Bad Boy: A Memoir

Bad Boy: A Memoir
By Walter Dean Myers
HarperCollins Children's Books
New Yor, New York
0-06-029523-6
2001

Summary

Walter Dean Myers is a noted author of young adult literature but for a period of his life it looked like he would keep his desire to write to himself and flounder on the streets of Harlem where he grew up. Myers group up in the 40s and 50s, and was raised by his father’s first wife after his mother died. Walter loved his “mama” and was jealous of any attention she gave her biological daughters. One time he promised to break an expensive watch that belong to his sister if Mama didn’t pay attention to him. She did not, he promptly broke it, and he received one of many spankings in his life. When it came time for school Myers had learned to read well enough to be placed in the second grade, but his speech impediment placed him in first grade. That speech impediment caused many fights in school for Myers who had a problem with his temper. This was the time when corporal punishment in the classroom was allowed and when Myers’ Mam complained about it, the teachers failed him instead. It also did not help that Myers was big for his age, but he was also a very bright boy. His intelligence was also his downfall. He would think up great ways to get into trouble, but he would also lie convincingly his way out.

Things for Myers change when his Uncle Lee died. His father fell into a deep depression and his mama turned to alcohol to help deal with the depression. She also developed a habit of “chasing numbers” to help the family’s financial situation. Myers worked hard for a typewriter when he was in high school and when it came time to buy the typewriter his Mama had spent the money he had saved “chasing numbers.” He still loved her, but it was evident they were drifting apart. Myers was enrolled in a high school called Stuyvesant that was a school for all boys and had a science emphasis. At age 15, Myers longed for a person who was a secret reader like himself and floundered at the scientific school until he stopped going all together. When Myers skipped school he read books like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or Ulysses both by James Joyce. At that time he was placed under the supervision of a city agency. Dr. Holiday was the psychiatrist assigned to his case. She asked Myers if he minded being black and it was the first time Myers thought of himself as an “afro-american.” He was struggling with more than just race. He was male and liked to write and read, neither of which seemed to be a symbol of being a man. He had heard the n-words and learned to associate then with being black and knew “that there was no advantage in being black.” (179) But he chose to see himself as an intellectual and not a member of a race. However, that could not erase the fact that college was out of the question for him.

It was soon after that when Myers became involved with a former convict named Frank Hall. Hall was somehow involved in the drug trade and brought Myers in as a back-up. When Hall and Myers get involved in a fracas, it shakes Myers up. One day he found himself enlisting in the Army at 16. Shortly after, the chapter of Myers’ life ends as he is sent to boot camp.

Impressions

As a white female who grew up in the ‘90s, I found Myers story about his formative years alternately fascinating and disturbing. There is no way I will ever be able to understand what it is like to be black, especially in the 1940s. I was appalled at how Myers was treated by his peers and his teachers. The very people who were supposed to encourage Myers to use his talents did their best to keep him down. Myers did not help matters though by not confiding in anyone, even when he was given a counselor. Bad Bay is well-written and the hopelessness that Myers feels at the end makes the reader feel hopeless also. The impishness of Myers as a little boy made me smile at times and at other times I felt real sorry for his Mama. One of my favorite things about the book is that Myers offers little apologies for what happened when he grew up and stated everything matter of factly. The book is a memoir, so it has an element of reflection on his life but no excuses are given as to why he acted the way he did. He has accepted the challenges he faced and he does not blame his past on problems he has in the present. It made this book easy to read and teens will recognize that Myers does not give excuses for his past behavior. It would have been easy for Myers to do that, but he chose not to.

Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Myers paints a fascinating picture of his childhood growing up in Harlem in the 1940s, with an adult's benefit of hindsight, wrote PW. What emerges is a clear sense of how one young man's gifts separate him from his peers, causing him to stir up trouble in order to belong. Ages 13-up. (May)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-This superb memoir begins simply with an account of Myers's family history and his boyhood. Vivid detail makes the Harlem of the '40s come alive, from the music and children's games to the everyday struggle for survival. As Myers grows older, however, his story also grows in complexity. Soon readers are caught up in his turbulent adolescence and his slow, painful development as a writer. Even while performing poorly in school, the teen endlessly devoured great works of literature, often in secret. He also wrote, sometimes quitting out of discouragement but always beginning again. Eventually he attended school less and less often, sometimes fighting roaming gang members or delivering "packages" for drug dealers. After dropping out of high school, he enlisted in the army. Sadness and bewilderment infuse these last chapters as Myers faces a bleak future. Intellectually, he's left his family and friends far behind, but his race and circumstances seem to give him few choices. After years of menial jobs, Myers remembered a teacher's advice-"Whatever you do, don't stop writing"-and in time his persistence paid off. This memoir is never preachy; instead, it is a story full of funny anecdotes, lofty ideals, and tender moments. The author's growing awareness of racism and of his own identity as a black man make up one of the most interesting threads. Young writers will find inspiration here, while others may read the book as a straightforward account of a colorful, unforgettable childhood.
Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.