Summary Of The Novel There Are No Children Here

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In a world full of competition, violence, gangs, drug dealing, and failures, it is extremely difficult to thrive. From a very young age, kids are exposed to such predicaments, and they tend to live their life thinking that there is no way out of this. They are inclined to conform with what they have, or follow the same paths of the people in their families. Throughout “There Are No Children Here”, the lives of many kids are endangered because of their surroundings. Young kids are exposed to violence, gangs, and illegal activity. Growing up, they tend to believe that complying with such matters is their only end game. Therefore, I believe that the central argument to this novel would be how difficult it is to break out of this endless cycle …show more content…

They all strive towards success and a better life, but because of few resources, are sometimes stuck in their cycle of poverty. Since they believe that there is no way out, they seek towards the illicit forms for acquiring their resources. Consequently, minors tend to fall into such behaviors. In “There Are No Children Here”, Lafeyette used to be a boy who stayed out of trouble and was still in school. However, he started hanging out with Rickey, whom influenced him into shoplifting. “Pharaoh was disappointed in Rickey, but even more in Lafeyette, who seemed to bow to the pressure of his friend” (Kotlowitz). This shows how people get influenced by their environment and the conditions they are living in. By abiding to these conditions, the poverty cycle is perpetuated even …show more content…

These are the people that are able to break out of their families cycle of poverty. In “There Are No Children Here”, Pharaoh was always inclined towards doing the right thing, studying and getting out of the projects. One day, Pharaoh went to visit her cousin Dawn to her apartment. Pharaoh could not understand why she was still living there even though she had graduated from high school and was attending college. “It made Pharaoh sad that Dawn hadn’t made it very far. It worried him to think that even if he made it through high school, he’d still be stuck in the projects” (Kotlowitz). Despite this, Pharaoh never stopped studying and doing his best to maybe someday be able to have a future outside the projects. By the end of the book, Pharaoh and Lafeyette were still living in the projects, however, something was different. Pharaoh had been offered a placement at private school. Although he was behind and it was tough, he was able to manage and keep going. On the other hand, Lafeyette was also offered a place at public school, but he got behind with all of his school work, so he quit and went to a less rigorous school. Unlike his family members, Pharaoh had dreams and aspirations of getting out of the projects, graduating high school and college, and eventually being involved in politics. This kept him focused in his work and even when times got tough and

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