Theme Development "A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich" by Alice Childress

Prompt: Theme

A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich Alice Childress

Finished

      In the book A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich by Alice Childress, one of its main themes ,power of the mind vs. authority, is supported by the character’s actions. This theme means what someone thinks against the jurisdiction. In the book it says that the main character, Benjie, is taking heroin and that his family and school are trying to make him stop. Benjie's thoughts is that heroin can calm you down and that it is a good decision to take it. On the other hand the people who control him, his family and school, try to convince him that taking drugs is wrong. The theme is being supported by his actions because he is physically taking these drugs and decides to not obey what his family and school think. His actions are representing what his mind thinks. By him taking the drugs he is going against his family and school's beliefs. The message that the author is trying to get to the reader is that you should sometimes listen to other peoples opinions or ideas. If Benjie listened to his family, he probably wouldn't have gotten into drugs in the first place. That is one of the main points that the author is trying to teach the reader.

     Another reason that power of the mind vs. authority is one of the main themes in the book is that there is a man named Nigeria Greene, a teacher, who thinks that what is said in history is wrong. In the book it states, "When I discuss him, I don't go by what's in these history books or we'd be dealin in lies." This means that Nigeria thinks that some history is incorrect. What he thinks goes against what is supposed to be taught. He thinks in a different way, and makes sure that his students think the same. The reason why the author includes this is because she wants the readers to know that there are different points of views instead of just what everybody tells you.

     The theme is also supported by the setting in which the character lives in. The character lives in a rundown ghetto town, there is violence and drugs everywhere. In the book it says, "My block ain't no place to be a chile in peace. Somebody gonna cop your money and might nock you down cause you walkin with short bread and didn't even make it worth their while to stop and frisk you over." This quote is explaining that the neighborhood that Benjie grew up in is rough and not peaceful. It also says that being surrounded by drugs sort of influenced him to do the same. The combination of living in a place where you are afraid to go down your own street and that you are surrounded by drugs can cause a person to do bad things. The setting extremely supports the theme because it causes the main character to make many hard decisions.

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