In the book “There Are No Children Here” the Author describes the live of Pharaoh and Lafayette, and their Mother LaJoe. The River Family consists of the LaJoe the mother, and her 8 children; they live in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago, in a Housing project called Henry Horner. This area is regimented by violence and poverty. Pharaoh is described as a boy who loves the smell of wildflowers, and butterfly’s. Later in the book he will describe this as a place of sanctuary. He is the one who is the most sensitive’s of all, he wonders if he every grows up, is easily brought to tears, and hides behind his age to avoid worrisome situations. Pharaoh is the one with the greatest hope; he thinks he can become whatever he wants to be, when he does well in school. He is the one of all LaJoe’s children she thinks will give back to her, through his own success, which she believes was lost. Lafayette is the older brother, trying to protect his siblings. He was the carefree child, who liked to draw, but over the time of a year he changed, being caught shoplifting, he also became bossy around his younger sibling because he worried so much about them. He is the …show more content…
Gangs and drugs rule the area, and lost hope and the environment have contributed to the LaJoe’s children’s failure. Poverty and gang warfare is a constant reminder in their lives. LaJoe mourns for what could have been her life. The drug trade around the neighborhood brought only misery to the people who lived in Henry Horner homes; it is not a community but a gang turf. Young men in this environment grow up without looking into the future, there isn’t any job prosperity, and money can be made easy with