“Tattoos in the Heart” by George Boyle: Analysis Report

Summary

Tattoos in the Heart, a book by George Boyle, is mainly about kinship and redemption. It tells how Boyle has helped gang members change from violence and drug abuse to rehabilitation and reinvention. It has happened with the support of the surrounding community. He gives specific ordeals of characters that he has dealt with directly. Even though he could not control everything, it was a learning experience for him. The characters in this book are victims of gang memberships, jail terms, drug addiction, and loss. In the end, they work hard to change their ways under the guidance of Father George. By depicting the eventual failure of the people who were turned to the path of crime, Boyle emphasizes the importance of cooperation between an individual and the community.

Employment to the Gang Members

When people have employment, they barely engage in harmful activities. George Boyle emphasizes the significance of social support and the relevance of community collaboration in crime prevention (Boyle, 2011). Gang members should not be discriminated against and feared as they try to turn their lives around (Leverso & Hess, 2021). As the reading shows, Boyle takes the initiative to invite gang members to church mass. In reality, the gang members are what they are called due to a lack of income and employment. People fear gangs and find it hard to engage them in their business. However, it is recommended that a rapport should be built with them and jobs offered to them to better their lives. Mentorship programs should be started with disturbed people who engage in deadly groups.

Boyle created job opportunities to help them and show them how they were worthy of something good in life. Gang members thought that they did not deserve love. When they opened the Homeboy industries, they created a family that grew into depths due to the cooperation of these people: “You stand with the least likely to succeed until success is succeeded by something more valuable: kinship” (Boyle, 2011, p. 179). However, the community was not that cooperative; much of the gang is around people. when they have something to do to keep them busy, they will change their ways and start living everyday life.

Integration

The story implies that community members could have helped the main character avoid spiraling into a life of crime if they had not chosen to ostracize him instead. Although the fear of criminals and anyone who ostensibly has a connection to them is understandable, saving someone who is only considering stepping onto the slippery slope of crime is possible. Nonetheless, the community’s disdain for and fear of the gang members is evident; for instance, the following quote details the attitudes toward gang members in the community members: “There is no daylight separating us. No one has had more opportunities at gainful employment through Homeboy Industries than Droopy?” (Boyle, 2011, p. 7). The described sense of contempt is quite unfortunate since the narrator establishes that the lead character only chooses the life of crime with his newly found gang since the rest of society does not welcome him anymore. Moreover, the sentiment in the quote above encourages the reader to consider the problem of the lack of compassion toward people who are forced into a life of crime as their only solution to severe issues such as poverty and even death.

Indeed, the novel proves further that the absence of compassion toward people who are at the bottom of the social hierarchy represents the core factor defining one’s gradual yet inevitable downfall once any other means except committing a creation is left inaccessible. However, the described argument should not be mistaken for the idea of excusing nay horrible acts of crime that may have been committed due to the unfathomable extent of despair and inaccessibility of basic resources to the criminal. It is important to recognize crimes for what they are and prosecute their perpetrators accordingly, ensuring that justice prevails and that the law defines the relationships within a community. In fact, Boyle (2011) himself explains that the presence of social ostracism, contempt, and discrimination does not justify the choices made by the people turned to crime in any way: “I buried my first young person killed of gang violence” (Boyle, 2011, p. 2). Instead, the author argues that the specified analysis explains the lead character’s motivations and, therefore, incites a positive change within the community to prevent similar instances in the future.

Therefore, instead of encouraging the reader to excuse the action of the protagonist, Boyle encourages to understand them and learn what could be done to avoid the perpetuation of the tragic narrative. Specifically, the idea of maintaining communication even with those that have been tainted by suspicion, rumor, and prejudice is presented: ““Jesus says, ‘You are the light of the world.” I like even more what Jesus doesn’t say. He does not say, “One day, if you are more perfect and try really hard, you’ll be light.” He doesn’t say “If you play by the rules, cross your T’s and dot your I’s, then maybe you’ll become light.” No. He says, straight out, “You are light’” (108). By introducing a Biblical allegory, Boyle approaches the idea of promoting Christlikeness or, at the very least, one of its core components, namely, compassion and empathy, as the essential measure for saving those who are on the verge of entering the dark realm of crime.

Compassion

Compassion is the feeling of sympathy over the sufferings of other people. In this case, we can state that it is the feeling that holds people from hurting others or doing harm to them. Compassion prevents people from causing harm to others. It is putting oneself in someone else’s shoes and imagining what one would feel as a result of one’s actions (Boyle, 2011). God is compassionate and full of sympathy and empathy. This emotional involvement directs actions towards others. Compassion helps people to make room for each other in the community.

