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Summary Of The Book 'There Are No Children Here'

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In the book “There Are No Children Here” written by Alex Kotlowitz, there is a passage where one of the main character Lafeyette, is attempting to convey his troubled thoughts to his mother through obscurities. Due to the sudden death of his friend Bird Leg, he tells his mother that his dead friend’s spirit is appearing and trying to tell him something. Unfortunately, even though his mother LaJoe tries to get him to verbalize his thoughts and feelings, his only reply to the death of his friend is quoted as saying, “That talking wasn’t going to help him, that every-thing that goes wrong keeps going on and everything that’s right doesn’t stay right.” (55) In his quote, there is depth to his view on life around him that one can interpret by reading between the lines. He is simply …show more content…

I can think of two ac-counts were keeping thoughts and feelings over tragedy bottled up inside can become harmful for a person. The first account I can recall would be of a close friend of mine Nathan during high school. Towards the end of senior year he had accidentally gotten his girlfriend Sarah pregnant. After a routine check-up during the third trimester with the obstetrician as to the health status of the unborn child, it was discover that their child would be born with a disease called Spina Bifi-da. The doctors had assured them that they would take precautions during the delivery to expe-dite the deliver, and that their child would have to be rushed into surgery for a brain stent in an attempt to drain excess buildup of fluids that was causing brain damage. Unfortunately the stress of the delivery was too much on their unborn child. Afterwards due to the loss of his unborn child, Nathan had attempted suicide. This is undoubtedly a clear example as to the significates that LaJoe believed in verbalizing tragic grief to

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In the book “There Are No Children Here” written by Alex Kotlowitz, there is a passage where the main characters Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers mother LaJoe makes mention of Henry Horner Homes living conditions transformation over her thirty-one year residence. In this short passage, she is quoted as saying “When I got my apartment I thought this is what it was meant to be” (24). Her statement reflects how thirty-one years ago, she thought everything that was required for living a happy and fulfilling life was achieved. She believed that her luck had changed, and she was one of the few to have a life on the other side of the fence where the grass was greener. I believe LaJoe was oblivious like so many others, as to what the future may hold for

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It gives the reader the sense that the main character may be experiencing some depression because as it is stated she is waiting for her feelings to surface, and she might be feeling down that she is not reacting as normal people should be. She is convincing herself that she is not worthy and she doesn’t love her father, even though on the inside she loves him . The main character needs to realize that she is taking it in her own way. Furthermore, the second grief in the story is the

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Thoughts in regards to suicide often include empathy for the dead, and wonder as to what drove the person to end their life. All too often, people ignore a rather important consideration: the thoughts and feelings of those left behind. The loved ones are left with the remorse, despondence, and grieving, while the dead are absolved of their worldly anguish. In “The Grieving Never Ends”, Roxanne Roberts employs a variety of rhetorical tactics including metaphors, imagery, tone, and syntax to illustrate the indelible effects of suicide on the surviving loved ones. Roberts effectively uses metaphors to express the complex, abstract concepts around suicide and human emotion in general.

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In enduring these complex emotions, this section was the most remarkable part. One of the first apparent emotions the boy experiences with the death of his father is loneliness to make this section memorable. The boy expresses this sentiment when he stays with his father described as, “When he came back he knelt beside his father and held his cold hand and said his name over and over again,” (McCarthy 281). The definition of loneliness is, “sadness because one has no friends or company.”

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This quote explains that death is very common in this society, especially among children. Children also may be seen as easy targets to those who are unstable. Throughout this novel, death and crime are very common. Unfortunately, negativity controls the majority of lives within this

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Further, situational irony is present through the reaction that Louise Mallard has after learning about her husband’s death. Upon first learning of her husband’s death she is very devastated and distraught. As soon as she is alone in the bathroom however, it is clear to the readers she is not as upset. In fact she is slightly relieved in that “she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (235).

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