MK Asante's 'Killadelphia'

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To open chapter 29, Asante stands face to face with unanswered questions for himself: “Where to stay? Who to stay with? Who to call? Where the fuck am I going? Where to get money?...What’s the point…of life?...Who am I? Am I who I say I am?...What’s my purpose?” In MK Asante’s memoir Buck, Asante describes his adolescent years and the events he witnessed growing up in the ghetto streets of what he recalls as “Killadelphia”. These troublesome experiences helped mold Asante into the man he has become today. Asante, unfortunately, watched his own family fall apart and felt nothing but darkness and helplessness on his own. Obviously, MK Asante deserves one gift: A suitable guardian/role model. The proper role model would guide Asante towards success and providence instead of gang-life and darkness., and, help Asante learn that in …show more content…

Claim #1: For instance, Asante reassures his mother with a powerful metaphor that he needs to be there for his brothers court trial, Asante proclaims, “God first, family second, everyone else take a number and get in line” (78). With this in mind, Asante establishes that the only thing he truly cares about is the Lord and his family. Therefore, Asante implies that he does not care for anything outside of God and family. Asante finds outside distractions meaningless and pointless to stress over so he ignores them. The gift of a proper role model would explain to Asante that even though God and family are important, it’s equally significant to balance out all aspects of his life. Furthermore, it’s important to realize, that Asante’s parents fight constantly, so while in the middle of another battle, Asante writes, “I see my dad. His face looks cooks cold and tight…The ankh symbolizes life in