Summary Of Buck And Growth

Buck and Growth

Buck tells the story of a young man discovering himself through life experiences. Malo is a teenager who lives Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grows up in the rough parts of Philadelphia and is surrounded by people and things which many wouldn't consider positive influences. He has an absent relationship with his father Pops, his mother Amina is lost in her mind, and his brother Uzi is a gang member, who I believe contributed the most to the way Malo was in the beginning of the book. This was due to the fact that Malo looked up to Uzi the most and somewhat idolized him. He wanted to be like him. Malo's friends aren't any different. Ted, Scoop, D-Rock, and everyone else from 10 g's were all ignorant. Malo doesn't show signs of

When he was at Foes, his chemistry teacher Helga belittles him for being proud of his tattoo. "You'll go nowhere in life with that thing on your arm. Nowhere!" (Asante 119). When he gets to Fels High, he says that the school reminded him of jail and mentioned that Uzi's jail had actually looked nicer. "If schools look like prisons, and prisons look like schools, will we act like students or prisoners?". (Asante 153). I believe this is the reason Malo turned to drug dealing. The fact that he had to go to school under those circumstances left him with a feeling of hopelessness. Malo made so much money from drug dealing, he didn't see the point in going to school. In fact, the only reason Malo went back to school was because he had no other options and Amina had requested he returned. "Its the only thing they can't take away from you. Your education. Your passport for the future." (Asante

It looked like a mansion and students addressed teachers by their first name. I believe that by having the students address the teachers by their first name, it gave the students the sense that everyone was equal. Malo was so enamored with Crefeld, he smiled for the first time in a long time. His teacher Stacey played a huge part in him wanting to become a writer. When she assigned the blank-page writing activity, it gave Malo a voice to put his thoughts into words. He discovered that he had an affinity for writing poetry. "The blank page begs me to tell a story-dares me to tell one-one that's never been told before, and to tell it like it will never be told again. The blank page lights up a room in my heart that i didn't know existed." (Asante 224). He asks for books and Stacey gives him a ton of books to read. He quotes some of the authors from these books such as Walt Whitman, Web Du Bois, and Allen