Tattoos On the Heart erin gottschalk

Preface & Introduction:

The theme of these chapters are hope. It explains exactly what Homeboy industries is all about. The best story in this chapter is when Sharkey told Father G. that he wanted the compliment he had given him tattooed on his heart. This is the main theme of the whole story. Father G. affected all the homies so much that they wanted to keep it around them forever. I really liked this chapter because i can relate to Sharkey when he said he wanted that compliment forever. Whenever someone gives me a compliment, it makes me happy and I wanna hold that happiness forever.

Chapter 1: God, I Guess

This chapter is mainly focused on all the people Father G. Had helped. The theme in this chapter is religion. It talks about how all the gangs at Homeboy Industries questioned their religion based on what they went through, but Father G. had helped them see passed that. The story that mainly stuck out to me was when Cesaer called G, at three in the morning just to ask if he was his son. I thought this was very moving because all Cesear wanted was reassurance to know that Father G really does love him.

Chapter 2: Dis-Grace

The theme in this chapter is shame. Father G. Talks about being a disgrace and then one of the homies shame, had met with Father G's shame. Father G. had saw Carmen walk in, and seen her immediately as an interruption when she really was just looking for help. Later Father G had talked about how bad he felt for thinking so badly about her, when he didn't even know her. I can relate to this because sometimes im quick to judge people and judge based on appearance. Sometimes i need to take a step back and remember that Father G. Had the same problem. He inspires me to not judge a book by its cover.

Chapter 3: Compassion

The theme i found was compassion. Because in the beginning Father G. teaches the homies to be compassionate towards other homies whose family members have died. He teaches them this to show respect even towards rival gangs. My favorite story was wehn looney tells G he got straight As and he comes back with two C's, two B's and one A. I thought it was funny when G said "close enough" and went on. He didn't lecture Looney, but told him it was okay.

Chapter 4: Water, Oil, Flame

The theme I found was new life. I found this because G was talking about all the homies who he has baptized. A big story in this chapter was when José was getting baptized which symbolizes new life. I felt the most sadness when Jason was gunned down and killed. I was sad when G said "I burried him a week later and baptized his daughter at his funeral mass." This made me remember how we need to love our family and friends everyday because you can lose anyone in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 5: Slow Work

The theme i found was slow work. I found this because any thing can change in a blink of an eye but things you want to change, you need to put in work. If you want something to change you need to put in the effort. The saddest story in this chapter was the story of Pedro. In the story Pedro was at rehab getting help and his brother had commited suicide while he was gone. During the story i felt many different emotions. Mainly angry and sad because Pedro was putting in the effort to help himself and he gets terrible news of the death of his brother.

Chapter 6: Jurisdiction

The theme in this chapter I found was timing meaning that overtime many of the rival gang members became friends. The title represents when Junior called Father G. His jurisdiction. This chapter was the saddest out of all of them. A story that stuck out to me was when a guy named Flacco got in a car accident at the clock store. His arm was ripped off and his leg was shattered into pieces. Later Gato a member from Flacos enemy gang told Father G. he was happy Flaco got hurt. When Gato said this, i was so shocked to see that even though they are rivals, that she would wish this upon anyone. Father G. then told Gato that what he said was wrong and he needs to be respectful. This is a story everyone can relate to because we all need to be more respectful, sympathetic and kind towards one another no matter who they are.

Chapter 7: Gladness

Chapter 7 theme is about joy. There is a lot of joy found when working at homeboy industries. During this chapter it shows all the homies that were fearful of the opportunities Father G. had given them. This is relatable to me because there's so many opportunities in life that We are all afraid of. These stories show me that even through the roughest times something good will come out of it. Father G is a role model to not only me but to many other people because he was so nice and open-minded towards all the homies and without him the homies wouldn't be where they are now. The story in this chapter is Spiders story. He doesn't eat his dinner unless his wife and kid have eaten before him. It shows how caring he is because he lets his family eat while may go hungry. It shows me to be more thankful for what i have and how much i have.

Chapter 8: Success

This chapter has little success stories, death is mainly talked about. I think the theme is faith. In this chapter father G. Is saying that success is measured on how much faith you have. My favorite story is about a woman them Soledad who has four kids. Two of her kids Ronnie and Angel are killed by gang members. She was very devastated but still had faith in the two children she had. One day Soledad was sent to the hospital. She was in the hospital and she sees a little boy being rushed into the hospital for being shot. This was the boy that took one of her kids lives. She prayed to God that this kid wouldn't die because she didn't want his mother to go through what she went through. This story is inspiring because although He took one of her kids lives, she still was praying for him. This is eye opening to me because it shows me how little selfishness she had. She inspires me to not blame people for their mistakes they make.

Chapter 9: Kinship

This chapter shows to be thankful for the things and people we have in our lives. A homie chico went up to Father G. and asked for a job. Father G. gave chico that opportunitY and he obeyed the rules and went to work everyday and was a dedicated worker. One night Chico was shot, and killed. Father G. Was very devastated and it shows that we cant take what we have for granted. Many times I've taking people for granted and have regretted it in the end. We have to take life one step at a time and be grateful for everything we have.

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