause of violence in the Chicago area, especially when he citesspecific instances of teenage casualties, such as Bird Leg. 289-299). The author cannot, single-handedly, clear up all of the gang violence, drug abuse, and socialproblems in Chicago. And, duringthe summer of 1987, when drugs and violence swept through her neighborhood,LaJoe worried constantly about whether something might happen to herchildren (Kotlowitz p. Kotlowitz, Alex. 51). LaJoe had reason to worry: local gangs wererecruiting young children and a 14-year-old friend of Lafayette's hadrecently shot and killed an older man in an alley: "Residents and policesaid the killing was drug-related" (Kotlowitz p. x). His book chronicles theirstruggles to achieve fame and fortune through football. References Bissinger, H. Since 1964 Permian had won four state championships, been to thestate finals a record eight times, and had been to the playoffs 15 times(Bissinger, p. What about LaShawn's baby,who was born with a heroin and cocaine addiction? Some members of the Lords have been trained in torturetechniques (like threatening to drive a hot nail through an opposing gangmember's penis) (Kotlowitz p. The two children fell to the ground and then crawled home on their handsand knees (Kotlowitz p. I'm sure the kids know. 34). Chicago has had problems with crime and drugs foryears. Kotlowitz postulates that,since LaJoe's husband is rarely home, Lafayette has taken on a father'srole. G. The problems of drugs, violence,teenage pregnancy, and children who are raised without two parents in thehome are not easy to correct. Domestic stability is often based on economics, and ifLafayette's mother does not work and if his father cannot work because of adrug problem, there does not seem to be much chance for Lafayette to attendHarvard, for example. Predictably, Lafayette deeplyresents his father because Lafayette thinks his father has broken hispromises to the family. Even though football may not have been the panacea it was supposedto be for player like Miles who suffered injuries, at least Miles survivedand was not killed in gang warfare like Bird Leg and Craig Davis. Bird Leg was only 15(Kotlowitz pp. Life is not very safe in the apartment building where Lafayette andPharoah live. 76). LaJoeand her children probably need personal counseling--how else are they tofully recover from the violent crimes that they witness daily? Lafayette has seven brothers and sisters: LaShawn, who sometimesworked as a prostitute to support her drug habit; Paul, who had served timein an Indiana state prison for burglary; Terrence, who had begun sellingdrugs at age 11 and had been in and out of trouble with the law; Timothy,Tiffanie and Tammie, a set of four-year-old-triplets; and his brotherPharoah. Kotlowitz explains that a local gangcalled Conservative Vice Lords runs the drug traffic in the neighborhood,and no one can sell drugs there without the approval of the Lords' leader,Jimmie Lee. Although Boobie was abused as a child, hisuncle raised him and pushed him into playing football. (1991). 9697). He has, however, written a poignant book about whathe observed while interviewing many teenagers and adults in the Chicagoarea. And, where LaJoe's children were not deeply involvedin sports, Boobie Miles was. Some, like PermianHigh School's valedictorian, Brian Chavez, wound up at Harvard, studying asopposed to pursuing a professional football career (Bissinger, p. H. The author cites veryspecific and vivid examples of the violence which Lafayette and his familywitness routinely. Their mother, LaJoe, hardly saw their father Paul and receivedwelfare to support her eight children (Kotlowitz pp. The only way that LaJoe's children can hope for a betterfuture is through education, counseling, and jobs. The crime is so bad in the Lafayette's home town that he tells writerKotlowitz that, if he grows up, he wants to be a bus driver. But none of them hadit as bad as the teenagers in the Chicago ghetto that Kotlowitz wroteabout. They definitely are not dealing with a motherwhose welfare benefits have been cut off or with bullets that fly overtheir heads as they walk to the local store. But the similarities endthere. Both authors document specific instances of violence which occur in theAmerican communities. The deathof Lafayette's friend causes Lafayette to begin to worry about the safetyof his family, and, later, Lafayette asks his mother about what he can doto keep his younger brother Pharoah away from Ricky, whom Lafayette wassure would lead Pharoah into trouble (Kotlowitz p. Lafayette is found guilty and given ayear's probation (Kotlowitz, pp. Before the end of the book, another friend of Lafayette's, CraigDavis, dies, and Pharoah chooses not to attend the funeral (Kotlowitz, p.2 5). Paul had once hocked the family's television set forthe money he wanted to buy heroin. One day, asBird Leg watched two friends play basketball, Bird Leg was shot and killedby a member of the young Disciples, a rival gang. Nevertheless, no one person, or one book, is going to change all ofthe violence in Chicago. New York: Doubleday.