How Has Their Environment and/or Social Class Affected Pharoah and Lafeyette?

308 Words2 Pages
I believe that the environment has affected them in a great way. I think that’s true for everyone, the environment they grew up in almost defines how they will grow up elsewhere, be it for the good or for the bad. Some people may choose to lead the same life the other people in the neighborhood have lead theirs, or they might strive to change that. I believe that, though Pharoah and Lafeyette are trying to change the way the neighborhood is influencing them, ultimately it’s starting to catch up to them a little. It’s proven in the section on pages 151 to 153 in the book, where Rickey convinces Lafeyette to shoplift with him; he knew it was wrong, but he let the pressure of a negative influence get to him and joined in on it. Afterwards of course, he was deeply regretting doing it, and he apologized, but it just goes to show how bad influences are starting to change them. Sometimes though, it may seem like those negative influences are what’s keeping them alive and helping them keep food in their mouths. Around pages 155 to 161, we see that Lafeyette and Pharoah are going against the normal wishes of the police working around the stadium and watching cars, for a little spending money. It shows there that even though there’s negative consequences, there’s more often than not positive outcomes. On page 160 in the book, Lafeyette gets thrown to the ground, kicked by a police officer, and put in the back of a Squad car. The negative side does, in this case, outshine the positive. However, later on page 161, it tells of how Pharoah and Lafeyette return to the Stadium, and tells of how Pharoah and his friends think of a new way to make money without getting confronted by the

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