There Are No Children Here - summary
Alex Kotlowitz was a freelance journalist. In 1985 a friend came to him and asked him to write a text for a photo essay he was doing on (children living in poverty) for a Chicago magazine. That is when he met the Rivers brothers, Lafeyette, age ten, and Pharoah age seven. He spent only a few hours with them interviewing for the photo essay. Lafeyette had an impact on Kotlowitz. When asked what he wanted to be, Lafeyette responded with "If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver." Meaning, at ten years old, he wasn't sure if he'd make it to adulthood. In 1988 Kotlowitz suggested to the boys' mother, LaJoe, the idea of writing a book about Pharoah, Lafeyette and the other children in the neighborhood. LaJoe liked the idea. However, she then said, "But you know, there are no children here. They've seen too much to be children." Alex Kotlowitz entitled his book, There Are No Children Here. It is a story of two brothers growing up in a housing project of Chicago. By the author following the boys throughout their day to day lives, we, the readers, are also enveloped in the boys' surroundings. We learn about their everyday lives, from how they pick out their clothes, to how they wash them. We go
to school with them and we play with them. Throughout the book, we are much like flies on the wall. We see and feel everything the boys' go through at Henry Horner Homes, the project where they live. On the other hand, the kids who did join Jimmie Lee's army, had another fate. Bird Leg, (a.k.a. Calvin Robinson) was a mentor for Lafeyette. He looked up to Bird Leg and tagged along with him for a while. Eventually, Bird Leg joined the Conservative Vice Lords. It wasn't long before he was shot point blank through the chest by rival gang members. Calvin died in front of the Henry Horner Homes. In broad daylight, another one of Lafeyette and Pharoah's friends had been murdered. Lafeyette and Pharoah had a long and windy road ahead of them. Considering their demographics they were faced with serious challenges. Lafeyette and Pharoah had almost opposite personalities. Lafeyette slowly began to live a life he vowed to never live. He began following in the footsteps of his older brother Terrence. It started with petty theft and shoplifting, stealing candy and the like. Eventually Lafeyette broke into a car. Pharoah succeeded in school. He was an excellent student, he had admirable study skills, and thrived in spelling. He even placed in a spelling bee. Later, Kotlowitz sent and paid for the two brothers to attend a private school called Providence-St. Mel. Pharoah is flourishing there. He enjoys having two hours of homework every night. He started out behind in math and reading and is slowly catching up. His daydreaming
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1047
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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