Hannah Long

Faith, Religion and Society

Professor Crossen

5 December 2016

Final Exam Reflection

Question #2:

Kinship by dictionary definition can be described as a sharing of characteristics or

origins. But to Greg Boyle, it means just a little more, because to him it means not serving the

other, but being one with the other. Greg Boyle agrees with similar opinions of Jesus which are

that he is one with the people. Throughout Boyle’s career, he has seen a lot of relationships,

strengths and challenges each showing him a slightly different aspect of kinship. As said in the

novel, “I suppose I never felt this kinship more keenly in my own life”, a situation for which

Boyle was diagnosed with leukemia. A few other instances of kinship in the novel, was the

homeboy’s working together despite being from different gangs, when the different gang

members recognized their situation and went to Greg for help, and the circle of compassion that

so many gang members showed towards Boyle’s cancer. Boyle is working to allow more and

more people into the circle showing more kinship and devotion to people.

Many different events in my life have led to kinship, but the one that stands out the most

to me is through my dance team last year. Last year, I was on a dance team with five other girls,

which allowed for us to have an extremely strong bond. To me, kinship is having people

overcoming animosity and trusting each other forming a sisterhood. And that is exactly what we

had, because we were inseparable with our teamwork and any challenges thrown our way.

Because of those five girls, I was able to truly feel a sense of kinship because we faced many
challenges but through it all our bond only grew stronger. We all came from different school

districts and different backgrounds similarly to the different gangs in the novel, which shows

how my experience with kinship could be relatively similar to the kinship showed through the

different stories in the novel.

Question #3:

In the novel, the word margin could be considered a border separating groups of people

or individuals. The novel states, “...moving ourselves closer to the margins so that the margins

themselves will be erased,” meaning that the borders will go done if we move closer to trusting

each other. In the community that the novel takes place in, many of the gangs separate from each

other creating a wider margin. But, Boyle is working to improve and lessen these margins to

make the gang violence decrease with the use of God. A specific example was when Boyle took

Richie and Chepe to Bakersfield and Ridgecrest while he gave several talks. While on the trip,

Boyle took the boys to Coco’s where they met the “she is Jesus in an apron”, because the lady

did not treat them poorly, but rather better than normal customers. That waitress showed no

margins or barriers, she simply treated the boys as equals.

My major is hospitality and tourism which can have few barriers to deal with.

Hospitality’s main focus is dealing with many different types of people and allowing them to

have a positive experience. So, that means that no matter the circumstance, people in the

hospitality industry must make their guests experience their top priority. That relates to my

example from the novel, because that waitress is apart of the hospitality industry and she did her

job correctly by not treating the boys any differently. My studies at Seton Hill University will

allow me to learn better ways to make the guest experience improve to lessen any margins that

may occur in my career field. I know personally I intend to become an event planner, so I will
have many challenges with working with different clients and guests at the events that I cannot

allow margins to get the best of me.

Question #4:

The statement creates questioning for me as I am not able to choose a specific side of the

argument. In my opinion, the work of Greg Boyle can be done without the use of God. I

completely understand how Boyle is able to relate all his ideas and teachings and ideas back to

God, but I do not think it is always true. In the novel, Boyle would tell each gang members story

and at the end of the story he would have a brief statement about God relating back to the story. I

feel that he simply threw in those last opinions about God, but did not necessarily use them in his

teachings. An example of that being shown could be with Speedy. Boyle had said at the

restaurant, “we talk about his job, his return to school, his greater responsibility, and his

newfound leadership role at the oil refinery.” I do not believe that any of that truly had to do with

God, rather it was done just be Boyle helping to make an impact in the gang members lives. At

the end of Speedy’s story, Boyle connects everything to God by saying that “the Lord comes to

us disguised as ourselves.” Personally, I believe that Boyle helped to make the boys better. Yes,

he had many teachings were he utilized God, but those teachings did not need to relate back to

God.

Working with gang members is not an easy activity to fulfill in, but Greg Boyle made it

possible. He showed the boys compassion and a fatherly spirit that many longed for, but God

was not needed in many situations. God allowed for Boyle to further his points and make himself

more believable, but his work did not always need it. The young men looked up to Boyle

because he cared about them when no one else did. He showed them that he would always be
there for them even when they are struggling. God helped Boyle and the young men, but was he

truly necessary to help save them?