The Baddest Dog in Harlem
The owner Of the apartment (Mary) that just got shot up, returns home and begins a debate with the police who are interested in the whereabouts of her boyfriend. Eventually Mary, some cops and the narrator goes together into her apartment. The police suspect is not there, but the place is completely shot up and on the floor Marry dog lays dead from multiple bullet wounds. On the way back down from Marry apartment again, the police take notice of another apartment door and they inspect that apartment also, where they find the body of a young black boy ho has also been shot and killed -? an innocent victim of the earlier police gunfire.
Characterization of characters: The main character in the text is the narrator. He is certainly a black man. Do not know for certain the name of the narrator, but it is easy to assume that it may be the author Walter Dean Myers. Readers are not given much information of the about the central character in the text, but it becomes obvious that the main character as well as the rest of his debating group are black people. The main character (Myers) seems to me like a very scared and nervous person. Point of view: The while story is presented with the narrator’s eyes. It is a first person narrator.
Title: The title ‘The baddies dog in Harlem” stems from Marry poor dog. When Mary, the police and the central character go up to check the apartment, they find the bullet-riddled dog that some policemen thought might have been their suspect (from jumping around in the window during the police gunfire). This leads one of the policemen to ironically say, “It is the baddies dog in Harlem. ‘ Settings: The setting takes place outside of a cafe or similar place called “Big Joey’s Place”, on 45th Street in Harlem, LISA where the narrator, Willie, Pedro, Tommy, Mr.. Lynch and the others are initially sitting and talking.
Harlem, a poor area of Manhattan, is the home to many thousands of black people. Harlem goes under the term “Ghetto”. Many people living there do not have jobs, and they live in big, run-down apartment buildings with dilapidated apartments. Harlem is known as a poor slum area, full of gangs and crime. The setting of Harlem is used in this text to help demonstrate how an ordinary day can change in an instant and turn a peaceful conversation teen friends to a police ‘War zone’ with shooting all over the place. Tone: The text is written in spoken language, and there are many contraction whispered words.
Many words are purposely MIS-spelled to show how they should be pronounced. The narrator’s Way to write the story reflects the Way he pronounces the words and he has written the story in a way that you should be able to see themselves within the situation he describes. In this way he made use of different tones of voice and criticism, among other things. He also uses emotions such as humor and compassion. It all fits however, with how the story changes and how he has written the story. Themes: The theme of the text could be meant to demonstrate the (stereotypical) racism, between police and black people.
For example, the police asked them to stay where they are outside on the street, instead of helping them to get to a safe place. The text is written down as it has been said, and the tone is very hard when the police talk to the blacks. For example, when they talk to Mary. Another example also, is how they react about having shot Mar’s dog. The police only make jokes of it. They seem not so affected that they had shot the little boy, perhaps only thinking they need to find a cover up story about his death. I think that they would have reacted differently if it was a white boy in a better, safer environment.
I would say that the author here shows a good example of how a typical “ghetto” in USA is, and how the police can discriminate against some people. Message: think the writer is trying to tell us that it is tragic but true that black men live in a very different risk level than white people. Police in the United States eve easily and quickly are pulling weapons if they do not feel safe – especially when they are in slum neighborhoods like Harlem. Think the narrator is trying to get us to look reality in the eye and he wants us to understand that life is not easy for anyone.
Parallels between “The baddies dog in Harlem” and the song text “American Skin (41 shots)” by Bruce Springiness: The comparison between the two stories is that they are both talking about how terrible reality can be for African Americans. The song “American Skin” tells the story of an African American mother, who tells her son to be careful and how he should always e polite to the police he must never do anything to provoke them, because there is the risk that the police may shoot them, as they are African Americans and because they may live in a poor environment.
In the text, “The baddies dog in Harlem” we read about how the police treated the blacks in Harlem, They have no respect for them, but in return they must have respect for the police. Generally, they both warn about how black Americans must be much more careful when around the police. Conclusion: After reading the two texts, was surprised how such things are not just appending in the texts, but also in reality. It is distressing how in some places in the United States, the lives of black people is at risk from the police do to the fact that they look different.
