Becca Paine
Mrs. Rich
English 10
8 March 2017
Ben Carson
Ben Carson, is not only renowned for his success in the operating room, but in his political ambitions. Thesis: Ben Carson, a compassionate neurosurgeon overcame a difficult home life to thrive professionally and politically. Carson’s home life was challenging but shaped him as he struggled through various problems like academics, financial instability, and his father leaving when he was only eight years old. His parents, Robert and Sonya Carson married very young, moved to Detroit and had two children, Curtis and Benjamin. (Source 4) Benjamin Solomon Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, on September 18, 1951. (Source 1) In 1959, Sonya discovered that Robert had another secret
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Ben began to enjoy reading and quickly gravitated to it before watching TV. With a new found interest in reading, Ben drastically improved academically and amazing classmates and teachers around him, though still being a target to those who liked to put others down (Source 1) At the end of Ben’s 8th grade year, he received a certificate of achievement, and then was openly shamed as a teacher scolded his white classmates for letting Ben succeed academically. Silence had become Ben’s way to deal with all the things that had hurt him which quickly gave him with a temper that usually resulted with violence. His temper had affected him through violence all throughout his years, but the last came in Ben’s freshman year of High school, in 1965. The Carson family had moved back to Detroit and into their old home, and Ben was going to attend the local high school, where race was no longer a problem for Ben, but his lack of possessions was. (Source 1) One day, one of Ben’s friends made fun of his taste in music and began to change the station. With no concern for the wellbeing of his friend, Ben grabbed his pocketknife, opened it and attempted to stab his friend. Horrified, Ben looked down at his hand and saw that the knife lay in two pieces on the sidewalk. He then ran home, locked himself in the bathroom, and prayed for God to take away his anger. According to (Source 1) “Ben says that when he walked out of that bathroom, he was whole, peaceful, and calm. He never lost control