CAPE ADVANCED PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION

COMMUNICATION STUDIES
INTERNAL ASSESMENT

Candidate’s Name: Jheanelle Arbouine

Candidate’s Number:
Teacher’s Name. Ms.Vernon
School: St. Catherine High School
School’s Centre Number: 100105
Territory: Jamaica
Subject: Communication Studies
Date of Submission:
Topic: To what extent has single parenting contributed to the continuous increase in gangs.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The theme of my portfolio is “The relationship between Single Parent families and Crime.” The

purpose of my portfolio is to enlighten and educate parents on the importance of their presence in

their child’s/children’s life/lives.

The theme of my portfolio was highlighted and the purpose of educating my audience was done

through a reflective piece, a short story entitled “Life on the Wild Side” in which a young man

became involved in criminal activities because of the lack of parental guidance, because of an

absentee father and his mother works long hours daily to provide for the family consisting of the

young man, his younger sister and his mother. Moreover, in the exposition I presented an eight

minutes speech where I analyzed and evaluated two secondary sources which expound on single

parenting contributing to the increase in gangs.

The theme interests me academically as I am currently a student of Sociology which deals with

the study of social life, social change and the social causes and consequences of human

behaviour. I am interested in how communities function with having single parent households as

this can cause increase in gang activities, making them a threat. I would like to pursue a career in

criminology where I will have to know the root cause of young men being recruited into a life of

crime. With knowing the cause there may be a possible solution. Furthermore, this theme is of

personal interest as my cousin’s father is absent from his life and of late, he has been associating

himself with gang members in his community and has been getting into trouble.
REFLECTION
 PREFACE

The short story entitled “Life on the Wild Side” unfolds the life of a young man who has little to

no parental guidance due to being a part of a single parent family. This resulted in him being

recruited into criminal activities. The purpose of this piece is to educate potential parents on the

importance of being present in their children’s lives. Through this literary piece teenager will

become more aware of the different choices there is to make if drastically affected by

single-parenting. As it is a literary piece, there is also the secondary purpose of entertaining the

reading audience. My intended audience are adults and young adults ranging from ages 18-50 as

persons from these age groups are more likely to be burdened with the responsibility of

parenting. I am also targeting teenagers as they are the ones many of the negative impacts of

single-parenting. In contextual terms this short story could be published in a pamphlet and issued

during a seminar on any given day in parents’ month at community centres or in schools. It could

also utilize mass communication and be posted on the Instagram or Facebook page of the

Jamaica Gleaner where it is likely to reach my target audience.

 LIFE ON THE WILD SIDE

“Mark, lef mi yard nuh, lef mi yard!” his mother shouted. “Mi tiad a yuh foolishness!” Kymani

opened the door to see his parents arguing in front his five months old sister. His mother stormed

out the living area, slammed shut the bedroom door and began to cry, and his father slammed the

front door on his way out. That was the last time he saw his father. He knew his mother was

trying, but she was now a single parent and it was getting harder by the day.

“Kymani come here deh,” his mother called out to him. Fixing the last button on his uniform he

walked around to his mother’s room.

“Yes mother, you called?”

“Listen to mi, when yuh come home from skool pack up yuh toys.”

He looked at his mother puzzled, “Why mother?”

She sighed and looked down at him knowing what she was about to tell him would leave him

distraught. “We affi go move a grandma down a March Pen Road caaz with dis ya salary mi cyaa

provide fi you and yuh sister and pay bills.”

“Bu-”

“But nothing just do wat mi seh.”

Even with living in March Pen Kymani continued to work hard. He was determined that he

would not become like the boys in the area and join a gang. His hard work paid off and he began

attending a prestigious high school.

“Yes mi bwoy, yuh finally reach high skool, proud a yuh mi son” Her smile was bright as day

and Kymani had felt good to make his mother proud.

Kymani went to high school and did extremely well for two consecutive years making his

mother and grandmother proud and setting good examples for his sister to follow.

With the bag filled with books on his back, Kymani made his way home from school. He had a

tendency to walk with his face buried down as he was from a violent community and didn’t want

to get into any trouble by making friends with the wrong group of boys.

“Yo Kymani!”

Kymani turned around to see his schoolmate from his community calling out to him. He had just

passed him with a group of boys their age and some older ones seated on a wall smoking.

“Kymani yuh nuh hear mi a call yuh?”

Kymani began to walk a little faster as he wanted no conversation what so ever. He finally

reached his home, he pushed open the rusty zinc gate and went in. His mother looked out the

window to see if it was him as she has been nervous to tell him the bad news she had. She began

to pace and Kymani stepped in and saw her looking nervous.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” he asked.

