Same Kind Of Different As Me Analysis

Running head: SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME: DENVER 1

Same kind of different as me: Denver

The assigned book Same Kind of Different as Me by authors Ron Hall and Denver Moore was a delightfully captivating and inspiring book. It will bring the most hardened individual to tears. The purpose of this assignment was to apply a theory that explains the behavior and impact that diversity had on the major character. This will be achieved by analyzing the chosen character within the person-in-environment/ecological framework. According to Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, there are eight psychological stages of human development. “They are patterned sequences of stages encompassing appropriate physical, emotional, and cognitive tasks that
the individual must master in the struggle to adjust to the demands of the social environment” (Okun, 1984, p.16). “A fundamental issue underlying this sequence of changes is how individuals define their sense of identity” (Ashford & LeCroy, 2010, p.90). Denver Hall, the main character, grew up a slave in Red River Parish, Louisiana. His fraternal grandparents initially raised him because his mother was unable to properly take care of him and his brother. There he was loved, disciplined, and introduced to religion. For years this was the most stable family structure he had known.
After the heart wrenching death of his grandmother, Denver was tossed around from place to place. Each move was coupled with life lessons, loss or some type of disappointment. He lived with his father, until his untimely death. From school age to adolescence, he lived with his aunt and uncle. Denver didn’t really have any friends at other than his brother. Soon he made friends with Bobby, the plantation owner’s son. They became really close. They played games, built things, and went on adventures together. Bobby even worked in the fields with Denver to help him earn money for a bike.
This new friendship corresponds with Erikson’s theory from School Age to Adolescence. During this time, Denver tries to develop a sense of self-worth. This is also a very social stage. If we experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, we can have serious problems in terms of competence and self-esteem (Ashford & LeCroy, 2010, p.91). Erikson thought development mostly depends upon what is done to us. From here on out, development depends primarily upon what we do. Adolescence is a stage at which we are neither a child nor an adult. It is evident that life is certainly getting more complex. We attempt to find our own identity, struggle with social interactions, and wrestle with moral issues.
Denver’s uncle passed a few years later. He and his brother were sent to different plantations. He found his sister. He lived with her until her husband died. He longed for the friendship he shared with Bobby. He worked the land for years. He never went to school. To add insult to injury, he was illiterate. Before he knew it he was almost thirty years old and felt like he was lower than dirt.
All I knowed was my life: For nearly thirty years, I sweated in the Louisiana sun, fighting off snakes, working the earth till harvest, and picking cotton one boll at a time till my hands was raw, growing my own food, chopping wood all winter long to keep from freezing to death, starting all over in the spring.
That ain’t no bad life if your labor is for your own land. But it wadn’t. And I don’t guess that kinda life would be bad if it was somebody else’s land, and you was getting paid. But it wadn’t. Most folks these days don’t know what it’s like to be that poor. Me and the other folks on the plantation was down so low we didn’t own nothin ‘cept the tin can that hung on britches so we could get us a drink. (Hall & Moore, 2006,
p.63) During the 1960’s, Denver became complacent. He began to reflect on his life and his circumstances. “All them years I worked for them plantations, the Man didn’t tell me there was colored schools I coulda gone to, or that I coulda learned a trade” (Hall & Moore, 2006, p.64). He felt cheated because he was not aware of all the opportunities that were available to him. “He didn’t tell me I coulda joined the army and worked my way up, earned some money of my own and some respect” (Hall & Moore, 2006, p.64). He felt he might have had a chance at a better life if he was afforded an opportunity. He heard his brother was in California making money. So, Denver hopped a train, with the help of a hobo, and headed west. He traveled from Dallas to Los Angeles. “I tried to find work out there, odd jobs, that kinda thing, but I learned purty quick there wadn’t much call for cotton farmers in the city” (Hall & Moore, 2006, p.70). Ultimately, he returned to Fort Worth. “Only reason I made it out was ‘ cause Fort Worth was what the rail tramps call “hobo heaven” (Hall & Moore, 2006, p.70). Christian missions there were providing food and shelter for the homeless and disadvantaged. Denver frequented the mission but managed to stay under the radar for a while. Then, he met Deborah. “She smiled at me real big and asked me my name and how I was doing—you know attacking me for no particular reason” (Hall & Moore, 2006, p.92). It is evident that Denver assumed Deborah was attacking him because of the social norms and consequences involving the interactions between white women and black men in environment. On the street, Denver acquired bad habits (drugs, fighting, alcohol, theft, etc.) and gained a reputation of being hostile man. “Here’s what the homeless folks in Fort Worth knowed about me: Stay outta my way, ‘cause I would beat a man down, have him snoring ‘fore he hit the ground” (Hall & Moore, 2006, p.92). This image is an example of how exposure to a particular environment affects an individual. Deborah was not afraid she saw past his circumstances. She told him that God had a calling on his life. She saw more than just a homeless man. Denver came to respect her because her spirituality and sincerity. Eventually Ron, Deborah’s husband, befriended Denver. This wasn’t an easy task because Denver spent most of his adult life alone. He had been a lone for a while, though he still longed for the relationship he shared with Bobby. Though apprehensive, Denver and Ron became great friends because of Deborah. Their friendships would seem unlikely due to their socioeconomic differences. Ron was an affluent white art dealer. Denver was a illiterate black hobo. Their relationship shaped both men. Ron and Denver alike were spiritually enriched. Deborah’s death solidified their friendship and her ministry. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is another theory that may offer an explanation to Denver’s behavior.
Much like Erikson’s theory, Kohlberg’s theory involves stages. This theory is based on constructive developmental stages; each stage and level is more adequate at responding to moral dilemmas than the last. The six stages are broken into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. Kohlberg’s theory involves “Heinz” who is depicted to have a wife that is terminally ill. This theory was devised by asking college aged students whether or not they would break into a drug store to steal the medicine to save his wife and why or why not (Wark & Krebs, 1996). While moral decisions shape our existence, I chose Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory because it encompasses the physical, emotional, and cognitive development of the
individual.

Reference
Ashford, J. B. & LeCroy, C. W. (2010). Human behavior in the social environment: A multidimensional perspective (4th ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadworth/Thomson
Hall, R. & Moore, D. (2006). Same kind of different as me. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Okun, B. F. (1984). Working with adults: Individual, family, and career development. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole
Wark, G.R., & Krebs, D.L. (1996). Gender and dilemma differences in real-life moral judgment. Developmental Psychology, 32, 220-230.