Bud Sells Drugs To Lulu And Carmen example essay topic

Written by: John Benton, containing 191 pages. Publisher: John Benton Books Box 94304218 So. Madison Pasadena, CA 91109 Copyright July 5th 1983 by John Benton Edition #: 1 Characters Major Carmen- The main character in the story, she is abused by her father and her mother is in denial. She later leaves home to find a life of drugs and prostitution.

Vinnie- Is Carmen's "old man" who protects her and becomes her pimp. He is very much into drugs like Carmen. Mom- Carmen's mother, scolds Carmen for making her father lash out at her, when Carmen tried to stop her father from beating her mother. Dad- Carmen's father, he abuses her in her early childhood and has an alcohol problem. Lulu- A girl that is a couple of years older than Carmen, she introduces Carmen to the world of drugs. Bud- Sells drugs to lulu and Carmen, Carmen has a crush on Bud in the beginning of the story.

Nancy- Introduced to Carmen through Lulu, Nancy is a prostitute and also becomes addicted to heroin. Gene- Nancy's boyfriend and pimp. Minor Hugh- Carmen's pimp, until he is caught and arrested. Bernie- Carmen's alternate pimp after Hugh is arrested. Floyd- friend that takes Carmen to the Bronx to find more work.

John Benton- Reverend that talks to Carmen about Teen Challenge, a program where women devote their lives to Christ and put their problems in his hands. Lil- An unfaithful member of CADA (Citizen's Against Drug Abuse) Ned- Leader of CADA. Fred and Jerry- more addicts that are friends of Carmen. Summary Carmen is a story about a girl who is only fourteen years old and she deals with moving to a new neighborhood and her abusive, alcoholic father. As she deals with her father's problems and her mother's denial she quickly falls into a life of drugs and despair, which will follow her throughout most of her life.

It all starts with Carmen and her family moving from Brooklyn to New Jersey they find a bigger house and buy lavish furniture that they cannot afford. Her dad has always been an alcoholic, but lately he has become aggressive and lashes out at Carmen and her mother. After he tries to strangle Carmen she tries to run away and finally succeeds on her second attempt. Carmen then lives with her friend Lulu for awhile and she becomes addicted to heroin. Carmen meets two people through Lulu: Nancy and Bud. Bud grows fond of Carmen and she decides to live with Bud who is a drug dealer, but after she repeatedly steals drugs from him, he kicks Carmen out.

Carmen who has no place to go, walks around the subway for hours and Nancy recognizes her and offers Carmen a place to stay by introducing her to Hugh and Gene, they are two men that protect her and they are known as pimps. Carmen turns to prostitution because it is the only way to pay for the drugs she uses. One day Hugh is caught and charged with operating a business illegally and Carmen becomes bored quickly and moves to the Bronx to find more work. Carmen then meets Vinnie, a man who enjoys her company and sometimes gives her money out of pity for her situation.

Vinnie starts to use heroin while Carmen is away and he too becomes addicted to the drug. Vinnie's personality changes and he is desperate for money and a way to get high, so he and Carmen plan to burglarize a home of a recently deceased person. They break into the house while the funeral takes place and as they attempt to leave, the police arrest both Carmen and Vinnie. They are put in jail and enter a drug abuse program. Carmen and Vinnie are released after ninety days and they both turn to drugs again. One day Carmen walks down an avenue and Nancy recognizes her and stops to talk.

Carmen is asked by Nancy to baby sit her son Tommy and she agrees to watch him for a little while so Nancy can run some errands. While Carmen watches Tommy she notices that he fell asleep and then he repeatedly would prop his head up and beat it against the crib. She asks Nancy if all babies do this and Nancy's face drops and she answers no, but all drug-addicted babies do. Carmen says her good-byes and afterwards she cannot stop thinking about Nancy and the baby, which causes her to think of her own family. In an alley she meets a reverend, John Benton from a program called Teen Challenge and he tries to give her information although she refuses and says she could not imagine quitting cold-turkey. Still thinking of her parents, Carmen gives her mom a call and arranges to come over for Christmas.

