Ken Jackson Slum Analysis

On the surface, Ken Jackson and C.P. Ellis led remarkably similar lives. As Studs Terkel records their stories, it is noted that both are born into low-income families with alcoholic fathers, neither one cared for school, and both got into their own sorts of trouble, for Jackson gangs and prison, for Ellis the Klan. And both men end up in relatively similar places too, Jackson works with at-risk youth, Ellis with unions and workers, with the intention of bettering their communities and stopping the cycles of violence that directed their lives. Essentially, the both of them focus on their stories as a redemption narrative. They go from being nothing, to making themselves into something terrible, to remaking themselves as better men. However,
He’s unrepentant and unapologetic about this, and acknowledges that his environment greatly effected his growth. As a result of his environment, as well as boredom, a misplaced sense of heroism, and childish recklessness combined with later drug addiction, Jackson becomes a criminal. Terkel records Jackson saying “Everything was: try and get away from the morbid life, goin’ home fightin’ rats and cockroaches”(Terkel 220). His actions catch up to him, and Jackson is arrested. It’s then that his story changes, as Jackson says “While in jail, I made a conscious decision that I wasn’t gonna allow drugs to use me again. When I went away I was sixteen. When I came home I was just twenty”(221) Essentially, Jackson is redeeming himself for his actions. He did wrong, acknowledges his mistakes, works to not make them again. He is an ex-convict, but really that means that he already did his time and paid for his mistakes. He’s working to prevent other people like him from doing the same thing, “I was involed in a lot of civic stuff. When it finally came out that I was an ex-con, everybody didn’t know how to act. They had this maniac in their midst. Untill they found their kids were using drugs. Then they’d call me in the middle of the night to come over and do somethin’ with their
His life goes from bad to worse when his father dies, as he explains, “I was about seventeen years old and had a mother and a sister depending on somebody to make a livin’. It was just barely enough insurance to cover his burial. I had to quit school and go to work. I was about eight years old when I quit” (Terkel 201). Ellis’ decision to take the responsibility of the welfare of his family onto himself is admirable, but it quickly begins to weigh him down. Seeking a place in society and as a way to emulate his father, he joins the KKK. Ellis rises high in the Klan, finding admiration and respect for the first time in his life. In his description of that period of his life, he talks often about the pride and confidence the Klan gave him, but not the specifics of what he did. He does once mention an altercation with a young African American boy, explaining “I pulled my pistol out and put it right at his head. I said: “I’ve always wanted to kill a n- and I think I’ll make you the first one” I nearly scared the kid to death, and he struck off. (204). However, Ellis faces no consequences for these actions, nor does he express guilt in the retelling of them. Soon after, Ellis’ life changes just as Ken Jackson’ did, however it is not his actions that awaken him to the severity of his life but the attitudes of those around him. Ellis becomes involved with the local school board, and gradullay becomes a more accepting and openminded person. When