Moral Struggles In All American Boys

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Moral and Physical: A Struggle for Control of America In America’s democracy, it is moral and physical power that are in a constant struggle for power and influence. In the novel, All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, it is consistently shown that it is the power of the police and the people that controls America today. This is perfectly demonstrated through what happened to Rashad Jennings, a black teenager in New York City, who is viciously assaulted by a white police officer after being accused of attempted theft. The officer, Paul Galluzo, is not even considered as having done something wrong until the people of New York stand up for Rashad and demand retribution for what Officer Galluzo did. It is this, a constant racial, physical, and moral struggle, that controls America’s democracy in the present. …show more content…
Whether it is in the novel or in the real world, America’s reality is repeated police brutality against minorities. In 2015 alone, more than one hundred unarmed black people were murdered by police. This is just one statistic that epitomizes how often the use of deadly force is used. In the novel, Rashad’s assault is justified by many as being acceptable since it was done while Galluzo was “on the job”. “[Paul] has to make tough decisions.” (p. 221) This indicates that what Officer Galluzo did is okay because part of his job is making tough decisions. Many Americans either share this ideology, or fear it, and that fear is what creates power over the American

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