A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwichby
Benjie is 13 years old. He lives in a building with
ugly hallways and dangerous people. His relationships
are all sources of stress ("nerves"): His friend lectures
him; his mom interrogates him; his grandmother
bangs dishes in discontent with him; his stepfather
"jives" him with a lot of "pie-in-the-sky" optimism;
his teacher gives "jive-ass" speeches; the social-
workers "generalize" about him. This stress fuels Benjie's
drug-use (self-medication) of his "nerves" with heroin.
Benjie's heroin use (and stealing to support his habit), in
turn, inflicts stress upon his family, friends, etc. And round
and round goes the Stress Wheel...
This novel is a short, but insightful, portrait of addiction.
Though Benjie is only 13, his depression in his environment,
rationalizations for using, the difficulty of "kicking" the
habit are all sharply described. As is Benjie's loneliness:
I wish I had me one friend, one who dig me the most and don't
put anybody else ahead of me. Guess I'm in this sad world all by
myself. Nobody care, why should they if your own daddy run off?
...So I'm laying here learnin' how to expeck nothin.(page 74)
Nearly half a century has passed since this book was
published. And yet, in this age of the Opiate Crisis,
Childress' book is just as sharp and insightful as it
was in 1973.
ugly hallways and dangerous people. His relationships
are all sources of stress ("nerves"): His friend lectures
him; his mom interrogates him; his grandmother
bangs dishes in discontent with him; his stepfather
"jives" him with a lot of "pie-in-the-sky" optimism;
his teacher gives "jive-ass" speeches; the social-
workers "generalize" about him. This stress fuels Benjie's
drug-use (self-medication) of his "nerves" with heroin.
Benjie's heroin use (and stealing to support his habit), in
turn, inflicts stress upon his family, friends, etc. And round
and round goes the Stress Wheel...
This novel is a short, but insightful, portrait of addiction.
Though Benjie is only 13, his depression in his environment,
rationalizations for using, the difficulty of "kicking" the
habit are all sharply described. As is Benjie's loneliness:
I wish I had me one friend, one who dig me the most and don't
put anybody else ahead of me. Guess I'm in this sad world all by
myself. Nobody care, why should they if your own daddy run off?
...So I'm laying here learnin' how to expeck nothin.(page 74)
Nearly half a century has passed since this book was
published. And yet, in this age of the Opiate Crisis,
Childress' book is just as sharp and insightful as it
was in 1973.
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