Semester TWO ; Honor's Novel One

The novel was about a troubled African American girl Jada who goes from “crack addict ,prostitute then a somewhat “survivor” The book has many twist ,it starts up as a love story, then transfers to a little bit tragic , still full of surprises and unseen truths. The novel sort of celebrates a urban tradition while exposing the hardships that urban America goes through, how caught up in the drug world one can be, and what happens when they try to get out of it.


Drugs were Tracy Brown’s main idea for the book most of his ideas were based on or around drugs.He uses Jada the main character’s personal experiences like different literary devices as a symbol/metaphor to show how black American is ruled by two similar things drugs and money.Tracy Brown is using drugs in connection to something that each person chase after that falls under the same umbrella as “materialism” that each person can personally relate to. For an example in the book drugs gave people power, respect, and control .Tracy brown makes the connection between money and drugs using it as a symbol “We all chase after something rather it is drugs, happiness, love or money”. Having a lot of money can lead to power, respect, and control. Same as to drugs you can be on the “pro” side of the drug world will lead you to power respect and control.


In the novel we see Jada be on both sides of the pro and cons list of the drug world. She starts off struggling desperately as she is addicted to some of the most hardcore drugs out at the time she did humane things in order to feed her habit. She believed that while on drugs she could have a better grip on her life. The drugs gave her a sense of control, while on drugs she could control when she was happy and when she dealt with the problems of her world. Without the drugs she was a normal person who was controlled by destiny. This links back to Tracy browns metaphor between money and drugs. When one has money they have a sense of control. You can buy what you would like, go where you would like, pay off anyone you would like. Having money gives a person a lot of power and respect. Without money it is easy for one to get depressed, looked down on or trampled over. The way that our economy is, the richer the person the higher standard they are seen as. The same thing goes for the “drug king and queens”in my novel.