Kens Character Development from a Biopsychosocial Perspective - Essay Example

Ken’s character development from a biopsychosocial perspective Ken is the antithesis of the average African American male who is jobless or in prison and generally a target of suspicion by other people in society. He has held down a regular job for the past three years after getting out of prison and is doing an effective job of being a father to his son, as well as Jewell’s other children. Ken is battling against heavy odds - centuries of prejudice, the legacy of the system of slavery, together with a social and economic environment where opportunities for advancement without resorting to a life of crime remain limited. Institutional racism has permeated into the legal, judicial, educational and social systems and this has produced an environment where the African American male is disadvantaged in terms of access to education, social support and economic opportunities (Jewell, 2003, p 200-204). The end of the welfare system has only resulted in a greater exodus of African American men from the job arena. In addition, Ken also has challenges to cope with in his immediate environment, such as maintaining order and discipline for Jewell’s sons, coping with a lifestyle where his earnings have been considerably reduced, holding down a job and raising his son. There are many factors that have shaped Ken’s development, but some of the most significant are (a) the relatively normal existence he led as a child for some years (b) the disappearance of parental control during his teen years (c) the pressures to conform to a life of crime in a poverty ridden neighborhood to maintain self respect (d) Ken’s distaste for the rigors of prison life (e) his instincts, intelligence and his sense of fun and (f) his yearning for a father, which has conditioned his determination to be a good father to his own son. Ken is an intelligent individual and possesses an inner strength and ability to grasp reality, which has aided him in his decisions, especially since he has had to reply upon himself after his father deserted him. Ken has felt the absence of a father as a “painful, life altering loss.” (DeParle, 2004). Ken writes rap about being abandoned by his father and has nicknamed his own son “Daddy”, which reveals his still persistent feelings of paternal abandonment. Out of necessity, Ken has raised himself and borne the hardships of a poverty ridden environment, which is a reflection of his inner strength and resilience. Ken finds it difficult to forgive his father for not being there to raise him because he is convinced things would have been different with his father around. McLanahan and Sandefur (1994) have examined evidence on children raised in homes with only one biological parent and have concluded that such children are more likely to commit crimes. This appears to be borne out in Ken’s case. Ken has not only experienced pain due to the loss of a father, he may also have lost the social capital or the network of worldly, employment connections that a father is capable of furnishing. In addition, the absence of a father may have also directed Ken’s earlier development path towards the pull of the street, pressured by the need to gain a sense of self respect among the African American male community. The development in an individual is influenced by the setting in which it occurs (Brofenbenner, Moen and Garbarino, 1984). In impoverished neighborhoods, there is a dearth of economic, social and institutional resources, which increases the tendency to take to drugs and crime.(Aschenbrenner, 1975). Hence, from a development perspective, the social environment may have directed Ken’s progression into crime. He may have experienced the need to demonstrate his maleness through confidence and not reveal his inner insecurities, which revealed itself in his aggression towards his mother’s boyfriends, also earning him a gunshot wound. Since the mind, body and environment continually interact in several varied and complex ways, a person’s beliefs about himself, coupled with beliefs about the body and elements of the environment within which those beliefs originate and are sustained are helpful factors promoting recovery.(Saleebey, 1992). In Ken’s case, his recovery has been aided by his perception of himself. His long hair and fair skin, which set him apart from others in his community and functioned as an allure for women, aided his success in his job as a pimp and drug pusher and boosted his self confidence and the way he thinks about himself. As compared to other young African American men, his lighter skin, longer hair and his six foot build, coupled with his intelligence, have placed him on a higher footing than others of his own race, according to his own perception. Yet his membership in this particular racial group and his existence in the crime ridden circles of his own race have guided his choice of a career in crime, in order to gain the respect of his own community. The neighborhood of Jeffrey Manor in south eastern Chicago, where Ken’s father abandoned the family, was a fertile criminal breeding ground laden with guns and drugs. While urban poverty was not as high as in other areas, the neighborhood was still as risk due to single parent families. Ken could not fail to be influenced by this crime ridden environment, where fatherlessness and the lack of male authority and discipline was overtaken by groups of violence-prone young males. In order to thrive and function among them and gain their respect, Ken has been forced to adopt the life of a pimp and drug pusher, which made him as Mr. Cool in his neighborhood. Family influences have also affected Ken’s decision to take to crime. When Ken was a child and his parents took to drugs, they split up and his mother moved him to a shelter. This change in environment also brought about a corresponding change in Ken’s conduct; he stole cars as a way to fend for and finish raising himself because his parents were no longer capable of doing it for him. Ken’s development progression (Jarrett, 1998, p 8) towards conventional outcomes has therefore been irregular. Prison has altered Ken’s development progression into crime, because his intelligence has guided his choice to adopt a non criminal lifestyle to avoid going to prison again. Ken’s shock at discovering that he couldn’t make parole, impacted negatively upon his self image and his confidence, making him realize a life of crime doesn’t pay. The interaction of the body with the environment has produced the adaptive maneuvers (Gazzaniga, 1985), which have made Ken readjust his thinking about his own future and the realization that it is not possible to beat the system, live a criminal life and escape prison. Such responses originate in the brain, and since Ken is an intelligent person, he is able to foresee that a life of crime will only lead him down the self destructive path that other young man of his race have taken. Ken’s father’s abandonment has only made him all the more determined not to abandon his own son and to gain his child’s respect. All around him, he sees examples of black men who are lost to their families because they are in prison. The body has a wisdom of its own that can be tapped and used in transformation, regeneration and healing (Saleeby, 1992:112) and Ken appears to have tapped into this healing power to transform his own life. Ken still faces the challenges and pressures associated with being an African American male, since institutional racism has not disappeared. He is working as a pizza delivery man, a job not rated highly in his community which is also not very lucrative like crime was. He has to work the job and take care of his young two year old son at the same time. In addition, he has to deal with two growing adolescents, Jewell’s sons and serve as the male role model for all the other young teenage males in the family. There are other social pressures, such as the need to maintain his relationship Jewell and deal with his occasional fits of jealousy. His criminal record is likely to hinder his future prospects to secure a decent, high paying job. Ken is a notable example of an African American male who has chosen a path that not many of his community tread. While his earlier development was not oriented towards the street, circumstances forced him to look out for himself. This has made Ken a strong individual, who is able to think differently from the crowd because of his intelligence. His family background where he experienced the loss of his father has also influenced his attitude towards his own son, by making him determined to be around for Kevion. His ego and male pride has taken a beating after his stint in prison, but it has helped Ken realize that a stable future cannot be built on a criminal foundation. He is trying to provide the younger generation what he missed most while growing up – the presence of a father. References: * Aschenbrenner, J, 1975. “Lifelines: Black families in Chicago”, New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston. * Brofenbenner, U., Moen, P. and Garbarino, J, 1984. “Child, family and community”, IN Parke, R (edn), “Review of child development: The family”, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp 283-328 * Deparle, Jason, 2004. “Raising Kevion”, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/magazine/22WELFARE.html?ex=12509136 00&en=86167d0a717965ba&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland; * Jarrett, Robin, L, 1998. “African American children, families and neighborhoods: Qualitative contributions to understanding developmental pathways”, Applied Developmental Science, 2(1): 2-16 * Jewell, Sue K, 2003. “Survival of the African American Family”, Greenwood Publishing Group. * McLanahan, Sara and Sandefur, Gary, 1994. “Growing up with a single parent: what hurts, what helps”, Harvard University Press. * Saleeby, Dennis, 1992. “Biology’s challenge to social work: Embodying the person- in-environment perspective”, Social Work, 37(2): 112:119 Read More

