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| Plot Summary of The Cross and The Switchblade |
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"In 1958, a small town Pennsylvania church pastor is emotionally moved as he reads a copy of LIFE magazine that features details of the upcoming trial of 7 teenaged members from the Coney Island (New York) based 'Egyptian Dragons' street gang. The 7 boys had brutally attacked and murdered an innocent 15 year old polio victim named Michael Farmer in Highbridge Park, leading to one of the most publicized gang murder trials of 1950's New York.
Wilkerson traces his own humble beginnings, to his early years of pastoral ministry prior to his first visit to New York city. After being unable to secure visitation rights to visit the 'Dragon' gang members in jail, Wilkerson is detained while attempting to rush past security and police to gain an audience with the judge on the case. The press photographed the skinny preacher being physically detained by court officers, and by the next day the picture would make the front page of more than one New York daily. The result - David Wilkerson became accepted by New Yorks' toughest and most blood thirsty street gangs as the preacher who was arrested for trying to help other gang members.
Wilkerson resigns as a church pastor, and begins to reach out to the toughest street gangs in New York. After finding respect and acceptance by thousands of inner city youth, Wilkerson branches out and eventually begins Teen Challenge, an outreach program for drug addicts, alcoholics, ex-gang members, pregnant girls, and others in need that now spans the globe. Wilkerson stands face to face with New Yorks' murderers, heroin addicts, and the worst of criminals in his quest to bring hope to the inner cities. "
drury5@rogers.com, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Cross and The Switchblade |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession:
- religious figure
Gender/Class story?
- story of lower class
Job/profession/poverty story
Yes
If this is a culture clash:
- visiting a different culture
Ethnic/regional/gender
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- religious figure
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Biography of famous person?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 8 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- sewers/subways
Century:
- 1930's-1950's
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
Book makes you feel?
- spiritual
Is book humorous?
Yes
If humorous, kind of humor
- Dry-cynical
- gentle
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
Commentary on society?
Yes
Commentary on
- religion
Unusual Style:
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Writer's slant towards subject:
- very favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
How much dialogue in bio?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 76%-100% of book
How much is philosophy rather than life story?
- 26-50% of book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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