Character file: Uncle Henry

Henry Gardner, Chris’ Uncle, plays an important role in Chris’ early childhood. When Chris’ mother goes away for a second time he and his two brothers Willie and Archie are there to help Chris to overcome his sadness. He appears and also dies in the 3^rd chapter of the book.

Henry is a good-looking man with a lean physique and always well-dressed. He has an “athletic, tigerlike way of moving” (p. 68) and wears a hip goatee.

After his retirement from the military, where he was stationed abroad for some time, Henry works as a steel man.

Furthermore, he is single and very popular – he is “loved by the ladies” (p. 68). So he often throws little parties when he has to look after Chris and his cousins, because his brother Willie and his wife Ella Mae have gone out. In these evenings Chris often comes to Henry and they talk and hear music of Miles Davis, which is Henry’s passion.

Chris’ Uncle has taken Chris under his “wing of protection, love, and fun” (p. 67) and with every evening spent together their relation gets stronger and stronger. He becomes a kind of second father to Chris. Sometimes Henry and Chris do excursions like going to Mississippi River and he teaches Chris to swim. Henry Gardner has set himself the task of showing Chris the beautiful side of life and passing on his experience to Chris. Henry’s message is always the same: live large.

At the end of summer, when Chris is just nine years old, Henry has an accident and dies. He has gone out fishing from a small island, but his boat has drifted away from shore. He swam after the boat to bring it back. However the undercurren was to strong and he drowned.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” – Review

The novel “The Pursuit of Happyness” written by Chris Gardner is a true story about a man living the American dream. Chris is born into a poor family and has to go through many ups and downs until finally his dream fulfills and he becomes a successful stockbroker and a good father.

In the beginning, the author talks about his childhood and how this time affected his life. Of course this part is important for the story but in my opinion he could have described his childhood a little less detailed.  Also he sometimes switches from telling about him as a child to a later time of his life in order to show how an experience in his early life affected him later. That was interesting but often made it harder to focus on the main situation due to these time shifts. Nevertheless it was very interesting to learn something about Chris’ childhood.

With the time it becomes easier to read the book and it is impressive to see how Chris goes through many difficult situations in his life never giving up.

Chris often talks about his job and his professional career. From my point of view these parts are also very hard to understand for foreign speakers because the author uses a lot of specific vocabulary to describe his work first in the medical and later financial area.

All in all, it is a very encouraging book showing that it is worth pursuing one’s happiness because with hard work and a little luck you can reach your dreams and become happy in life. I enjoyed reading the book although the style and specific vocabulary were sometimes complicated.

Chapter Summary: “Roses in the Ghetto”

In chapter eleven, the first chapter of the third part of the book “The Pursuit of Happyness”, the situation of Chris and his son normalizes as they move into their new house and Chris’ career is doing well.

In the beginning of the chapter Chris and his son settle down into their new home after being homeless for a year. They start to clean and furnish the house and they get much help from friends and neighbors although little Christopher still is Chris’ best helper.

Even though things are better now, Chris still tries to save money wherever he can. That is why he sometimes stays longer at work and gets pizza for free that he shares with his son.

Furthermore, they start to have a daily routine. At 7am Chris drops Christopher off at daycare, then he goes to work and at 6pm he picks his son up again. Then they go to have some food and after that they watch TV in a shop called TV Joe. The nice prostitutes still hand Christopher a 5$ bill from time to time which Chris and his son use to have dinner.

Moreover, Christopher learns to go to the toilet and, although life is still rough, Chris forgets all his sorrows when Christopher calls him a good father.

At work Chris gets to know Gary Abraham, a top producer, who gives advice to Chris, shows him new ways and strategies for work and teaches him how to use his strengths to become a successful stockbroker.

Chris and his son start to do more things on weekends and get in touch with new people. One weekend they meet a family having a picknick and they are invited to join because they are taken for relatives. Chris does not deny it just to eat for free, but he has to drop his flirt with a pretty girl of the group because the family takes him for her cousin.

At the end of the chapter Chris is confident that the future will be brighter than his past.

Poor and rich

Since there is humanity, the margin exists[t] between rich and poor. There were always people who were faring better than others, and had the better opportunities. But this opposition[gap] is getting bigger and more dangerous. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

But how can the gap between rich and poor normalize again?

In America, this conflict is a normal part of reality. There are people who have five cars in front of their door, and others who are not even able to afford a metro ticket. That is just life. But for the Americans this reality should be an eyesore! [constr]Because the ideological foundation of this nation, which includes the individual advancement and happiness of every citizen (the so-called American Dream), is destroyed by this contrast.This foundation is the basis for a good society which should be rich in humanity, respect and charity! But this “odorless gas” (George Packer, journalist), which destroys the society should be combated to fulfill the norms and values of a good society.

