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The Way of Books

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Submitted By TyroneJones23
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The Way of Books
Tyrone Jones
SOC/105
August 29, 2011
Sherry Caperton

The Way of Books
Liteture is one of the componets that make up popular culture in our society. Reading helps inflluencen peoples aspect on things like religion, business, family, and much more. A good example of a popular fiction novel that influences young people today and even adults in some aspects is “Midnight, A Gangters Love Story,” written by Sister Souljah.
“Midnight, A Gangsters Love Story” is about a boy named Midnight that moved from North Sudan to America when he was seven years old. He was held resposible by his father for the security and lively hood of his mother and his younger sister. Midnight and his family came from a luxurious and lavish lifestyle in Norh Sudan and had to leave that all be hind and relocate to the projects in Brooklyn, New York. Midnight and his family soon realized after moving to America that there are people that look like them in regards to skin color, African Americans, but they had none of the same views, customs, manerisms or religion. Midnight conformed to the outward appearance to prevent from being a target in his new neiborhood, but would not compromise his religion or anythig else for that matter.
Midnight finds a wife in America at the age of 16. Her name is Akemi. Throughout the novel Midnight implements his religion, hard work, and family values through his love for Akemi. Akemis’ family does not approve of Midnight because he is not Japanese. Midnight works hard to prove his love for Akemi and his ability to be able to provide for her. He works hard to move his family out of the projects and become a suitable husband for his wife.
The auther of this novel is Siter Souljah. Souljah was born in the projects of Brooklyn, New York. She is a wife, mother, author, entertainer, public speaker, thinker and advisor. Sister Souljah graduated from Rutgers University, where she earned a degree in American History and African Studies. She also attended Cornell University Advanced Placement Studies and studied overseas in Europe at the University of Salmanaca. Sister Souljah is dedicated to the reconstruction of African- American families and communites, and it relfects is her novels. As a student activist, Souljah created and finaced the African Youth Survival Camp. The camp allows for 200 children from homeless families to stay overnight at the camp where they learned academics and culture. The camp ran for three consecutive years and inspired celebrities to start their own camps, schools and charities to give back to the community. Along with the African Youth Survival Camp, from 1995-2007 Souljah also was the Executive Director of Daddy’s House Social Programs, the charitable wing of Bad Boy Entertainment.
Compared to other books in the same genre as “Midnight, A Gangsters Love Story,” I feel that it holds a higher standard for African American men than some of the other novels.
For example the book “Every Thug Needs A Lady,” is also about African American men and women who came from poverty stricken neighborhoods and became successful business people. The story takes place in New York. The two main men characters are soon to be ex-drug dealers named Kaylin and Trae. Both men are striving to become legit business men and leave their drug dealing days behind them. In the process of becoming legit they meet their future wives Tasha and Angel. Tasha and Angel both had rough childhoods and are now attending college.
The way that these two books differ is that Midnight would go to any extent to keep his family; especially the women he chooses to marry and have a child with. Kaylin is a good father to his son, but the person he chose to marry is not the one he chose to have a child with. Midnight values the women that he decides to have sex with and it is forbidden in his religion to enter a woman he does not intend to marry and provide for.
Another difference in the books is how the women are portrayed. Umma, Midnights mother, is looked upon as the heart and soul of her family. Midnight refers to his mother as the sun to resemble her importance in his life. Women in Midnights culture can be dis owned from their families for having sex with anyone but their husbands. The women are to obey their husband and never question or dishonor him by going in public with revealing clothes that would allow another man to look at them in a dishonorable way. In “Every Thug Needs A Lady,” women are able to have more than one sexual partner and they are not looked down upon in their communities. The women are allowed to argue with their men and go out to clubs with little to no clothing on.
The cultural values that are reinforced and challenged in Midnights’ story are family, honor, religion, faithfulness, respect and trust. Midnight constantly tried to honor his family and his new wife by being legit and carrying his self as an honorable African man among the American blacks. He continued to stay faithful to his religion and Allah in spite the fact that his peers around him did not have a religion and if they did they did not take it seriously. When Midnight moved to America his trust for men was compromised. He did not trust any Americans.

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