Ken has not only experienced pain due to the loss of a father, he may also have lost the social capital or the network of worldly, employment connections that a father is capable of furnishing. In addition, the absence of a father may have also directed Ken’s earlier development path towards the pull of the street, pressured by the need to gain a sense of self respect among the African American male community. The development in an individual is influenced by the setting in which it occurs (Brofenbenner, Moen and Garbarino, 1984).

In impoverished neighborhoods, there is a dearth of economic, social and institutional resources, which increases the tendency to take to drugs and crime.(Aschenbrenner, 1975). Hence, from a development perspective, the social environment may have directed Ken’s progression into crime. He may have experienced the need to demonstrate his maleness through confidence and not reveal his inner insecurities, which revealed itself in his aggression towards his mother’s boyfriends, also earning him a gunshot wound.

Since the mind, body and environment continually interact in several varied and complex ways, a person’s beliefs about himself, coupled with beliefs about the body and elements of the environment within which those beliefs originate and are sustained are helpful factors promoting recovery.(Saleebey, 1992). In Ken’s case, his recovery has been aided by his perception of himself. His long hair and fair skin, which set him apart from others in his community and functioned as an allure for women, aided his success in his job as a pimp and drug pusher and boosted his self confidence and the way he thinks about himself.

As compared to other young African American men, his lighter skin, longer hair and his six foot build, coupled with his intelligence, have placed him on a higher footing than others of his own race, according to his own perception. Yet his membership in this particular racial group and his existence in the crime ridden circles of his own race have guided his choice of a career in crime, in order to gain the respect of his own community. The neighborhood of Jeffrey Manor in south eastern Chicago, where Ken’s father abandoned the family, was a fertile criminal breeding ground laden with guns and drugs.

While urban poverty was not as high as in other areas, the neighborhood was still as risk due to single parent families. Ken could not fail to be influenced by this crime ridden environment, where fatherlessness and the lack of male authority and discipline was overtaken by groups of violence-prone young males. In order to thrive and function among them and gain their respect, Ken has been forced to adopt the life of a pimp and drug pusher, which made him as Mr. Cool in his neighborhood. Family influences have also affected Ken’s decision to take to crime.

When Ken was a child and his parents took to drugs, they split up and his mother moved him to a shelter. This change in environment also brought about a corresponding change in Ken’s conduct; he stole cars as a way to fend for and finish raising himself because his parents were no longer capable of doing it for him. Ken’s development progression (Jarrett, 1998, p 8) towards conventional outcomes has therefore been irregular. Prison has altered Ken’s development progression into crime, because his intelligence has guided his choice to adopt a non criminal lifestyle to avoid going to prison again.

Ken’s shock at discovering that he couldn’t make parole, impacted negatively upon his self image and his confidence, making him realize a life of crime doesn’t pay. The interaction of the body with the environment has produced the adaptive maneuvers (Gazzaniga, 1985), which have made Ken readjust his thinking about his own future and the realization that it is not possible to beat the system, live a criminal life and escape prison. Such responses originate in the brain, and since Ken is an intelligent person, he is able to foresee that a life of crime will only lead him down the self destructive path that other young man of his race have taken.

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