The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, Book Revie Example

Abstract

“Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member” is a memoir that discusses Sanyika Shakur’s time in prison. Shakur entered the gang life at an early age and committed many violent crimes. Ultimately, he came to the realization that crime doesn’t pay and made a promise to himself to cease his affiliation with the Crips. Major themes of this book include the senselessness of violence, self-improvement, and the empowerment of minorities. A major advantage of this book is that Shakur convinces the audience that a life of crime is not worthwhile, which may serve as useful advice for other criminals. A disadvantage of this book is how Shakur explains his decision to quit his involvement in crime. This book demonstrates the success of the corrections system because this is what allowed Shakur to recognize that his actions were wrong. Furthermore, the book undermines our perception of criminals because it forces us to sympathize with Shakur even though he has done many terrible things. This book is a rare opportunity to enter the mind of a criminal and to track his rehabilitation.

“Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member” was written by Sanyika Shakur during his time in prison. Although Shakur committed many violent crimes throughout his life, his memoir is not an attempt to glorify a life of crime. Rather, it is meant to demonstrate that violence is meaningless. By telling his story, he hopes to convince others that violence is not the answer and that crime is not worth the punishment. Ultimately, Shakur wishes to prevent others from the pain and suffering that he himself endured.

Shakur begins the book by explaining how he came to be involved in crime life. As an initiated member of the Eight Tray Gangster Crips, he was forced to demonstrate his might and worth at an early age. His early crimes involved a shoot-off with a rival gang and beating innocent men. The police assigned Shakur the name “Monster” when he beat a man nearly to death. Shakur wore this name with pride for the rest of his days as a member of Eight Tray.

It appears that assigning Shakur this title encouraged him to become even tougher. He was constantly involved in violent conflict and had been shot on six separate occasions. Despite this extreme exposure to bloodshed, Shakur had never been caught by police until he attempted a robbery during his teenage years. He was convicted and sentenced to four years in a juvenile detention center.

During his time in prison, Shakur had an opportunity to reflect upon his crimes and recognize the evils of his ways. His revelation was in part due to his involvement with Muhammad, a Muslim church leader. Shakur’s newfound appreciation for god was in extreme contrast to his former life as a gang member, but was not enough to keep him away from the gang life. When he was released from prison, Shakur committed several more crimes that resulted in a second imprisonment. This time however, he recognized that it would benefit both him and his daughter if he were to leave gang life altogether. Shakur wrote his memoir so that others can recognize the pain and suffering associated with gang violence without having to experience this horror themselves.

The major theme of this book is that violence is senseless and it is better to strive to be a hardworking and good individual. Many people join gangs with the hope that this association will protect them and help them get the things they want, including money and respect. However, through Shakur’s negative experiences, the reader comes to the realization that money and respect is obtainable by other means. In the beginning of the book, Shakur was very similar to a majority of the people that enter gang life; they believe that joining a gang and demonstrating strength is a quick and easy way to success. However, Shakur takes care to shoot down this notion by explaining about all of the terrible things that happened to him throughout his young life due to his affiliation with the Eight Tray Gangster Crips.

A secondary theme of this book is self-improvement. Shakur demonstrates that the first step in improving oneself is to recognize that a problem exists. In the beginning of the book, Shakur turns to gang life in order to better himself. However, he does not recognize that his gang activity is doing more harm than good until the end. Shakur first recognizes that his life of crime is damaging when he meets Muhammad. His exploration of religion creates a conflict within himself that allows him to question his former actions. Even though Shakur returns to crime after being released from prison, the fact that he recognizes that there is a problem indicates that he is in a position to begin to change. The second time that Shakur returns to prison is very motivational for him. His experience with religion in addition to the deaths and pain he has both caused and experienced forces him to rethink his life. In doing so, he shows us that even the most corrupt individuals have the ability to improve. This is inspiring because the average person deals with less burden than Shakur did during his early life. Therefore, he shows us that if he can change, we can as well.

A third major theme of this book is the empowerment of minorities. A lot of minorities are thrust into gang violence early in their lives because they believe that it is necessary to ensure their protection and livelihood. However, Shakur’s experience indicates that this is not a worthwhile affiliation. Therefore, an important message that this book delivers is to value hard work and education. These two skills allow people to support themselves without the interference of those that wish to hurt them. For minorities to be truly empowered, it is essential for them to abandon the negative thoughts and expectations that others have of them and to pursue their dreams and goals regardless of what people think or say. In this matter, the ultimate victory is proving these people wrong.

The author’s argument against violence is particularly compelling after learning about the pain and suffering that he experiences personally as a consequence. Since it is difficult to imagine making the same decisions as Shakur did in his early childhood, his opinions on violence are particularly striking because he appears to be an expert in both dealing and receiving it. Therefore, at the end of the book, the audience feels that they should take Shakur’s advice because his experiences are both sad and relevant to the issue.

The book’s main weakness occurs when Shakur begins to explain how he decided to cease his involvement with the Eight Tray Gangster Crips. He first encounters a reason to change his life when he learns about Islam from Muhammad. While Shakur was inspired by religion and confused by the ideas of peace that it encourages, this was not enough for him to cease his gang affiliation. This may have contributed to Shakur’s eventual decision to quit gang life, but it was not sufficient at this moment. The lack of the ability for religion to significantly change Shakur’s life indicates that others in his position would be unlikely to change in this situation as well. While Shakur believes this moment was significant in his want an ability to change, this would likely not be the case for other individuals. It is incorrect of Shakur to instruct others to find god to help change themselves because doing so may or may not have contributed to Shakur’s improved state of mind. Shakur’s newfound religion certainly did not contribute to any immediate improvement.

Ultimately, “Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member” makes sense in the context of criminal justice. While Shakur explains that leaving gang life was a choice due to his personal revelations, a broader analysis demonstrates that he was able to successfully turn his life around due to the efficacy of the corrections system. Interestingly, Shakur made two major decisions to change his life around after his experience in the juvenile detention center and prison. Placing him in isolation allowed him to consider his past mistakes, which allowed him to recognize that his actions were wrong and that he should put an end to them.

This book provides an accurate description of offender/victim typology, although this personal account is valuable because it allows the reader to dig more deeply inside the head of the criminal than they would be able to in any court process or psychological evaluation. This memoir reflects the belief that many criminals do not fully recognize what they are doing is wrong and that it is necessary to provide them with this knowledge through the corrections process.

Furthermore, this book undermines the media presentations and public perception of criminals. When we watch news reports that summarize violent actions, we are typically disgusted by the individuals show. However, when reading “Monster”, we sympathize with Shakur throughout the story. Therefore, this book is useful to criminal justice professionals because it reminds us that we are dealing with human beings who have made mistakes in their lives. It is wrong of us to punish them for these mistakes. Rather, it is beneficial for us to provide them an opportunity to right the wrongs that they have done. Individuals like Shakur experienced a tough life from an early age, leading them to gang violence. While this is a poor decision, it was done because he lacked the necessary guidance to make a better choice. Therefore, efforts should be focused on guiding individuals in areas with high crime and their crimes should be responded to by rehabilitating, rather than punishing them.

References

Shakur S. (2004). Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member. New York, NY: Grove Press.