Summary: Throughout the book, we have seen Walter develop into a smart young man, he was staying out of trouble of course, but wasn't ready to put it all away. Walter continued to explore many areas of Harlem more, using some of the outside towns that he would visit as inspiration for many of his writings.He looked at many of these places with amazement and wrote so many poems about them, however in the end he explains how Harlem can never be replaced and how it is and always will be his home. Walter also finishes both 7th and 8th grade in one year due to the special students program, therefore he was able to go to the 9th grade at an early age. During the summer, the relief of school ending had Walter very happy and joyous. However, he had come to realize that he spent less time with his neighborhood "boys." They were still in 7th grade, causing trouble and playing basketball at the same time. The good thing is that Walter had moved on from them and continued to pursue his dreams, stayed out of trouble and did everything that he had to so that he wouldn't be one of the typical "Negroes" that everyone expects him to be. He wanted to be successful and prove everyone wrong; he didn't want to work as a laborer or in a factory, instead something bigger that would exceed past all low expectations that were put on him. Walter also found comfort in many of the plays and readings that they had him perform in school, like
The Stolen Prince and other works like
The Rime of Ancient Mariner. He wanted to write in the exact same style and theme that these authors had written in, even though he would laugh with everyone when it came to reading these. As the novel goes on Walter is accepted into Stuyvesant High School, which is a very good school that he had tested to get in for. It was an all boys school with loads of work that Walter tried to keep up with. Many of the kids were more friendly and accepting,especially when it came to his speech problem. At the school no one made fun of him or even cared that he had a problem, but still Walter felt alone because he still didn't find the comfort in the school or someone that he could share his love for reading and writing with. At this age Walter was also going through personal problems, like his race.With Eric, Walter's best friend, being Caucasian and Walter being African American, the sudden change from going to parties and having girlfriends wasn't in Walter's best interest, because many of Eric's friends wouldn't let Walter come to a certain event, even when they gave the OK right in front of Walter. The opportunities that he had, like looking into colleges were also limited, many of the juniors including Eric were looking at early acceptions, but Walter couldn't even think of college, because his family was just getting by. The fact that he is African American also gets in the way because teachers/people wouldn't look at the potential that he had, they would just send him to one of the all black colleges. Walter was often discouraged by this and expressed his feelings through his writings, he was even saving up for a typewriter, however his mother spent it all on lottery. With that being done, the relationship with his parents had closed more and things we rent the way they used to be.
Quote: "Books,on the other hand, provided a dialog between me and the authors who had written them. They spoke to me, and i responded, not in words but in appreciation and consideration of their thoughts. More and more, i would respond with my own writing" (Myers 127)
This quote really stuck out because Walter is going through a lot of things right now and the fact that he still confides in reading and writing is good to see. The fact that he looks at the books as people and says how they talk to him and he responds to them by writing, shows how serious he is about writing and how much reading/writing is apart of his life.
Reaction: My reaction to the book so far is proud; it's good to see that Walter is still trying to pursue his dreams in being a successful writer or in having any successful career. He's still fighting for what he wants to be despite the fact that his family is going through a lot. With his father showing small improvement in his depression, and with him not telling Walter to his face that he enjoys his readings kind of discourages him. However, it was good to see that with all of that he still didn't give up or turn to the kids that he used to hang out with on the streets for comfort. He also stopped fighting and getting into so much trouble. With more of his family around and him being accepted into a great school gives Walter more confidence about himself rather than him just doubting his ability to do anything in life. Although he's still a bit alone, and hos relationship with his mother is still strained, its nice to see that he still shows her poems; it shows that she believes in him and is behind him every step of the way. However, that support was somewhat broken due to the fact that she ignored Walter's dream of having a type writer and bought lottery tickets with it. Although she knew it was a bad thing, she didn't confront him about the situation and some of the things that she was going through at the moment with her and Walter's father; instead she turned to drinking and in time also becomes depressed. Walter, on the other hand was very upset and showed no sympathy for her, which is somewhat reasonable, but in my opinion they should confront each other like they use to and try to regain the strong relationship and bond that they had before.
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