The Baddest Dog in Harlem

You’ll have to be tough to live in your American skin When we go to school or to our jobs we don’t have many worries. The worries we could have could be â€Å"Oh no, there’s a test today† or â€Å"Oh no, my boss wants me to do some paperwork† but what if we had to live in fear instead of worries? If in the morning we should fear to go to school or job because of the place we are living in, that we had to say properly goodbye to your family every day, what would that do to us? †The Baddest Dog in Harlem† is writen by Walter Dean Myers and it is a fictional short story.The short story takes place in Harlem, at 145th street[1]. It could be in a year not far from the present, because of the technology used in the short story, such as cars[2] and automatic weapons[3] and it’s in the middle of the day. The neighborhood seems rough and seems like a place where you have seen the police often[4] and it seems like people are bored and doesn ’t have many money or jobs[5]. The narrator and his friends are sitting at the rail outside Big Joe’s and talks about who’s the best fighter in the world. The conversation got heated up when Willie Murphy participate in the debate.He is that kind of guy who always thinks he is right just because he is older than the others and when the narrator doesn’t think it can get worse Mr. Lynch, an even older man, joins the debate. Suddenly two polices cars are tearing around the corner. The stops in front of the boys and starts interrogate them and tell them to stay at the rail. Afterwards the cops start crunching behind their cars and look upon a window in the apartment at the other side of the street, pointing with their guns towards it. When the narrator realizes what is going on, he wanders off into a cafeteria nearby.A cop comes into the cafeteria and he says there have been a report about someone with an automatic weapon and tells everybody to drop down on t he floor. A cop trips and he guns goes off, all the cops start shooting and people are screaming and yelling. After a while the cops stops shooting and a girl who lives in the block turns up. The cops want her to go up to her apartment but she wants a black man with her and therefore a cop pulls the narrator with them. In her apartment everything is ruined and her dog is dead. The cops go to the apartment next door but come out in a hurry.The narrator walks into the apartment and sees a boy lying on the bed shot and dead. The narrator is in first person and seems reliable and is also the main character in the short story. We only get to know about the narrators thoughts and feelings but we don’t hear much about them either, his personality is described by his thoughts and actions. The characters in the short story are not described only a little bit about Mr. Lynch and Willie but beside those two, are the character based upon their actions and sayings.The narrator is a black man, because he refers to the black cop as a â€Å"brother†, we don’t know his age or his name but by based on the story I will approximately guess he is in his twenties. Willie is older than the narrator and is in his thirties[6] but the cop chose the narrator to go with Mary to her apartment[7] and therefore I don’t think he is a kid. The story is told in past tense and is chronological. When you read the short story you get a picture in you head of a ghetto and the language in the story is youthful and a bit slang[8].They also leave words out. You get connotations in your head and you think about American movies where you also see the youth talk in this way. The general tone is positive but also a bit cool and laid back. They don’t try to sound smarter or different either when they talk to the police. They talk â€Å"their† language, which make it seem like they are an unity. I think the theme the narrator tries to get through in this short stor y, is the tough life there is in the ghetto. The boy who got shot in the ghetto was just watching television but he wasn’t safe anyway.It’s a harsh environment to live in, an environment where you can be in constant fear of being robbed or shot. The song â€Å"American Skin (41 shots)† by Bruce Springsteen also gives a good perspective of how it is in America. He sings â€Å"No secret my friend, you can get killed just for living in, your American Skin[9]† The ssimilarities in the two texts is the theme. They are both trying to show how the world is every day for some people in America and to have an influence on us, make us think about those who aren’t as fortunate as we are and how we should ppreciate our way of living. I really think the short story and the song as well gives you something to think about. I believe the environment the narrator lives in makes him tough. When you’re living in a ghetto or an environment which is rough, youâ €™ll have to be tough even though you on the inside is falling apart. And I think that’s what the narrator goes through. They are used to guns and crime, therefore are they not so afraid of the police and the situation and also the kids have it like this. But when the narrator sees the boy, he doesn’t want to speak about it. 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 cha racter 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, â€Å"It is the baddies dog in Harlem. ‘ Settings: The setting takes place outside of a cafe or similar place called â€Å"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 und er the term â€Å"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 â€Å"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 b lack 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 â€Å"The baddies dog in Harlem† and the song text â€Å"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 â€Å"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, â€Å"The baddies d og 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.