She sat down and he followed suit. She began to explain how she had been demoted and would

now be forced to work extra hours and even with those extra hours she would not be able to
provide as she used to. Kymani knew that her saying not providing as she used to meant the days

he went to school would be cut short. Kymani’s face was blank as his mothered explained to

him. He then got up and went to his room. He was fueled with so much emotions all at once. In

that very moment Kymani decided that he had to be the man of the house and provider. He

wanted to take care of his mother and ensure that his sister had the education she deserved.

The next day, as usual, Kymani made his way home from school. As he walked, he passed that

same group of boys with the same one calling out to him.

“Yo Kymani!”

He turned around to see the boy running towards him. “Waa gwaan bro? Yuh good”

“Yes” Kymani answered. “Yuh know seh mi av a work fi yuh but lata mi tell yuh bout that. Why

yuh nuh guh home and come back come chill wid me and the man dem?” Kymani did as he was

told.

Months went by and Kymani’s mother noticed a change in his behaviour. Kymani was no longer

the polite sweet boy she once knew. He was now performing poorly in school, smoking and

coming in late, and whenever she tried to speak to him about it he’d shove her off and go to his

room.

“Gimi a draw” Kymani took the cigarette as his friend began to remind him about the job he had

for him. His friend’s voice began to fade and he zoned out and in his head he began to hear the

shouting.

“Mark lef mi yard nuh, lef mi yard! Mi tiad a yuh foolishness!”

“Kymani! Kymani!”
Kymani was pulled out his thought and into reality by his friend’s shout.

“Yuh hear weh mi seh? Yaa guh tek the job or not?”

“Yeah dawq mi want the job,” Kymani answered

He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but Kymani had had a hard life since his father left

and he had promised that he would take care of his family as he was now the man of the house.

“Weh the strap deh? Gimi it.” His friend handed him the gun. “Mi ago deal wid it.”

Kymani took the gun and left. He went to where he was sent and pointed the gun in the face of

the target, hands to the trigger and in a split second the gun went off. Kymani was never the

same boy again.

ANALYSIS
 LANGUAGE ANALYSIS

The reflective piece “Life on the Wild Side” tells the story of a young man who became involved

in criminal activities because of the lack of parental guidance as he had an absentee father and

his mother worked long hours daily to provide for the family consisting of the young man, his

sister and his mother. This analysis will be done on the Dialectal Variations and the

Communicative Behaviours used in the piece.

Firstly, in Jamaica where the story is set there are several Dialectal Variations found. As evident

in the reflective piece, Kymani utilizes Standard English which indicates that he has been

exposed to education as many Jamaicans learn Standard English in school. Kymani was an

exceptional student in his primary school years. This allowed him the opportunity to attend a

prestigious high school even though he is from a community considered to be the “ghetto.”

When Kymani ask “Mother what’s wrong?” or even him answering “Yes” when the boy had

approached him displays his command of the English Language.

However, in contrast to his constant use of the Standard English is his declaration in Basilect

creole “Gimi a draw.” As Kymani is now surrounded by a new group of friends with no concern

for school, he begins to speak the vernacular more regularly now more than ever. This is quite

common among West Indians to revert to their mother tongue when speaking to their peers.

In contrast, Kymani’s friend only uses the Basilect, a creole variation that is associated with

people who are considered to be from the lower class and lack of education. His friend identifies

with both as he is from a violent neighbourhood and is a gang member which suggests little to no

school time. One example of the basilect is him asking “Yuh hear weh mi seh? Yaa guh tek the

job or not?”
Another aspect of language used in the story is Communicative Behaviours. Communicative

Behaviours can be described as communicating impressions to others without the use of words.

There is use of kinesics in the story as when Kymani’s mother had a big smile displaying how

proud she was of Kymani for graduating primary school and attending a prestigious high school

considering the fact that they are facing a hard life. She also displayed communicative behaviour

when she began to pace in the house. This showed how nervous and anxious she was to tell

Kymani the depressing news. The use of Vocalics is also exercised as Kymani mother yelled at

his father to leave the house. The rise is volume made it clear that she was angry.

In conclusion, the use of Dialectal Variation and Communicative Behaviours aids in bringing the

piece to life and show it in a true Caribbean setting. The different dialectal variation offers a

view of how Caribbean people speak on a daily basis whether educated or uneducated and

whether one is from the lower class or upper class. The Communicative Behaviours however,

helped to enhance the characters words and feelings.

 CONCLUSION

In completing this portfolio, it became clear that there are children whose lives has been

drastically affected by the absence of a parent and has resulted in them being involved in juvenile

delinquency. It is my hope that this portfolio will make a difference in the decision of a potential

parent or a child with an absent parent. Finally, I would like to say that the completion process of

this project was greatly beneficial as it improved my creative and critical thinking skills.
REFERENCES