Down These Mean Streets

Summary: Piri, the main character, is a Puerto Rican kid. He is the eldest of his four brothers and sisters.  In the first chapter Piri has run away from home because his father yelled him and beat him. Piri feels as if his father doesn’t love him like he loves the other children. They live in a small, cold, cramped house. Piri’s father gets fired from his WPA job and the family has to move to a new apartment because Piri’s new baby brother died from a germ. They move out of their Puerto Rican neighborhood and into an Italian neighborhood. The kids on the block are prejudice towards Piri. They call him “nigger” or “spice.” Piri gets into a fight with one of the kids and they throw asphalt into his eyes. His father rushes him to the hospital and for the first time Piri feels as if his father loves him. After he gets out the hospital his father gets him the pair of roller skates he promises him while he was in the hospital. The kids on the block respect Piri now that he fought back and didn’t tell on them when they threw asphalt in his eyes. His father moves them out of the neighborhood even though the kids are cool with Piri; he thinks it still dangerous for Piri. They move to a spanish neighborhood. Piri knows that he will have to make a name for himself so he decides to fight a gang member to earn some respect. They fight and in the middle of the fight they stop and the gang member says Piri has earned his stripes. After his joining of the gang they get into a rumble with a rival gang. They were beating the other gang but they called for more people so Piri and his gang split. After that they move to Long Island. Poppa saved up enough money to put down a down payment on a house. Piri still went to Harlem parties, rumbles, and girls. After a while in Long Island Piri tells his mom he can’t stay there anymore. She lets him go back to Harlem even though he is still young. Piri moves back to Harlem by himself. He has no place to sleep so he is sleeping on the streets. He goes into a bar one night to stay warm and he meets a guy named Pane and his sister Lorry. They offer Piri drinks and they all get drunk. The bar is about to close and they notice Piri hesitating to leave. They offer him to stay with them. Piri stays with them and ends up having sex with Lorry. Piri is only sixteen and she is thirty-three. Piri soon gets a job and stays with Lorry and Pane. After he loses his job he decides that he can’t live with them anymore: it is side tracking him. Piri takes money out of out of Lorry’s pocketbook and ditches the house. Piri starts selling weed and starts smoking it as well. Piri meets a new girl named Dulcien and she and him hit it off from the start. Dulcien says it’s been awhile since a man has touched her. They have sex and he gets her pregnant. She moves to Puerto Rico. Piri moves back to Washington D.C. Piri sends Dulcien money. Piri was doing a drug dealing job and he shoots a cop gets shot after. When he wakes up he is on a gurney and they are rolling him. The cop that Piri shot is in critical condition. If he died then Piri would get the electric chair. The cop survived and they put Piri in jail. During his third year is family comes to visit him. His aunt brings her pastor to pray for him. Piri started learning about the bible and the word of the lord. When he gets out of jail he doesn’t sell drugs anymore and he changes his life around.

Quote:

“‘Son,’ Poppa called back, ‘you're un hombre.’ I felt proud as hell.” (41)

Reaction to Quote:

In the first quote Piri’s father shows him emotion and love towards him calling him a man. His father doesn’t really show any affection towards him because he is the oldest.