Jeff Hobbs’ story The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs is centered on the life of a young, black man named Robert Peace who moves from an impoverished childhood in the outskirts of Newark, to the mainly white dominated Yale University, and finally, to his untimely and unsolved murder (Hobbs, 2015). Jeff Hobbs selects the topic to depict the unfortunate turn of events for the main character Robert Peace that eventually led to his death. Jeff, having been a roommate with Robert at Yale, thought that Robert’s life had been rocked with unfortunate situations from his childhood and when things seemed bright, tragedy struck time after time. The title of the story makes it clear from the onset that the story comprises of unfortunate
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He also used this extra income to help his mother, with plans to help her retire and live a better life. His mother was his heart and the reason for everything good in his life, as is repeatedly stated in the book. With the knowledge acquired at Yale, he developed a new strain of marijuana, which gained high demand status in his neighborhood and surrounding areas. Robert thought he could play it safe, and sell quietly under the radar as to not draw attention to himself as he was also working for a known big-time dealer from the neighborhood. Unfortunately, things became tragic when he was shot dead after he crossed the wrong people in his many dealings and was unable to use his charm to talk his way out of the hit. Apart from the title “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace,” the unfortunate occurrences through no fault of his own, circumstances beyond his control, or life choices of Robert’s life would be described perfectly by the title “A Bright Future Cut Short,” as it would be up to you to decide which of these were the …show more content…
From the onset of the story, choices made by the people are based on the prevailing situations of their surroundings. First, Jackie makes a conscious effort to make a better life for her son, as most men in their area had drowned in crime and drugs and many died at a very early age or were in prison. Despite being a low paid hospital employee, she works hard to give her son a dignified life through private school education (Hobbs, 2015). She navigates through the impoverished society to network with people and institutions that would help Robert achieve his full potential, even with this being out of her comfort zone. This choice made by Jackie are fostered by the situations she finds herself in when her son’s father was jailed for double homicide, however, she is determined to give her son a better life than she or his father were able to
He also used this extra income to help his mother, with plans to help her retire and live a better life. His mother was his heart and the reason for everything good in his life, as is repeatedly stated in the book. With the knowledge acquired at Yale, he developed a new strain of marijuana, which gained high demand status in his neighborhood and surrounding areas. Robert thought he could play it safe, and sell quietly under the radar as to not draw attention to himself as he was also working for a known big-time dealer from the neighborhood. Unfortunately, things became tragic when he was shot dead after he crossed the wrong people in his many dealings and was unable to use his charm to talk his way out of the hit. Apart from the title “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace,” the unfortunate occurrences through no fault of his own, circumstances beyond his control, or life choices of Robert’s life would be described perfectly by the title “A Bright Future Cut Short,” as it would be up to you to decide which of these were the …show more content…
From the onset of the story, choices made by the people are based on the prevailing situations of their surroundings. First, Jackie makes a conscious effort to make a better life for her son, as most men in their area had drowned in crime and drugs and many died at a very early age or were in prison. Despite being a low paid hospital employee, she works hard to give her son a dignified life through private school education (Hobbs, 2015). She navigates through the impoverished society to network with people and institutions that would help Robert achieve his full potential, even with this being out of her comfort zone. This choice made by Jackie are fostered by the situations she finds herself in when her son’s father was jailed for double homicide, however, she is determined to give her son a better life than she or his father were able to