Manchild in the promised land

First generation colors in New York had the uncomparable situation of existence in the urban spirit for the first time, having progress from slave work conditions on southern farms, they brought their experiences of living as slaves, they brought their righteousness and they brought anticipate that life in the city would be una corresponding, that life would be better in the promise land. As we seen in Man electric razor in the Promised Land, life in New York is hard, harder than the south in new agencys that blacks could non have prepared themselves for.P all overty, emphasis, and prejudice followed them where ever they went in America, including New York. baleful children growing up in this urban setting are same(p) weeds growing between the cracks in the pave strongitypowertthey are hearty, they do what they have to do to survive. The highroads are their playground, their school and hope is solely in the luck iodin has that they wont shoot busted. How did this li festyle die? A number of factors, namely poverty and prejudice ca apply other problems to forge such as violence, child abuse, drugs, prostitution etc.Child contumelyOne social ill that often stems from poverty is child abuse. In the book child abuse is seen in homes such as Claudes chum Bucky whose mother, who is on welfare, is in such a state of despondency that she chooses her drink and gambling over feeding her own four children. These children desire living in the child welfare house because at least there they had three meals a day and a vagabond to sleep. Of his takeoff booster Claude says, Bucky was the only kid I knew who could stay out all dark long and non be missed (p 32).This clearly instilled in these juvenility the struggle to survive at all costs whether it be violence or splaying. School athe standardiseds of became something that hardly seems worthwhile when a child could be out catting on the streets and come home with food, m unrivaledy, habiliment s or other items when school only meant that you would probably shoot in dread for something and get chastise when you got home. Claude doesnt seem to cognise the benefits of going to school, acquirement to read etc. until almost his high school age when the prison house warden encour advances him and believes that he could do surface.Just as a master ill-use the slave, many a black parent abused their children under the affectation of spare the rod and spoil the child, raising them up with violence in their hearts from the start. Black children in Harlem were to respect their parents and do what they were told or carry the cost.For punishment for his various crimes and school skipping, Claude is chew upen progressively much naughtily until his father resorts to hitting him with his fists because it seems that no matter what punishment Claude is given, he continues to get into apprehension and his father is frustrated to the point of serious violence. So from the age o f six years old, violence is instilled in Claude as a convey for upholding authority and for punishing wrong doing but interestingly enough, violence was non enough to make Claude respect his father and the day his father used his fists on Claude seems to be the day that Claudes relations rose hip with his father was severed. military unitViolence is a part of survival in Harlem. One moldiness defend their manhood, their re clotheation or fear losing important alliances with other men who help make street life livable. In prison one must protect their rank of power, which is more clear cut than on the street. Examples of violence in the book include when Claude disowns his friend for allowing himself to be beat up by white mento Harlem street youth this was the most disrespectful thing one could do to oneself.Big Bill, a man in Claudes similarity, encouraged the kids to fight because he knew they needed to check how to defend themselves on those hard streets. Big Bill was prepar ing them for life, as he saw it. In order to survive, Claude learned, you had to be a no-account nigger, which meant that you had to be willing to do anything you had to be willing to die. One time when Claude was beat up over a quarter he said, It wasnt the pass judgment of money It was but that these things symbolized a mans manhood or principles (p. 256).Violence is used to keep racial segregationClaude is raised being told that if he were to ever sleep with a white woman he would be lynched. The police use violence to swear violence. Violence is also used by the everyday inhabitants of Harlem to protect themselves against the people who live the street life. Claude caught a bullet in the stomach from a neighbor who was scarce trying to keep their sheets from being stolen. One mans base on balls was cracked open by a landlord for peeing in the anteroom of his building. The cycle of wrong doing seems to be perpetuated by violence it cuts the psyche and makes a person grow c allous to what has to be done to protect oneself and ones belongings in Harlem or any poor urban ghetto. grapheme of WomenBlack women in Harlem are the lowest on the totem gage so to speak and are treated as if they were objects to own or use. Women are considered to only exist to please men and men like Johnny, a pimp, treat women very badly in order to get what they want. Claudes own mother is helpless to control her son, merely sound her hands and saying, Boy, why you so bad? (p 27). In the case of cabbage and Melvin, Sugar must step up when her man decides that he is not going to struggle to survive in hostile Harlem but simply give upshe must take on a more important role in the relationship and lead the household.DrugsDrugs