Peer Pressure can make people to do
extreme and dangerous things. Peers can pressure their friends into drinking
alcohol, doing drugs, and committing crimes. The theme in Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans is about peer pressure in the
speakers group of friends, and how it has led him to act materialistically in
wanting nice shoes, clothes, and gear, so he can be seen as “cool,” and not be
teased by his friends. These ideas lead
him to commit horrible acts of violence and crime.
The speaker’s actions are fueled by
his friends teasing him. They make him want to be perceived as “cool.” Whenever the speaker tries to explain why he
needs these nice things, he says: “My
crews laughin at me cuz I’m wearin old gear.” (Gaines, 21) This quote shows that the speaker’s
friends are pushing him over the edge and making him want the gear and clothes
more. Even when the speaker is talking
himself into killing another man for his shoes, his reasoning is: “but I can’t
have my posse laughin at me I’ll cop something dope just wait till you see.” (Gaines,
31-32) Without having money to buy things, he uses violence to get new shoes.
The speaker thinks that the only way
to be cool is to have new clothes. He believes that the way he looks is more
powerful and admirable than how he acts or behaves. The speaker tries to explain why he needs his
gear to maintain his image. He says: “it
ain’t about bein heard just bein seen.” (Gaines, 4); and “ the reason I have to
look real fly… I don’t know why… when I’m wearing fresh gear I don’t have to
hide.” (Gaines, 16) These quotes show that the speaker’s clothes boost his
self-confidence and he feels that they make him better than who he is inside. He
doesn’t need to be heard because he feels he isn’t that interesting. But when
he’s wearing clothes that people may be envious of he feels they’ll respect him
for it.
The Speaker wanted the nice clothes
so bad that, instead of saving up and earning the money for them, he commits
violent crimes. The speaker says:
“(I’ll)
check out my victims, hanging around… gots to get some new gear there’s no
other way.” (Gaines, 26 and 28) He sees violence as the only option, since the
security is so tight at the mall, preventing him from stealing clothes the way
he used to. So the speaker decides to
kill a man when he hears people comment about the man’s nice Air Jordans. After
he shoots him, the victim says something so shocking that the reader can truly
see how bad the situation is for the main character and the people in his neighborhood. “While he lay there dyin all he could say was
please… don’t take my Air Jordans away… you think he’d be worried about stayin
alive, (but when I) took off with the Jordans there were tears in his eyes.” (Gaines,
49-52) The victim is so obsessed with
his shoes that he acts like he cares more about the shoes than saving his own
life, and he doesn’t care if he survives.
Please
Don’t Take My Air Jordans connects to our society in a powerful way. These actions and feelings are still present
today. I know kids who have taken their
parents money out of their wallets so they could buy nice shoes at a
store. Crimes like the one in the text
are still common. Just this year a kid
was shot to death three times in the chest by another kid at the Bryant park
skating rink in New York, over the victims $600 jacket. The shooter misfired
and an innocent 14-year old bystander was shot in the back, and might never be
able to walk again. This issue is still present
today and the poem is a great example of the dangerous affects it has.
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