Things are awkward for everyone, she comes out tells her parents she has a drug problem and Carmen and her family try to work things out. Carmen talks to her mother about committing to a rehabilitation center and wants to go through with it until she finds she may never get out. Carmen is lied to and becomes upset that she does not know when she is allowed to leave the center, everything depends on her progress and she then receives permission to leave after seventeen months. Carmen's mother encourages her to get involved with a group called CADA.

(Citizens Against Drug Abuse) It does not last very long though, Carmen goes back to drugs and Ned, the leader of the organization cuts her hair that she admires so much, not letting her forget what she has done. So Carmen and Lil a woman that was in CADA, go to the Bronx to find drugs. Story Elements The rising action of the story occurs when Carmen leaves home as a teenager, because her family is dysfunctional. She then befriends many of the wrong people such as Lulu, a girl who's father left her family, which causes Lulu to be upset and she turns to drugs to solve her problems. Carmen runs into a friend named Bud and stays with him, but after he finds her stealing drugs from him, he immediately kicks Carmen out of his home. Carmen becomes addicted to heroin and has to become a prostitute to provide for her habit.

The climax of the story is when Carmen and Vinnie decide to burglarize a house of a deceased person, figuring that the house would be deserted. To their surprise though, someone had seen them break in and as they were trying to escape they were caught and sent to jail. Carmen goes to jail for ninety days and goes through a drug abuse program. The falling action is the result of Carmen's actions after jail, and meeting Vinnie again. Carmen became jealous and upset to find Vinnie high as soon as she came home. Carmen had no money and neither did Vinnie so she went to work the streets again and got in a fight with a girl named Lynn, who pulled a blade on Carmen.

Carmen turns to drugs again. The resolution in the story takes place when Carmen has an overdose of drugs and burns herself badly, she realizes she can't live the way that she has. Carmen keeps hearing all of these stories about Teen Challenge and decides that if all of these other people's lives have been changed by Christ, that she would give him a chance at hers. Character Relation I think that I can relate to Carmen because just like her and many people in their teenage years, sometimes we do not always agree with our parents or their rules.

Parents have been through so much because they have lived longer, but that does not always mean they are right in their judgement. Sometimes those that are still growing and learning need to do exactly that, to learn, to fall and then realize what was done wrong so they can try again until they make it right. Everyone needs the experience and sometimes parents do not understand that you cannot blindfold your kids forever, the best thing for them is understanding the lesson, otherwise they will not learn how to live for themselves. Then there are also those parents that are still learning too.

I also think that I can partially relate to Carmen in certain ways for instance, she has an abusive father, when he drinks alcohol he becomes violent and threatens her and her mother. Her father's drinking affected the family and put stress on both her mom and Carmen, they would try not to upset him and to stay away when he was drunk. I can relate to this because my dad has always had an alcohol problem and a temper. Although he has never become aggressive when he drank, his habit affects the family in ways I could never really explain.

It is disappointing to know that someone has to turn to alcohol or drugs to try to solve a problem. In reality, alcoholism and a life of drugs is not a solution, it is only temporary and it makes problems worse for those around you. Carmen should not have to go through that abuse as a child, but her father's alcohol problem is not an excuse for her becoming a drug addict. She made the decisions she did because she thought it would make her feel better. The only way you could feel good about yourself in that position would be if you became better than that around you, to rise above a bad situation. Let your hardships and problems you come across motivate you to try harder and work to find peace in yourself, because if you do not strive to accomplish for yourself you will never be happy.

Recommendation I would recommend this book to anyone, It has a harsh reality of what life is like for drug addicts, and what it was like for those that survived their problems. At first I found this book to be a little strong (relating to the content) but addictions exist, it's just that sometimes it seems that most people do not have knowledge about it, or others know of that life all too well. No matter the position, as a family member of an addict or the addict themselves everyone should be educated about this problem.