“The income gap, which we have now destroys our democracy” (Bob Crandall, entrepreneur). These and other risks, which exist because of the growing inequality of poor and rich show the extent of the social development. The decisive trend is due to the seventies[??]. From there on, the salaries of top earners quadrupled[t] . Who was first up, got faster and faster, more and more!

Many rituals of american families, such as regular visits to a football game draw the contrast between rich and poor as well. For many people from poorer backgrounds, it is a great desire to visit so once a game, but there is not enough money for a card. In contrast, it is a normal ritual of the rich to visit such a game regularly ,without appreciating this visit especially. This situation is illustrated in the book “The Pursuit of Happyness” very good and the reader gets a feeling for the large differences that exist between rich and poor!

Experts blame for this growing inequality various factors[wo]: technical progress and change, which prefer people with better education[??]; unequal access to education and modern communication and globalization. These factors show that the man is not just free and the equal opportunities for men turns into an illusion.

But why the poorer people do not try to change this inequality ? Are not all people equal?

Some scientists believe that many people would do something about it, if they were aware of their magnitude![??] “Just as people have misconceptions about the distribution of wealth, they would probably also overestimate their actual chances to ascend in society!” (Professor Michael Norton and Dan Ariel)

Is the overestimation of the American Dream the reason for this misjudgment , or are these people just resigned to their fate?

The answer to this question is uncertain, but some scientists agree that the idea of  the American Dream is no longer convertible as long as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!

Character file: Ophelia

The following characterization is about the older sister of the author and protagonist Chris Gardner. Actually they are half siblings, because they have the same mother, Bettye Jean Gardner, but different fathers. And that is a fact that Chris is jealous of: Ophelia knows who her father is and he sometimes comes to visit her, in contrast to Chris. His name is Samuel Salter, he is married again and a teacher.

Her mother gives birth to her on the way to the city Milwaukee, where they live then and Bettye names Ophelia after her own mother. Besides Chris, Ophelia has two other half-siblings on the mother’s side: Sharon and Kim.

However, Ophelia and Chris have the strongest relation. Together they are like best friends and they overcome their difficult childhood in team. Ophelia is an Idol for Chris. She is courageous and she is the person who tells him that everything will be okay, when he is sad. Chris describes her as a strong-minded, good, smart and loving person who forgives soon.

Furthermore they have to grow up in a foster house or live with uncles and aunts or with their cousins. It is not bad at both places, they get to eat and the others are usually nice to them. The problem is that nobody can or wants to tell them why they do not live with their parents or where they even are. And at this time Ophelia is the only resource for explaining all unknown to Chris, so he believes her and accepts her explanations. When they get older, they find out that their mother has been in prison.

After Ophelia, her siblings and their mother are reunited, they have to live with Freddie Triplett, Kim’s real dad and the other children’s stepfather. In short Gardner describes him as an “illiterate, belligerent, abusive man who is always complete drunk” (P.:31). So the childhood of the kids does not get better. Now they often have to suffer from domestic violence.

In “The Pursuit of Happyness” Mr. Gardner writes that they are inseparable also because they need to cheer each other up in these hard times, but as he predicts it out Ophelia is sent away. She has to go in a detention home, a school for girls who have trouble to conform rules. Just short time before Chris has lost his uncle Henry, whom he has been very close. And now his big sister Ophelia has to leave him, a person he needs to look up to. He shows how important she is to him as he says that he does not know how to fill the hole which occurs in his life.

During the time in the detention home Ophelia becomes pregnant. Nobody knows how and when it has happened and they do not ask about it. So her baby De Shanna also has to grow up without a father and first in a foster house because Ophelia needs to get a job. Later, when Ophelia and her baby move, they often get visited by Chris and the two half-siblings still share concerns and some secrets. And some day she also helps her little brother to get a job.

Conclusion: Ophelia is a very nice girl who has the same difficult childhood as her half-brother Chris, for whom she is an idol and a sister to look up to.

Chapter Summary: “Where’s Momma?”

The third Chapter of the novel “The Pursuit of Happyness” centres around Chris who lives with his Aunt Ella Mae and his Uncle Willie, because his mother disappears for a second time.

When Chris is about eight years old, his mother Bettye goes away and he has to live at Uncle Willie’s house for three years without his sisters. Chris doesn’t know where she was gone and has the fear that she has died, but no one answers his questions about what happened to her. For the first time, Chris has problems to get used to his aunts strict code of conduct. He has to do the dishes and has to help his aunt with her domestic work [better: household chores] – Things he never had to do at home.  Chris often misses his sister Ophelia who has been sent to a detention home and remembers the nice time they had spend together: When they have gone to Lake Michigan to see a firework, Freddie has forgotten to pick them up. After waiting in the hope that he would still come, they have decided to walk home. The whole way they have told each other stories to cheer up themselves [wo].

