“The No-Daddy Blues”

The No-Daddy Blues

-Second chapter-

The second chapter “The No-Daddy Blues” from the novel “The Pursuit of Happyness” written by Christopher Gardner is about the author’s search of identity and the experience of the lack of a real father causing helplessness at young age.

He describes his familiar situation: His mother wants only the best for her children, but it seems that this makes Freddie, his stepfather, more and more aggressive. Freddie is always drunk, beats up his mother and treats Chris very bad. In this chapter Chris Gardner often calls his stepfather:”..motherfucker!” Chis feels helpless and cannot fight the situation, except: Freddie cannot read and write. So he has a tool to provoke Freddie with something he can but his stepfather cannot do, to strike back for all the injustice against himself. It is a mighty big weapon against humiliation to feel better. But sometimes young Chris also tries to make Freddie like him because he suffers missing the love of a father…again and again as always without success.
Sometimes Ophelia’s dad comes to visit the family. So some day he asks her dad if he could also be his dad, too. He agrees and gives him one more dollar pocket money, like he gives to Ophelia, his blood daughter. Again not a real father substitute, Chris Gardner feels like he is the only one without a father in his life.

Freddie does not stop to beat up his mom and the police does not show any interest to help. It seems to be so unfair. He feels helpless and there are repeating aspects of humiliation, racism and injustice.

Everything he has to experience, he wants to pay all back, he hates Freddie. He is sure, he never wants to ever turn out like this, instead he seeks to be a good daddy one day.

The short attempt of his family to move away from Freddie seems to be a new chance to win the battle against injustice and abuse and to win in the end.

Chris learns at very young age to become more independent, he earns some of his own money, for example with “junking”, which is helping to tear down households and sell the goods. He does the work with older teenagers to not having to ask his mother for money to spend.

But Chris is not only good, one day he was caught stealing. As a result the punishing of his mother stays in the back of his mind for a very long time to never do such thing again. It is injustice.
Over and over Chris fantasizes about Freddie being dissolved from his family’s life. But he realizes that even the thought is dangerous since Freddie’s upbringing in the country was full of hunting and gun-play. Freddie owns a weapon and this is a constant threat.

His continuous seek for his own identity makes him always curious where he is coming from. He is always searching for hints to his real father and looks for signs. But this does not turn the family situation to the better. Finally he develops fantasies to poison Freddie to solve the intolerable situation, but again he experiences failure and inability to change the situation.

Chris compares his mother’s reactions to Freddie’s out bursting aggressiveness often as being frozen. He observes her stillness defeating the storm as a defending weapon. So passively she is able to manipulate the situation to the better, a true lesson to Chris. So far he had to learn the fear of loosing life or a loved one or the fear of loosing everything. His mother shows him the way, with her stillness to sit out the situation. It may be helpless, but not hopeless to continue on.

-Eva-

Chapter 4 “Bitches Brew (side a)”

In chapter 4 Chris tells lots of new stories about himself. For example his trying to be cool, his experience with stealing and his new self-confidence as a black hippie.

In his new house Chris has to do a lot of things for his family. They still have not enough money. Already with ten years Chris starts a job as a gofer to support his family, although sometimes he really hates this job.

Moreover Ophelia, his sister, becomes a mother. Her baby is called De Shanna. De Shanna has to be still in the foster home and Chris’ task is that he has to pick her up to visit Ophelia and bring her back again. Chris feels for De Shanna because he knows her situation and says to himself that he does not want his kids to be treated like that (shuttling back and forth).

Chris is very tall; he is a head or more taller than his friends. That is why he considers it unfair to fight with them. One day he has an argue with his friend Norman. Norman had heard what happened in the supermarket where Freddie threatened Chris’ mum and beat her bloody. That is one of many reasons why he hates Freddie so much that he wants him to be dead. Norman once imitated Freddie and made Chris very angry. So Chris kicked Norman down. Since this moment nobody ever tried to provoke him again.

