Menelik Smith

Communication Studies reflection p2

What happens when you take three strangers and put them in random predicaments? You
give them all souls so they can make choices and live with it. Well these souls will all live a life
soon to be lost. These three souls were the boys Tom, Hobby and Clyde. Those three boys
found themselves ensnared in the allure of the gang, each driven by circumstance and left to
live a life without love. All the while society is molded by the stories they've strummed.
Tom lived in helling poverty with his mother in a small run down apartment in the heart of the
slums. Their community was often riddled with crime committed by the purposeless individuals
whom often had no choice but to perform dirty deeds to keep up with the cost of living. As the
age old quotation goes, The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing. With a lack of work constituted by their disposition, and the lack of funds to seek proper
education only to compete with the likes of middle aged white folks when it comes to job
application, the spirits of the denizens of this community have had their spirits successfully
broken. Tom is one of those boys who was ambitious, but was his ambition allocated in the
correct areas?With his mother working long hours and him being dropped out of secondary
school, Tom could do nothing but enjoy his own company with a lack of entertainment that his
mother provides. With his belly and mind unsatisfied, Tom would often look into the streets
through the one window in the room he shared with his mother. He would gaze upon some boys
that would often get caught up in fights,smoke all day and flaunt what little money they made
from selling drugs. He would often see people get shot dead in the streets, he’d call his
observation point the dead man’s peak. One day he’d get bored of looking. He ventured off to
meet the boys who welcomed him with open arms and a cigarette to smoke. From there on he
became associated with a gang at 16 years old. He took part in their activities such as gang
fights,robbery,drug dealing and even home invasions. Tom had finally found belonging, despite
his constitution adding on to crime rate, Tom did not care as long as he was happy.Overjoyed
that he was getting a piece of the pie, Tom did whatever whenever as long as the crew needed
him.
Hobbie, a 17 year old boy, grew up in a modest household in the suburbs. Though his
parents were not rich, he would still get what he wanted with a little patience. He grew up in a
house of four, his mother, father, his older brother and himself. His mother.a teacher at a
primary school not too far away from where they had lived,as well as volunteering to assist in an
elderly home and even nurture young orphans that she couldn't afford to take in as her own..
She was an amazing woman who was a mother to all who had crossed her,leaving a trail of
positivity everywhere she had ventured.His father, a local police man, ensured that their
community along with everywhere he had ventured too was as safe as possible for the good
citizens who lived there. Hobbies older brother is a gang member and though Hobbie is not
interested in joining, he doesn't disagree with the idea of being in a gang one day, to his
parents' disapproval. On one fateful night, he would be met with five boys in the downtown
slum. Hobbie has often been around the slums with his parents, usually when his mother was
there to provide gifts and toiletries to the less fortunate down there, however they have never
encountered any violence. In this instance the family had found themselves on the scene of a
crime.To further worsen the tragedy that was about to take place, Hobbie’s father had forgotten
his firearm in its holster at home. Hobbie’s parents’ refusal to forgo their goods to meet the boys’
demand lead to their demise. They were shot each in the chest and Hobbie, in an effort to
escape, got shot in the leg. No sooner had he fallen to the ground he locked eyes with the only
boy without a mask and swore to remember his face. They got away and Hobbie had been left
to lay in a pool of the blood of his parents. As help arrived it was already too late as his parents
bled out,leaving Hobbieto be the sole survivor of the altercation. He was rushed to the hospital
and during his stay he often wondered if surviving was a blessing or a sick form of punishment.
He pondered this every day.Hobbie’s aunt and uncle after hearing the news adopted
him,welcoming him into their home as if he were their own. Their community felt the
shockwaves that occurred after the death of Hobbie’s parents. Life just did not feel the same as
the two angels of their community have passed in such an unsettling way. When the fateful day
of their funeral came, the service was flooded with individuals who came to pay their respects
and mourn the death of the unfortunate angels. Hobbie too attended,though wheelchair bound.
About a month passed and Hobbie was for the most part recovered.He found himself seeking
revenge and who better to seek revenge with than his own older brother who had been through
the ups and downs of gang affiliation.
Clyde was the third of the final boy that was woven into this tragedy. He is currently 24 years
young and the older brother of Hobbie. Growing up he always felt a lack of belonging. He was a
humble introvert who had issues making friends. He was overwhelmingly average in everything
he did and had no defining features as expressed by his peers. It was almost as if he were
invisible and the world just passed him by. This led him to think of joining a gang when the
opportunity had come to him at the age of 15.It was a local gang who claimed to have stood for
good ideals, but their flaw was the way they achieved their good ideals.They had morals and the
members who broke their moral code were swiftly battered and exiled. The lonely feeling within
Clyde had faded as he was now often within the comfort of loyal people who like him and not
only would die for him but live the rest of their life locked away for him. They loved him due to
his humble demeanor and morality. It were these character traits that led him to assume
leadership of the gang when the previous owner had passed away.
When Hobbie had recovered, he joined his brother's gang and set his sights on revenge. On
a night similar to the fateful night, he and his brother ventured to the slums in search of the
murderers. They drove around the slummy neighborhood and on their third lap they
encountered their parents’ murderers. Without a second thought,Hobbie fired off 3 shots from
the distance they were away from the murderers, alerting the 5 guys of their presence.Hobbie
and Clyde exited the car and hid behind it for cover as they and the five other boys exchanged
fire. The boys took cover and fired back which led to a 5 minute long gun fight. Tom, among the
four other boys, were inexperienced gun wielders and missed the majority of their shots. Hobbie
and Clyde, who had been trained by their father, albeit minimally, were proficient enough to take
down all but one of the boys before Hobbie had suffered a fatal blow to his temple. Clyde who
was in the heat of the altercation fired off the final shot ending the 3 minute maelstrom.Tom had
got hit with this final bullet and as he bleed out,his mother screamed in agony as she had just
witnessed her one son perish while on looking from the dead man’s peak.Shortly after, police
officers and paramedics had arrived to clean up the situation. The boys legacy was now
engraved deep into their communities and their blood had stained the streets, adding another
layer to the tales to be told about the slum community.Their deaths were in a sense not in vain
as they were soon to be replaced by a fresh batch of ambitionless individuals who will carry on
the will and be their successor in worsening the community. Their debacle brought about an
increased crime rate as more people got involved due to the connections of the deceased.In the
end Hobbie had killed Tom, Clyde is now serving life and Hobbie died in the gunfight.