A Life for a Life by Ernest Hill - Book Report/Review Example

A Life for a Life by Ernest Hill Introduction: D'Ray Reid, tries to find the desperate remedy for a desperate situation. Suddenly he is involved in a challenging deal, not sought but thrust upon him by Kojak, the drug dealer. Kojak throws the deadly demand that contains life or death option about his younger brother. Ernest Hill describes the situation thus: “One hour,” Kojak responded coldly. “Papa World or no Papa World, you ain't back with my money in a hour, you can tell your mama she got one less mouth to feed.”(17) That sets the story in motion and D'day in action! The Story: To pull trigger and to commit murder is as good as cracking a peanut for Kojak. In place of the human heart, he must be having the stone block. He must be doing such crimes quite often and was he using his sister to such assignments to trap the youngsters? That looks incredible but if the present episode is any indication, she must be continuing with her job with another innocent guy, as Little Man sits in the backyard of the drug joint tied to the chair. Her dress code, style of conversation with the Little Man are pointers to the vicious scheme in which the brother and sister are involved. They are running a sort of racket to make money employing the most dubious means. Something unique about the plot is worth consideration. For example, when Kojak ties down the boy to the chair and tells D'Ray that he must get 100 dollars within an hour or else his brother will be shot dead, the readers guess that something will happen and the boy will survive. When D'Ray is caught for murder and imprisoned, the readers also guess that some benevolent turn of the events in the prison. So, the plot has no suspense as such. Yet the story demands the attention of the readers from the beginning to the end. The style and the punch in the conversation is highly evocative. Each dialogue pricks the heart of the reader with a telling effect, like an arrow. Four characters stand out to make the plot of the novel highly interesting. The human element in them appeals to the emotions of the reader. Firstly, the innocent boy. Having grown in a dysfunctional family, he is to be pitied for the predicament in which he is put in, rather than condemned. Though not a drug-addict, he could not resist the temptation to take the dose when it was made available to him free. He followed the sister of Kojak with implicit faith on her words that the treat offered by her was free. Perhaps he was sexually attracted to her as would be seen from the description given of her physical charm by Ernest Hill, and their dialogues. “ She was beautiful, and he couldn't help but notice her too short cutoff jeans, or her snug-fitting crop top that drew attention to her voluptuous breasts and exposed her flat, taut stomach....... She spoke first. "What brings you to Death Row?" …."Is that all?" she wanted to know...."What else is there?" he asked. .,"Whatever you want," she responded. "This is Kojak's Place." ...(14) With such provocative and demanding dialogues, she was trying to trap the boy. When the readers learn that the boy was made to sit on a small wooden chair with his hands tied behind his back, he elicited instant sympathy. The second character is D'Ray. To get $ 100 within the quickest possible time,D'Ray robs a convenience store only to fatally shoot a store's employee. His father World was a convicted murder. Crimes seem to be the career of the family as his mother and the close ones around him always predicted that he will step into the shoes of his father soon. The third character is Kojak, in whom Ernest Hill has created an evil incarnation of the ultimate order as would be seen from the conversation between him and D'Ray. He is without the slightest trace of humanity.She writes, “Kojak looked at D'Ray and then at Little Man. "Him too?" he asked. "Him too," D'Ray told him. "He's my little brother." "I'm sorry to hear that," Kojak said coldly. "World always been good to me." "He been good to a lot of people," D'Ray added. For a brief moment Kojak's eyes softened.”(16) Kojak knew the father of both the children well, but his soft attitude lasted for a while only and his cruelty surfaced. He was not willing show mercy on children and he was bent upon executing his deal of $100. Fourthly, full credit goes to Ernest Hill for introducing a character like Henry Earl, father of the dead clerk. Instead of being vindictive and revengeful, he supported D'Ray and fondly hoped that one day he would fulfill the cherished desire of Earl. His dead son was an honor student who won a National Merit Scholarship. Earl visited D'Ray often in the prison and encouraged him and made the process of his assimilation in the mainstream of life in the society possible. The miraculous transformation took place. This is the sum and substance of the story. The issue it deals is about racial prejudice, crime, reformation and rehabilitation of an individual in prison, who landed there due to unfortunate circumstances. He did not cling to the prison bars to better his prospectus as a criminal. D'Ray had to act in the manner he acted, due to pressure of the grave incident and at stake was his brother Little Man's life.The overt racism practiced by the American white society is subtly described. Little Man and his friends discuss the various alternatives to get protection from the heat. Ernest Hill writes, “They could mill about downtown in one of the department stores, but they knew they wouldn't be inside long enough to stop sweating before someone asked them what they were looking for. A dip in the town pool would be ideal, but even though it was 1987, in Brownsville, Louisiana, for all intents and purposes, that much-desired treat was still for whites only.”(14) When a young criminal is constantly nagged and abused,condemned and ostracized by society, he turns into a viler and bitter individual. Heartfelt care and concern, an understanding approach, and tender regard for his feelings are necessary prerequisites to heal his inner wounds and in order to help him build a new identity. The inner core of every human being is essentially pure. It just needs to be revealed to him to help him align himself with his true personality. Coupled with this, one needs to learn to forgive and forget his past. Earl had a great heart and he succeeded in arresting the downward march of D”Ray from the destructive path he took him to to the upward march to make him a worthy individual. Conclusion: Ernest Hill ably describes the plight of an African American family caught in poverty with nothing to look forward to better the conditions in life. D'Ray was able to see his God in the jail, not in the Church. Very true, God is present everywhere. He is Omnipresent and Omniscient—ask D'Ray! With his unprecedented transformation he brings glory to his race by the emulation-worthy example. The power of love and forgiveness exhibited is in tune with the true Christian spirit. Ernest Hill has given us a very interesting book. It has practical message worthy to be emulated by the younger generation of white and black races. References: Hill, Ernest. A Life for a Life: Simon & Schuster;August 18, 1998 Read More