Chris wants to be cool and he wants to have an own personality. So he has an idea. Freddie’s sister has a glass eyeball. One day he steals the glass eyeball while she was sleeping to show it to his class. But it turns out to be a big disaster. Before he could show the eye, the sister of Freddie barged in his classroom with her angry and drunken face, screaming all the time and taking back her glass eye. The consequence was that Freddie bitches on Chris and Chris becomes the laughingstock of his school.

Freddie is still a big problem for Chris and his family. No matter what they do and how many times they moved away or escaped he always follows them.

At the age of 13 Chris has the idea to steal. He tries to shoplift a pair of pants but he gets caught. He did not like how the white cops shove him and laugh about him. Also he is very ashamed because of his mother’s disappointed expression.

Chris’s mother Bettye Jean is a very important person for Chris. She is a very good teacher to her kids because she tries to lead her kids in the right direction. She loves Bette Davis movies, poems and reading makes her happy.

In 1968 Chris discovers that the world is not black at all. He starts to see himself as a person of color. He starts to follow what is happening in the world around him. On one hand Martin Luther King, Mohammed Ali and James Brown support the self-confidence of every black person. On the other hand some white people still try to repress the blacks by killing four black girls or by killing the king. Nevertheless the black people do not give up.

He starts to read all the black history to be better educated. Also Chris loves music, especially Miles Davis. Moreover he develops interest in girls and sex.

At the end he says that he is very sad as Ophelia left the family because of Freddie. She is too afraid that one day Freddie will hurt her baby.

Review

Review

 

The book ”Pursuit of Happyness”, written by Chris Gardner in 1999 tells the life story of a simple, working-class man rising to be a millionaire.

On his way he manages his path through a terrible childhood, trough divorce, breaking relationships, careers and then even homeless life on the streets until he reaches financial success as a stockbroker.

 

During the hardest episode of his life he is able to continue to be a good, committed father to his son, always stays human.

 

Many stories the author tells are horrible but jet I feel some beauty in the way he describes situations. I feel happy and sad at the same time while reading and I am emotionally pulled in.

His story touches me.

Chris Gardner is always able to stay positive, see the good even at times when life seems hopeless.

His life story represents the American Dream, but I think he is even more a role model to all of us:

-Never give up

-Always believe in yourself

-Everything is possible to all times

 

I admire his strength that he always stays a good father to his child, for example during the time they have been homeless. I can learn from him always to try to do better.

 

I like the book very much and its message, jet I find the writing style hard to read.

The author uses many words and sentence-structures from spoken American- English, colloquial idioms.

Then he also often skips in time and place, the story takes place in the past, than continues somewhere else… back and forth.

 

So the reader is asked to puzzle and patchwork the story while reading.

I have to concentrate very much on the plot but jet it also is pulling me in. It is never boring to ”follow his footsteps”!

And sometimes it leaves me breathless that so many things happen all at once, doe to his style to write. This book is an inspiration, it is a request to make the best possible in your life and to live your dreams, not be afraid.

 

-Eva-

Chapter 5 “Bitches Brew (side b)”

The Chapter 5 “Bitches Brew (side b)” is about the last teenage years of Chris before he leaves his hometown to join the navy.

The chapter starts as Chris is thirteen years old and with Garvin´s, Sam´s and his theft in the ´Home and Garden Show´. There they do a food battle and steal music instruments because they want to sale them.
At home Chris conceals the stolen goods in his room.
The next afternoon, while he sweeps the stairs and dreams of a future as a music star, a group of strange people from the neighborhood go up to him and he offers them to buy the instruments.
But during the guys watch them, Chris gets a bad feeling.
As they notice that he wants to fetch Freddie´s weapon they begin to beat him and hold him tight to escape with the stolen stuff.
Chris is angry and later he will tell Garvin and Sam about the incident and will describe them the men.
Disappointed in himself he goes back to sweep the stairs.
After some minutes Mr. Hustler comes to him and explains him that he has brought Chris’ things back and together they go to judge the goods in his apartment.
There Mr. Hustler gives Chris money but for that Chris has to bear horrible moments: the man rapes him repeated.
While this time Chris is threaten with a knife and has fear that he must die.
Then Mr. Hustler comes to an end and he goes.
Chris is despairing because he cannot tell someone about what has happened and he will always keep the memories in his mind.
At least Chris has only one thought: he wants to kill the man who has that appeal to him.
In the next part Chris tells about Freddie´s family, which he really likes.
He makes plans to kill Freddie but his sister Baby warns him that Freddie will be faster. As both help her, to transport her refrigerator Chris misses a step on the stairs and the refrigerator fall down on Freddie.But he can evade and do not know that the accident has been deliberate.

