The Baddest Dog in Harlem

Helene

1. Describe the environment in the short story with special focus on the relationship between the community and the police in Harlem. Use specific examples.

The environment is tense. The cops are not very respectful towards the community living in Harlem, as the police is mainly white working in a dominantly black area. For example, when the cops lead the narrator and Mary by the arm and pushes them forward not caring about their security. Another but very important point is the fact that they don’t seem to feel sorry/guilty for all their “accidently” shootings but just keep up their appearance. The community isn’t very comfortable with the cops and they’re somehow a bit afraid of the cops as well.

2. Comment on the language in the short story. How is it told and by whom? What characterizes the tone of voice and word usage of the narrator? Use specific examples.

Our narrator is possibly a young adult. In the dialogs it is seen that the community presented in the story uses a lot of slang. For example when the narrator describes the following:  “Them big-eyed kids…” (p. 4, l. 8), “Something was wrong big-time” (p. 6, l. 1).

The language is also written in a “fresh” way using “funny” terms

3. Select three quotes from the text that you believe are central to the story in terms of plot and/or themes. Explain the quotes – what do they mean? Is there any hidden meaning to them?

1. “Half the guys on the block dosen’t have jobs and so they’re always on the stoops or just standing around with nothing to do… (p. 3, l. 14)

Gives an explanation of Harlem and what kind of area it is.

2. “That dog look like a terrorist to me” (p. 5, l. 8)

An excuse for the accidentally killed dog, which proofs how “careless” the cops are about the community in Harlem.

3. “I wanted them to say how bad they felt about it and what shame it was the way life could slip away so easily in Harlem, in our community, on our street.” (p. 6, l. 31)

Want the cops to feel sorry about their actions. At the same time it says that people in their area dies without appreciation from the cops and their lives aren’t seen as valuable.