Scorpions

Scorpions. ISBN0-06-440623-7. Walter Dean Myers, 1988. Newbery Honor. Age 12-18. African American, Hispanic - working class.

Twelve Year old Jamal can't seem to escape the pressures of life. His mother sometimes works late hours, leaving him mostly responsible for his sister Sassy. The kids at school are constantly picking on him, the teachers and administration of his school don't think he will amount to anything and to top it all off his brother Randy has just been sent to prison for murder.
Mack, one of the antagonists of this story, successfully attempts to get Jamal and his best friend Tito involved in the gang life after Randy is put in jail. Because Jamal can't seem to find a place where he can truly fit it in, this lifestyle looks appealing to him on the surface. Jamal sees his gang initiation and the possession of a gun as power. Tito, Jamal's wise and overprotective friend, follows Jamal relentlessly in an effort to keep an eye on him.
In the end being in the gang isn't all it's cracked up to be. The gun makes things go from bad to worse for Jamal and Tito. When a gang fight ultimately leads to another murder both Jamal and Tito realize how strong their bond is to one and other. Although the boys lose each other in the present the ending keeps the reader hopeful that they will have brighter futures because of their mistakes - and perhaps they will find each other once again.

This book is multifaceted and could stimulate many different discussions.
1. Children can talk about gangs in their communities (if applicable) and the pressures to join these gangs
2. The strength and weakness of familial bonds.
3. Children feeling the need to take over the parental role.
4. The affects of bullying on victims (Jamal as Dwayne's victim and what this leads Jamal to do).
5. The strength of friendships - what one would and would not do for a friend.
6. Peer pressure
7. The possession of weapons in school and in general, and the harm it can cause.


In chapter seven the students watch a movie in science class about water pollution. Myers writes, "One part showed birds covered with oil on a beach. The oil was so thick that the birds couldn't fly." (p. 68) The birds symbolize Jamal, and the oil all his faults, all the people he believes he will disappoint, and all the people that have the potential to hold him back. These intense characters fuel this story.
Jamal, an intelligent undervalued youth, seen as a failure by almost all the adults who know him, is surrounded by a tug o' war of characters constantly pulling him in opposite directions. Momma is an emotional wreck that means well, but is too preoccupied trying to earn a steady income and get her oldest son out of jail, to notice her youngest son is in trouble and her daughter Sassy (appropriately named) is "fresh" beyond her years. Randy, Jamal's imprisoned brother, has left Jamal with the burden of his influence. Mr. Davidson, Jamal's prejudiced principal, creates for Jamal a sort of self fulfilling prophecy - he expects Jamal to fail and projects this negativity onto Jamal. Mr. Davidson has no faith in Jamal, making it easy for Jamal to have no faith in himself. Dwayne, the bully, disempowers Jamal with his constant teasing and threatening, causing Jamal to resort to what he thinks is his only way of regaining power - using a gun as a means of intimidation. Tito, Jamal's best friend, has a much better sense of right and wrong than Jamal, but still displays childlike thinking. In chapter 7 when Jamal convinces Tito to join the gang, Tito thinks that they have the power to convince the gang to do some good. While this displays his naivety, it also displays his compassion. He would do anything for Jamal and this has the potential to get him into trouble. Lastly, the Cheshire Cat of the gang world, Mack, is always speaking in rhymes and empty rhetoric. Whether on purpose or because he is high, his words have the power to trick Jamal into thinking that being in the gang will help him and his family.
While the plot is engaging, it never seems as if Jamal has truly learned how to solve his problem. He joins the Scorpions in the first place as a means of getting money to bail Randy out of jail. While he knows what he is doing is wrong, he continues to hold onto the gun he is in possession of. Myers uses this gun as the sort of epicenter of all Jamal's problems. For Jamal the gun symbolizes power. Without it he is powerless. It is only when Angel is killed that Jamal hesitantly disposes of the gun, having second thoughts about it as he walks home. It is Tito that learns more than Jamal. It is almost as if Tito is Jamal's conscience. He is constantly trying to talk Jamal out of his bad ideas, yet follows along when Jamal makes the wrong decision. He sacrifices a lot for Jamal by listening to him, but in the end Tito breaks away and does what is right even though it costs him his friendship with Jamal and his home in America. When the two friends last meet Tito rushes to Jamal, hugs him and kisses him on the face. He is grateful for Jamal's friendship because he has learned a lot from his mistakes.
Jamal and Tito's differences are brought to light in the end. While Tito confessed to what he had done in order to move on with his life, Jamal chose to live with the guilt. Myers writes, "He had wanted to say something about the gun, about not throwing it away when Tito had said they should. But he hadn't been able to bring the words to his mouth. They had lain in the bottom of his stomach like rocks weighing down his whole life" (213).