The following part is about the relation between Freddie and Chris.
While they go fishing they are peaceful but at home Freddie is the same as before.
Ariane

A few nights later Chris sits with two friends in the car. While Big Ed smokes a joint a police car arrives. He hides the joint so they find nothing but one policeman smells it and wants to arrest the boys. Big Ed reminds them that they have nothing found so Chris and his friends just get a warning.
This situation increases Chris’ respect for Big Ed, because he admires his keeping cool.
Then Chris explains that he also likes to smoke weed, but he never wants to get too high because at home he has to handle with Freddie.
Someday he comes home, after smoking weed with some friends, Chris finds a goose in the basement. But it is not an effect of the joints. The goose should be the dinner for the Sunday night. Then Freddie gives Chris the decision: either he holds the goose while Chris chops its head or backwards. Actually Chris does not want to kill the goose but he is afraid that the drunken Freddie could chop his fingers. While he prepares himself to let the ax down to the goose, he realizes that this is the moment to kill Freddie, but he passes his chance. Later he realizes that killing Freddie would have ruined his life. But in this time Chris needs to transfer the anger toward Freddie so he waits in front of a tavern. When someone comes out Chris bears him down with a cinder block and walks away.

Nothing holds Chris in Milwaukee anymore. He wants to leave his hometown to make a million dollars. Also he knows the oversea stories of his uncles. How they have met women and have seen the world. And that is what Chris dreams about.
His early romantic relationships make him feel positive. Jeanetta, the sweetest and prettiest girl, is his first serious girlfriend and also after they break up, they make love. His second girlfriend is a preacher’s daughter who has mother and father. She is very reserved, quiet and proper so they break up before they get to serious. His next girlfriend Belinda is his soul mate. She is smart and broads his worldview and besides she has great body. At Christmas they want to go to the movies, so Chris gets ready. Actually he has the house to himself but suddenly his family comes back and the drunken Freddie shoos him out of his house. Chris is currently in the bathtub so he has to run naked on the street. Later he watches the movies with Belinda, but Freddie ruins his Christmas.
Then they break up because of timing and because Chris cannot help her to deal with a friend’s death.
The next girl he falls in love with calls Sherry Dyson but she is just with relatives in town. Even though she is four years older he describes her as brilliant, kind and that she has a sense of humor. But she goes back to Virginia so they write letters and have long calls. According to that Chris amasses a nine-hundred-dollar phone bill, which he has to pay with every cent of his teen years. To make it he works as a dishwasher. He does not like it there. But at his next job he is an orderly at the Heartside Nursing Home. There Chris does his work very well and he feels great to help people.

Finally Chris decides to leave his hometown and to join the navy. The Chapter ends with a short flashback of his first eighteen years: without a father he has only wanted to protect his mother, but he has failed because he has not got rid of Freddie. Now he wants to pursuit of the happiness.   
Lilly

Chapter 6 “The World Beyond”

Chapter six is about Chris Gardner’s time in the Navy in Orlando and his time with the Marine Corps in Camp Lejeune.

In the begging of the chapter when Chris decides to go to the Navy, he has the dream to go to a Navy department oversea but instead of going there he has just some options in the USA and decides to go to Orlando for boot camp.

In the boot camp Chris has a hard but a good time because he likes the authority and the clear guidelines that the camp gives to him but on the other side he is too motivated for the work and salutes for every officer. While this is unnecessary, Chris had to salute for some Squirrels to learn how to do it right.

