Pull

Pull

In the story Pull written by B.A. Binns a senior high school student named David took the role as the breadwinner of the house. This was because his father who had separated his mother apparently came back to their residence pleading for shelter. His mom said yes. Unfortunately during the night the divorced couple had an argument. The result of the dispute was David’s dad shot and killed his mom.

            The department of child family services came to put David and his two sisters in a house. A family member wanted David’s sister, Linda in Jamaica. Another family member would receive David in Wisconsin. Fortunately David’s aunt accepted all three children in her home. The family didn’t have to split apart. To support the family David received a job as a construction worker. Linda spends her time playing the same Playstation game. David’s other sister, Barney, attended the same school as David. This was just the beginning of David’s worries.

            Barney was an innocent freshman. David noticed that she was being a bad influence. He decided that they were going to protect her. He took the initiative that they were going to pretend that both of them are going out. This relationship was believable because David converted his surname from his father’s last name to his mother’s legally. David considered that Barney’s friend, Yolanda, and her boyfriend, Malik, would be a bad influence. Yolanda had a false reputation of being a clothing thief. Her boyfriend, Malik, was actually the bad influence for David.

            Malik was a showoff because he had wealth, appearance and athletic ability. The only problem was that he didn’t treat females with respect. One time David saw Malik disrespecting Yolanda. David decided to fight him twice. The second fight occurred in a different occasion. He received consequences for it. He had the option of being kicked out or joins the basketball team and has consultations with a psychologist. He chooses the second option. Later on David lost his job. After these atrocities David’s life started changing.

            At the end of the story David had accomplished many goals. David started dating Yolanda because he finally learned the truth. Malik wasn’t bothering David or Barney anymore. Barney was now hanging out with people who gave her a bad influence. Everything was going well until another tragic event occurred.

            David’s aunt had a stroke. The department of child family services came again to split the family apart. David decided to quit school and work at a job he was offered in Ohio. Barney, Linda, their aunt and another family member moved to a house that David paid for. Yolanda promised that she would wait for him until he came back. In Ohio David wanted to live his desired career as a construction worker.

            Every person in the world has something in common. Everyone has possessions. These possessions can sometimes not be visible. An example of this would be friendships. Friendships are just an idea and not an object. In the story that I’ve just read David happened to loose many possessions. This made me come through a realization. I haven’t realized how important my possessions are that I take them for granted.

            Everyone has at least a mother at birth. The family would most likely shape the child to act similar to their family. In the life of David Albacore he lost this possession. His mother was murdered. His father is paying his sentence in prison. This means that he is the head of the house. He has to be the parent and child at the same time. For instance there’s no one to tell him what is wrong or right. He also has to make these decisions for their siblings. The majority of children are fortunate because if a child does do something their parents will take their responsibilities, but they will also teach them what they were supposed to do. This normally occurs for when a child goes to the juvenile detention center. The parents bail the child out and also make them learn their lesson. The worst part of David’s disruption is the mandatory encounter with the Department of Child Family Services. When this occurs the government becomes the family figure. As the parental figure they start making decisions for the child’s future. In the story the family was about to split up. This is upsetting because Barney would have to live with strangers because she wouldn’t have known the parents or other children. I’ve learned that being part of a family isn’t permanent and it’s better to enjoy it.

            After reading this book I started valuing education as a purpose and not an obligation. In the story David had struggles at school that I had never or will probably never encounter.  For instance David worried that Barney would get abused verbally or physically by other students. Throughout my whole educational life I have never seen this happen to me or someone else. I think this is because teachers in these schools aren’t there to just receive a pay check, but they’re also there to protect the students. The students have also learned to respect others because it’s better to tolerate than to discriminate.   

            Seven months before graduating David was forced to drop out. This was when I realized that I had to be grateful for my education. David had to drop out to support his family and himself. Having an education is a life long possession. Not everyone has the ability of getting an education. David can’t get a diploma. By not having a diploma many opportunities are lost. For instance David will not have the possibility of going to college. College is the pathway of becoming a professional. By being a professional the person has the ability of getting an occupation with a well paid salary. These great salaries gives people the ability of sustaining a family and not have any worries that deals with money. This was an unfortunate decision for David to make because he was going to get a scholarship because he’s a talented basketball player. This meant that David turned down free education. David was going to pursue his career dream as a construction worker. David is young, but he didn’t realize that construction was the only occupation that he can get. If for some reason he gets fired he will have to be willing and work at a place for minimum wage. Receiving an education is a right. When someone doesn’t take the opportunity they will most likely regret it in the future.

            The story Pull made me realize how possessions are vital and shouldn’t be taken for granted. The story also had many other messages. For instance the topics that stuck out were responsibility, determination, judging people and being decisive. This book was published in the year 2010. This means that the story is actually relevant to the teenage society today. The struggles that teenagers suffer during the 1900’s are different than the struggles of a teenager today. This is why students should read books like this one to confront their problems.