SUMMARIZING (135-180)

  Carroll might seem like a tough guy, but when it comes to being in the dark he ain't as tough anymore. There was one incident when all the electricity in the East Coast had gone off and he was stuck on the train and he began to panic and feel as if he couldn't breathe. He felt as if the terrorist where trying to take a hit and that just made him even more nervous. He never pictured his death on a train with people he doesn't even know. However he did manage to get out and the streets where a mess. Everyone was breaking into all the stores and robbing people and the police where no where to be found.

  Carroll, in my opinion, is like a 14 year old boy trapped in a 24 year olds boy. He now seems to be interested in older women. For instance, there's this one lady about 40 years old and he uses her for sex and money. How can a 40 year old put herself with a 14 year old? Is she lonely?

Quote: "I am now in Riker's Island Juvenile Reformatory doing three months for possession of three bags of heroin and a syringe." (Carroll178)

Reflection: I hope he learns his lesson now and changes his life over. After being in the game fore about 3 years now and finally getting to do some time seems to be the best thing for Carroll. He didn't like being in there at all. He did n't even want to write in his diary. All he does is wake up, eat and then run into a broom closet so he wouldn't get himself into any trouble with anyone.

100-135

  Basketball is Carroll's life, well at least it was. His friends and him usually go get some downs and up's before the game. Lately there coach has noticed what's happened and told them if they didn't stop they would be playing. Knowing that they were the best playing they didn't care what coach said because for them to win a game they had to be on the court.
  Carroll's main focus seemed to be drugs. School wasn't his things but he still continued to go because he had no choice. His classes where based on the Catholic religion, which he didn't like. He hated The area that he lived in and all his so called "wack" classmates; All the girls seem to be up tight and din't care about what type of game he split to the and the boys were to soft and wasn't his type of people to chill with.

  Quote: "Do you think Christ would fight in the war?", "yep" she replied. "well did you ever read about Christ killing, or using a gun?"(Carroll100)

REFLECTION: I think the way he thinks about Christ and the beliefs that people have, which are way different than his. I never though about things his way until now. About the war thats going on in the world that not God creation that's man's creation; He wouldn't kill and shoot people so why agree with war and all the things that come with it.

Summary 50-100

Jim Carroll is not just any ordinary Irish 13 year old boy. He has been through it all; drugs(cocine,weed,meth,ect.), sex, and always out on the street getting drunk to the point where he doesn't even remember anything that happened the next day. Everytime when school is over he would go to hang with his friends and they would just sniff glue and get "wasted." At the age of thirteen roaming in the streets of New York.

There was a point in the story i thought that he was going to change, which was when his friend Bobby Sachs lost his life from a night that they all got drunk, but Bobby took a little too much more than everyone else and he began to puke so they decided to talk him outside for fresh air and he ran away from them and feel to the ground when they picked him up they realized that he wasn't moving or saying a word and a police man noticed them and came over to help and they found out that he was dead. Knowing that his friend past away Carroll didn't seem to be affected by the whole situation and kept at it with all the drugs and alcohol.

Quote: " I left dazed out in the street like I had just come out of a four hour movie I didn't understand" (Carroll68)

How come he didn't change? Knowing that this could happen to him he still kept with it, why? He didn't understand what took place at the funeral, looking at a 16 year old that look 40.
When do you reach that point and say when am I going to make a difference?

The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll

THE BASKETBALL DIARIES BY JIM CARROLL: "

                                                  SUMMARY PAGE 1-50

                Reading the first couple of entries in The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll things get very intense. From the basketball games, stealing clothes, to all the drugs (sniffing glue, trying heroin for the 1^st times, and marijuana). Just 13 and a half years old, Jim seemed to have been through more things than any normal teenager growing up in the streets of New York.

                One scene that stood out to me was when Jim was told to go to confession by his “Brother” and told the priest that he was forced and he never went to first communion either. The priest then began to yell and told the Brother that he should have never done that to Jim. I always thought that the priest would have reacted the way he did. Do all priest act like that? What was the reason of him acting in such a way?

Quote: “That thing is going to blow up into a gang war soon.”(Carroll 11)

                This section of the book talked about violence and how one boy beat up another boy and then revenge was taken place for the boy that was beaten up by his brother. Things just kept escalating into a bigger problem and that’s how it is living in environments’ such as Roxbury or Dorchester. If you were to touch someone’s family member they are going to come after you and then when you think about it, it’s like gangs going after each other and then someone ends up losing their life.