After Chris passed the boot camp, he chooses to go to an “A” school because he sees the possibility to go oversea but comes to a U.S. Navy Hospital Corps School in Illinois which is close to his hometown Milwaukee. This makes Chris sad because he wanted to see the whole world and just made a U-Turn in the USA back to his hometown. At the last evening in the school Chris and his friend Boykin come back drunk and too late from drinking a beer; they get caught by the Shore Patrol and have to go the captain. Because Chris plays football and a football player is needed in CampLejeune, the captain sends him there.

Chris has a good time in CampLejeune while working with Commander Charlotte Gannon as a doctor. In this time of his life Chris learns much about the medical work. After a while he becomes favored because he does good work. He is just called doc and everybody wants Chris to take care of him.

While Chris works on the base he sees that the people do not make a difference between white and black men. When he leaves the base and talks with the people who are living there, Chris feels that there is still much racism and wants to help the people.

Furthermore Chris wants to have some adventures and goes on a trip to New York where he discovers many girls. That is why he and his friends decide to go AWOL twice, which means absence without leave. After he has to come back to the base, Commander Gannon saves Chris before the officers of discipline punishes him.

After that adventure, Chris wants to be a bit more independent. That is why he and one friend called Leon Webb rent a trailer to live in there. In the meantime Chris spends some time with an older woman who is unfortunately also having sex with Leon Spinks, a big boxer from the base. When Chris is with her once, Leon is very angry because he wants to be with the lady but Chris escapes of the dangerous situation. On the next date the lady ties him up on his bed and lets him just there naked until Leon releases him.

At the end of chapter 6, Chris works in the proctology, which he likes because that gives power to him. He discovers that everybody has a soft side when he has a problem in this area. In the proctology, Chris takes care of everybody and becomes a more and more independent worker. One funny story out of the proctology from Chris is that a colonel took some suppositories orally.

Finally when Chris meets Doctor Ellis, a medicine on the base, he gets a job offer from him in San   Francisco as a research-assistant and accepts it.

Epilogue “Blessed Beyond the Dreams of a Thousand Men”

The epilogue takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, in April 2004 and tells us the story of Chris’ second meeting with Nelson Mandela.

After accepting the invitation of the leadership of the Congress of South African Trade Unions to observe the 2004 elections, Chris travels to Johannesburg, a city he has a strong liking for, to be one of 200 helpers to monitor the count. As expected the majority of the South African people votes for the ANC, the party Nelson Mandela is a member of.

Before coming to South Africa, Chris moreover asked for a private meeting with Nelson Mandela, Chris’ second one. The first time he met the former president Mandela greeted him with the following words: “Welcome home, son”. In Chris’s opinion, 46 years of no-daddy blues were worth this moment.

Due to the 10th anniversary of the South African democracy, almost every country in the world has sent representatives to meet with Mandela and other important parts of the South African government. This is why Chris has to wait 27 days for his meeting. During this time he participates in the inaugurations of Thabo Mbeki (second president of S.A.), explores Johannesburg, Soweto and Cape Town, and learns more about poverty and the conditions humans have to live in in this country.

When Chris is finally meeting Mandela he is in a state of positive tension, he describes this event as “mythical, beyond the realm of anything that has happened to him before or since”. He speaks to Mandela about his idea of emerging markets around the world and the chance South Africa could be given by brining economic freedom to the country. Mandela is positive about his ideas and asks in which way he could help. Eventually a photograph of Mandela and Chris is taken.

Back to San Francisco, Chris talks about his definition of wealth: In his eyes the most important thing in his life is his family, his children and he is lucky that he has been able to raise them to outstanding young adults and that he can do a work that reflects his values. But money is the least important part of being wealthy.

On the last pages of this novel, Chris Gardner thanks the persons who helped, always believed in him and who gave him the power to walk his way, especially his mother.

 

Chapter 9 “Turned Out”

Chris works for Van Waters and Rogers. The sales manager Patrick ‘’pen guy’’ doesn’t like Chris and often humiliates him in front of customers.

