Cedric Jennings's A Hope In The Unseen

A Hope in the Unseen is about struggling children in harsh conditions and areas experiencing public education and trying to make better of themselves. A metaphor used in the reading that explains the story is "a crab bucket." Basically in an actual crab bucket, when a single crab tries to pull itself out of the bucket, the other crabs pull it back in. The metaphor is relatable to the story due to students that have good grades are picked on for over achieving, thus are being kept in institutions that are not suitable for them. Students of Ballou Senior High are mostly trouble makers who could care less about learning. It's a classic tale of a majority of African American students who struggle to build successful careers and futures. It is extremely difficult to make it out of the "system" once one is in it. The school even tries to bribe students into getting better grades by offering money as an reward, but most students are unconcerned and tease those who do receive the reward. It's hard to be the outcast, when everything and everyone is against

Cedric got into trouble by talking back to teachers and living in a rough neighborhood, so he ended up at Ballou Senior High. Cedric studies very hard and deeply cares about success in life, that is why he is so concerned about getting into a summer program, with hopes of getting into his dream school "MIT." Cedric's main conflict is dealing with social skills with his classmates at school. Cedric is teased for good academics, so he simply avoids social interaction with bullies and a good majority of the student body. Cedric is also sexually conflicted when he sees his crush in school. Cedric lives the life of an average high schooler, because he worries about both social and academics. Cedric wants perfect grades in school, but also to live the high school experience of friends, memories, and maybe even