At the time, Chris begins to feel lonely, his three Uncles Archie, Willie and Henry come into his life and each in their own way help him to come over his sadness. Uncle Archie teaches him about hard work and goal setting. Uncle Willie, who has a kind of battle fatigue, tells him fascinating stories of his adventures he allegedly has [wo] experienced. Christopher likes his stories, but he also knows that most of them cannot be true and has the fear that he will also get his Uncles mental illness. Uncle Henry is for Chris[wo] the most important person during these three years because he gives him the feeling to be someone special. With him Chris discovers his love to jazz music from Miles Davis and learns how to swim. Henry shows Chris the right path and how to live the life philosophy: live large and pursue your vision.

After having spent much time together Uncle Henry has a fatal accident. He has gone fishing and has drowned. Chris is shocked by this terrible news, but does not allow himself to cry. At Henry’s funeral Chris sees his mother again for the first time in a long while.  Chris cannot speak with Betty because some relatives do not let him go toward her. Next, he notices that a prison guard is standing beside her and he immediately knows that Freddie is responsible for her imprisonment. Shortly thereafter Chris decides to enjoy his childhood as much as he can until his mother comes back.

Just one day, two years later, he almost starts crying. Chris is at Baby’s house, where his two sisters stay. Baby is Freddie’s sister and knows how her brother treats him. That is why she is especially nice to Chris. One day, while Baby is cooking, Chris has to load the clothes in the dryer and goes down to the basement. There he smells the scent of his mother and does not know why. Unsure he calls his mother, but she is not there.

In this time the ten years old Chris Gardner does not know that Baby stores his mother’s clothes in the basement and that his mother will return in a few weeks.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” – Review

The novel “The Pursuit of Happyness”, written by Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe was published by Amistad in 2006. The author Chris Gardner narrates his own life story and tells how he became a successful stockbroker.

Chris was born to a poor family living in Milwaukee. He doesn’t know his real father and his abusive stepfather bothers him with that fact whenever he can. At the age of 18 Chris joins the Navy to break out of the misery and begins a medical training. After that he gets married and has a son named Christopher Gardner Jr.   Not much later his wife leaves him because of his financial problems. Chris and his son become homeless, but he does not give up and follows his dream of becoming a stockbroker. Everything turns better when he is hired by a stock company. Later he starts his own company and becomes very successful.

I like this book because it is exciting to read how Chris makes the apparently impossible possible and becomes a stockbroker despite his bad starting conditions. Sometimes the book is very amusing, but there are also lots of long and boring parts which do not add to the further course of the story. In my opinion the author describes his childhood a bit too detailed. He often shifts to far away from the main story and tells some short stories, that nobody wants to know.

The author’s language is mostly well understandable, even though he uses colloquial speech a lot. Just in the parts, where he talks about his work as a stockbroker,  the story is not easy to understand, because the reader has to know many specific vocabularies that you do not learn at school.

All in all “The Pursuit of Happyness” is a nice book with some ups and downs and almost always good to understand.

 

“The Pursuit of Happyness” – Review

The book “The Pursuit of Happyness” tells the story of Chris Gardner and his way from rags to riches.

The author deals with this subject in a pretty impressing way, he shows us all the bad sides of his life and does not leave out any details. The message of this novel is simple but life-changing. It shows everyone that you are the one in charge of your life and that you could get whatever you want if you really tried.

I liked reading this book,  this story of pure success fascinated me and although it is the narrative of Chris Gardner’s life, it was almost unbelievable for me. On the other hand, I have to say that parts of the book are not easy to comprehend and sometimes the amount of details and information can be tiresome.

Moreover both, writing style and the way the story is told, are sometimes making it difficult for a second-language speaker to follow the story line, due to the often use of common speech and some leaps of time.

Character file: Thomas Turner

Thomas Turner is Chris Gardner’s real father. He met his mother in Louisiana in 1953, but was a married man and has never had  a real relationship to Chris’ mother. Back in 1953 he was described as a “tall, dark, handsome stranger”.

He has been living his whole life in Louisiana working as a farmer and has a lot of children with different women, at least 3 daughters and 3 sons. His outside appearance is described as tall, black as night and strong; moreover he seems to be a proud, protective, and loving father who is happy to find his “lost” son.

Chris meets his real father when he is 27, an adult man and a father as well.

Character file: Belinda

Belinda is one of Christopher’s girlfriends during his youth. She is described as very beautiful due to her delicious lips, her black skin and her body which seems to be really perfect. She wears an Afro hairdo and she has a very nice smile.

Christopher adds that she is very smart which makes her that attractive. She cheers Christopher to read more books and to think about life and society.

They are having some sex adventures together and for Chris it is “doing the wild thing”.

Some weeks later, Belinda has a serious problem because one of her friends died, but Chris cannot handle the situation and so Belinda leaves him because Chris is not mature enough.