Delivering samples to San Francisco General Hospital is the climax in Chris’s life. He meets Bob Russell who is a stockbroker and drives a red Ferrari in the hospital parking lot.

Bob gives Chris advice about how to become a stockbroker and earn 80,000$ a month.

Bobs average day is to sit in his office, make phone calls and write something down. His work ethic is to tell clients stories about companies and they send them money. Bob is self-motivates by setting his own goals. Chris decides he can be like Bob. Bob offers to introduce Chris to managers at different brokerage firm with training programs. While training Chris has to study for a license. Bob sets up interviews. Chris gets a lot of rejection and parking tickets. Racism and lack of connection to the stock market are the reasons he’s rejected.

Jackie doesn’t believe Chris is qualified enough to make it on Wall Street. However, Chris finally gets offered a training program at E.F. Hutton.

Patrick, the sales manager ‘’Pen Guy’’ fires Chris because he has not been expanding his sales territory. Then Chris has no money for two weeks.

When Chris arrives at E.F. Hutton for his first day, he finds out the man who had offered him the job has been sacked – there is no job for Chris.

Chris does more add jobs. There is tension at home. He places his hopes on a job at Dean Witter. Chris is depressed, he smokes weed and Jackie is angry and tells him to leave. He attacks Jacky and events spiral out of control. The police arrive and he is arrested as a wife beater.

Chris owes 1,200$ for parking tickets. He goes to jail for 10 days for this, not for beating Jacky. He’s put in isolation for arguing. A Latino guard lets him mage a phone call to reschedule his interview for the day he is released

Chris’s relationship with Jackie is over. He returns home to find Jackie has taken everything and his son. After this he is homeless.

Marie & Anna Z.

Chapter 10 “California Dreamin'”

The tenth chapter is about Chris`s attempt to pursue his dreams and his difficult start as a stockbroker. It takes place in the Bay Area in California in the year 1982.

Chris has been looking forward to meeting Mr. Albanese who works at Dean Witter`s. Having been in jail, he is absolutely underdressed. Chris tells Mr. Albanese his story about Jackie taking his child and leaving him. Against his expectations, Chris becomes a trainee at the stockbroker`s. But he has still nowhere to go nor has he got enough money to rent an apartment. Chris spends his time working, studying for the exam and searching for his child.

Eventually, he sleeps under his desk due to his homelessness. Chris can manage this rough era because he has got a clear goal – to become stockbroker and to make a million dollars. Furthermore, Chris`s old girlfriend Jackie starts calling him. He wants desperately speaking with his son, which Jackie refuses. These calls are very upsetting and depressing for Chris.

Finally, he passes the exam, which makes Chris feeling superior. Chris starts working like crazy. He makes connections, some are successfully made. But this does still not increase his income. Another problem is his blackness. He is sure that people do not trust a black salesman. That is why he does not invite customers to the office.

One day in 1982, Jackie brings his son back. Chris is happy about this but also gets new problems. Where to go with his son? He looks for day care for Christopher Jr., which Chris can barely afford. By the way, while looking for day care, he regards a sign that reads HAPPYNESS, which upsets him and where the fault in the book`s title comes from.

Christopher`s crying hurts his dad so that Chris feels bad leaving his son in day care. Chris`s motivation is to have a life full of happiness. Moreover, he really loves his son that is why they spend much time together looking for free entertainment in public parks. In addition to that, Chris tries different things to earn extra money such as declaring the tobacco machine not to work to get a refund.

Chris meets Reverend Cecil Williams and his activists who give housing and something to eat to homeless people. The Reverend gives Chris also new hope and the certainty to continue on. They become friends. Eventually, when Chris comes too late to get housing and has not enough money to rent a room in a hotel, he and his son sleep in a BART station restroom. This is the worst part of his homelessness.

Having made some money with the time, Chris is looking for an apartment to stay. Since the apartments are expensive and he is a dad with a toddler, which people find strange, it is difficult to find a appreciate housing. In the end, there is Mr. Jackson who rent them a nice apartment.

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.

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.