----------------------- 6 Pharoahwitnessed it all but continued to think about his spelling bee at school(Kotlowitz, pp. Yet, in the fall of 1988,when blacks comprised only 6 percent of Permian's student body, six of 59football players were black, and 15 of the 39 basketball players were black(Bissinger, p. Friday night lights: A town, a team, and adream. Lelia Mae moved out a week later; LaShawn givesbirth to her third baby while going through heroin withdrawal. Meanwhile, LaJoe has her own problems, but confides only inLafayette, whom she views as the most mature. When Bissinger's book opens, the teenage boys in Odessa are allfocused on the football season--only later will they think about careersand college (Bissinger, p. Two books, Friday Night Lights, by H. What about their children? Even though Lafayette knows that his friend Derrick actuallycommitted the crime, Lafayette refuses to tell because the law of thestreet forbids ratting on friends. The lives which the football players lead in Odessa, Texas are verydifferent from the lives Pharoah and Lafayette lead in Chicago, Illinois. There are no children here: The story oftwo boys growing up in the other America. At the end of the book, the former Permian footballcoach was reported to have accepted bonuses from $1 , to $2 , a yearfrom the Permian football boosters which were reportedly tantamount toperformance bonuses (Bissinger, p. In contrast, the community in Odessa is different from the communityin which LaJoe has to raise her children. 6). Then Terrence enters a plea bargain on charges of two armedrobberies and consequently receives an eight-year sentence (Kotlowitz, pp.226-237). 361).Others, like Boobie Miles, have all but given up on their high school dreamof playing professional football (Bissinger 35 -355). The citizens of both cities are greatly affected bythe shocking events which occur within their cities as well as by localpolice forces, schools, and unemployment rates. And, when LaJoe's welfare benefits are cut off because her husbandhas declared her address his legal residency on his tax returns, LaJoetells only Lafayette (Kotlowitz, pp. Even though Odessa is generally perceived as a terrible place to growup, and, in 1987, Money magazine rated it the fifth worst place in theUnited States to grow up, its teenagers have something to do--playfootball, join the high school band, and cheerlead. 31-32). 358). Mike Winchell, the team's quarterback, andJerrod McDougal have both spent six years preparing for their senior yearof high school football. 13-14). While some view these payments asa shady practice, others would argue that this was one way that a poorcommunity devised to fund its own local programs and keep their childrenout of gangs and off of the streets on Friday nights. (1991). 167). G. 91). But one of the thingsthat the book makes clear is that the local educational institutions simplycannot address all of the problems which are faced by its pupils. The problem is a largeone, which must be addressed by both local citizens and federal governmentand which cannot be healed in a year. Kotlowitzpoints out that Lafayette's remark highlights just how tenuous the 1 -year-olds life is: most children say "when I grow up," but Lafayette is not surewhether he will live to adulthood (Kotlowitz p. G. Also, thereis little hope for children like Lafayette if they do not have a stablehome environment. 43-47). The problem cannot be addressed by the police alone,either: the situation in Chicago has gone far beyond just putting localcriminals in jail. Shortly afterward, Lafayette is charged with breaking into atruck. But,despite the author's well-intentioned efforts, all he is really doing isputting a band-aid on a very big wound. Football also gives them hope of attending college and playingcollege football; that is more than Lafayette ever had--Lafayette waswondering whether he would live, not whether he would be able to attendcollege or get a football scholarship. The community in Odessa hassuffered recent financial setbacks because of problems with the oil market,but the citizens of Odessa have a common goal and ideal which helps themovercome the problems in their community. Their high school footballteam has given them something to occupy their time and channel theirenergy. For instance, on Lafayette's 12th birthday, as he andhis cousin Dede were walking to a store, gunfire erupted above their heads. After the funeral, Lafayette begins to contemplatehow he wants to die and decides he would like to die "plain out," just asBird Leg had died: instantly, from one bullet (Kotlowitz p. Author Kotlowitz has thoroughly researched the presence of gangs inLafayette and Pharoah's neighborhood. At least there wassomething for Boobie's uncle to push him into in Odessa, as opposed to inChicago, where there were not any adequately funded programs for children. New York: Harper Perennial. 31). 17). Both booksare also about teenage boys struggling in urban and rural towns of America. The problems encountered by inner-cityyouths and families who live in the ghettos of Chicago should be addressedby people who are familiar with the problems which that specific communityfaces. They don't say anything to me about it"(Kotlowitz, p. Generally, the people in Odessa just roughed outthe tough times and used high school football as a way to escape theirproblems. LaJoe and her children are merely victims of the environment inwhich they live. The Odessa citizens are in lovewith football and take great pride in their local high school team, thePermian Panthers. The highschool football coach, as well as supporting parents and relatives, wereable to get their young boys involved in football and thus keep them alloff the street and away from drug dealing. One day their grandmother, Lelia Mae, and siblings arenearly shot by a violent neighbor, Tough Luck, who pulls out a pistol whilevisiting their apartment. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.