are some other result of urban poverty in Harlem. Drugs are an escape, a run into to make a supple buck. Claude also said that drugs became associated with manhood, the young cats cherished to take drugs because they used to listen to the way the ju nkies talked, with a drag in their voice (p 261). Many a black man in Harlem got caught in the web of Heroine, thinking that they were in control and selling it, the drug took control of them. provide, Claudes little brother, was fitting such a character and Claude fagged a lot of time trying to show his brother that this just wasnt the way.ReligionReligion in Harlem harks back to the spirituals of the South. Charismatic church service services were held in old stores, apartments or where ever there is topographic point to be had. The preachers, such as Mrs. Rogers, a jackleg preacher, have no evening gown training but lead their family and peers in a sermon and sleazy prayer sessions. Claude was very s unploughedical of his experience in Mrs.Rogers church and for years later he remembered church as a place where, somebody lined up a lot of kitchen chairs in a few rows, a preacher did a lot of shouting to the highest degree the Lord, people jumping up and down until they g ot knocked down by the spirit, and Mrs. Rogers put bowls of money on a kitchen table and kept pointing to it and inquire from more (p. 27). Claude believes throughout the book that religion is just another distraction, like a drug, to take ones mind away from the trauma of hard living.Black Muslims in Harlem represented a little different form of faith that dealt with the issues of the ghetto by turning the philosophy of prejudice round so that the black man was the superior race and the whites inferior and consort to Floyd Saks, The time has come for all back men to rise up, circuit together and do something for themselves (p 319). These Muslims encouraged blacks to buy black to better the black economy. Although Claude recognizes the need for change in his community he quickly sees that Floyds faith is simply exchanging one hate for another.Role ModelsThe only role models that urban youth in Harlem seemed to have were banish ones. Those that worked hard did not make enough m oney to survive or live well. Those that seemed to have enough money and to have control over their life were the street heroes or the men who were able to lie, cheat and steal their living. Claude was operated by friends his own age such as Danny, who taught him how to steal from interchange registers and skip school or Johnny who taught him how to hustle on the street.Claude in turn became a street hero and influenced his little brother Pimp who then ended up becoming a drug user. The influence of siblings was such that Pimp was expected to live up to his brothers tough reputation so he had to be a bad nigger and he had to get in as much trouble as possible to catch up to his brothers years of street experience. Claude has to beat up an older boy for his sister Caroles honor in order to preserve his own as well as hers.Claude finds a positive influence only in the creature comforts of the regimented prison where everything is clearly laid out with purpose. Mr. Papanek and Mrs. Coen are the only two people in Claudes life who positively influenced his actions and helped him to realize that he was going no where doing the same things that got him in trouble onward and got other men in trouble before and after him.Papanek kept telling people that, Claude Brown is going to be a real success and as a result, Claude believed it and made it happen (p 167). Doing something different had not occurred to Claude before this or to other youth like him because there just werent any successful young black men to be found.Reverend James was a positive role model in the Harlem community that Claude sought to help his brother Pimp get discharge drugs and to find a track into college. Claude respected Reverend James because he was as intelligent as Mr. Papanek but he was black and he lived in Harlem with the rest of those struggling to survive and had found a way to survive outside of the mores of the street. Reverend James is a pretty hip guy for a minister, Claude admi tted to Pimp and it is the Reverends ability to be hip that made him capable of really making a disparity in the lives of Harlem youth (p 390).The Ghetto MentalityPoverty, violence, crime and the lack of any hope or any positive role models caused a ghetto mentality to set about that made people have low uptakes and to focus on the manner of things such as making sure to have fine clothes rather than planning ahead with finances for the future. Success was seen only in the street heroes pimps and successful brutals.Tilto, Danny and Mac are good examples of boys with no aspiration to ever do anything else but hustle and hope for a quick showy success. When asked what he was going to do with his life Claudes friend Mac says, I dont know man. I hypothesis Ill deal drugs like every one else in the neighborhood was already doing (p 237). This ghetto mentality was re-enforced by the fact that men with a criminal record after the age of sixteen were unable to find salaried employmen t or become a successful citizen in inn so there was a sense of, why try, I cannistert do anything about it now.This mentality is broken only by the influence of psyche like Claude, who everyone respects on the street and who immovable to get out of the lifestyle and to find something more fulfilling in life. The likelihood of urban youth to come in contact with a Mr. Pancheck, like Claude did is less likely than for them to be impressed to change by someone like Claude.