Betito’s life was taken away by one person who owned a deadly weapon. A bullet in his flesh was enough to put out the fire in little Betito. If only they had the tiniest bit of compassion. However, the gun did not pull its trigger itself. If the gang member behind it took some time to realize that he was just a twelve-year-old with a whole future before him, he would not have fired that gun (p. 57). The community or the gang members lacked empathy. If they did, Betito’s fate would not be that worse. If he considered what his family and friends of Betito would feel about his loss, he would not take his life away. However, Gregory realized that they were one of his, and he found himself unable to hate them. He asks, “Are they less worthy of compassion than Betito?” (p. 57). It is something that might make people hate him. Regardless, it is not wise to repay non-compassion with non-compassion. Compassion also leads to helping the needy, for example, giving shelter to the homeless.

Hope and Resilience

The delivery system of resilience is a community full of love representing the very deepness of God. Resilience is staying in hell and never losing hope. It could be rejected in a thousand job interviews and still not give up (Boyle, 2011). It is finding room for hope even in own predicament. It is facing a loss while hanging on a thread of baptism, hope, and a supportive adult willing to give all the attention. Teaching people recovering from loss, drugs, and street gangs about resilience and hope helps them cope until they get things into perspective. It promotes optimism and positivity, regardless of the situation (Boyle, 2011). So far, these people need support, not people who doubt and suspect their every move. It does not mean that those people are not good. It only means they need help maintaining that.

When George’s brother is shot to death on his way home, we expect George to handle the situation, which is more aggressive for a child who is still on probation. First, if the community had cooperated to help the gang members turn their lives around, there would not be frequent mass shootings taking innocent lives. However, George holds on to his GED and Gregory’s hope (p. 70). He handles the situation with positivity and sanctity. Even though people need to foster tenderness to others, they need that tenderness, too. People have wounds to heal. That would not be possible if they were surrounded by negativity.

Everyone is trying to discover their true self and reinvent themselves. Many are recovering from unpleasant pasts (Boyle, 2011). What is expected in all these is that the environment works against that progress. All a person needs are a little motivation to get to the end of the tunnel. Recovering from difficult phases or challenging situations and getting back in shape requires much effort, sacrifice, and determination (Boyle, 2011). It would change their perception of life. It is like growing a tree. For example, Elias could collect himself because father Greg helped him a lot. The best he could do in between the chaos is to change his life. Therefore, the community’s role is to give the gang members time and space to recover.

Time

It is important to realize that change requires substantial amounts of time. Reinvention, healing, and becoming someone as expected by the community take time. No one can wake up and decide to take a particular professional path. It is something that people grow into. A gang member might take years, weeks, or even months to choose a particular path. All they need is someone who sees the bigger picture to hold their hand. Luckily, gang members are good at something apart from violence and chaos (Boyle, 2011). Turning their lives around entails numerous outcomes, like finding an appropriate job, making healthy relationships, and building a family. All of the factors mentioned above serve as a motivation to work hard.

The community is free to create a space where people will grow from chaos to something positive. When Carlos realized his father was his stepdad, he and his friends joined a gang, which led to his excessive drinking. The community’s role here is to teach children that engaging in gang violence and drinking parties is the best way to deal with bad news. When his friend was killed, he left the task to revenge him, that is, to kill who killed him (p. 91). Society should have played a role in eliminating gang violence to reduce the killings (Boyle, 2011). Furthermore, they should have stated principles such as repaying evil with good, positively approaching grief, and not revenge.

It is sometimes necessary to open the gang member’s doors for them to experience a new door. Take what they consider valuable and turn it into a new kind of nobility (Leverso & Hess, 2021). Search for their moral code and attempt to replace it with one that does not include violence or harboring enemies (Leverso & Hess, 2021, p. 90). That is the community’s central role to people trying to turn their lives around. This book is organized into stories that feel like parables of faith. Greg speaks more to gang members whom he calls “Homies” about their conceptions of Christ.

By portraying the absence of collaboration between the community and the leading character, the author shows that the support of a community serves as a major factor in preventing one from turning to crime. Indeed, the book is rife with scenes in which the protagonist has to face the challenges of social ostracism. Therefore, the author portrays the tragedy of gang members being locked in a perpetual cycle of crime due to the lack of acceptance that he, unfortunately, exacerbates with his choices.

References

Boyle, G. (2011). Tattoos on the heart: The power of boundless compassion. Simon and Schuster.

Leverso, J., & Hess, C. (2021). From the hood to the home: Masculinity maturation of Chicago Street Gang members.Sociological Perspectives, 64(6), 1206-1223. Web.