Kid Pharaoh:
Before reading, I was very interested in this story. I have always been interested in mob activity, and Chicago was a very interesting place to learn about it. Pharaoh was a con man who grew up in Chicago, and continued living into Chicago all of his life. He boxed when he was young, and his father was a stock trader. Pharaoh and his family lived during the depression, and he would steel food for for his family. He did not graduate high school because "you learn nothing in school" (253), and he decided that lawyers and doctors are "the two biggest thieves in our society" (253). He found it hard to believe that mobsters were put in jail when lawyers weren't. This is ironic because he was a con man and a thieve. He comments on the fact that he was sexist and racist, and hated capitalism and social hierarchy in society. He disagreed with society and said "If I was a dictator, I would exercise genocide for all degenerates" (257). This comment would really raise controversy in today's society, and it interesting that he would say this. The most interesting thing was that he did have ideas that were normal to American society. He hated phony Americans, and believed that everyone had fear, and this connects to FDR's speech about how fear is the only thing that we need to fear. Finally, he also was parallel to society when he talked about his ideas about dreams. He said "you can be anything in this world you want to be, if you dream hard enough" (262). As a whole, Kid Pharaoh had a very compelling story, and it was interesting the ways that his ideas differed and aligned with the typical Americans beliefs. This connects to my family because we live in Chicago, and we talk about the mob influence that helped create Chicago.
Dennis Hart:
I was confused going into the reading of this story. I was not really sure what a "cabbie" was and how it connected to this mans life. Hart was completely different than Pharoah. Hart simply wanted to be somebody, and eventually was able to become the chairman of the Barry Goldwater campaign. He said it as "I had these doubts about myself as to weather I had any courage in me at all of was I gonna be a plant instead of a man" (237). This really showed that he put a ton of pressure on himself, and really feared becoming unsuccessful. This connects to me because I too put a ton of pressure on myself, and I also fear that I won't be as successful and I hope to be. Hart also said that he believes that that a man has to find himself in life, and this was largely because he had almost died 3 times in his life. He was an emotional man, who was really changed by his experiences working at a jail, and felt that crying was an essential part of life. He said "In order to be a man, I have to have a heart also" (240). He agreed with MLK and thought that MacArthur was a great leader. Overall the most important quote was on 242 when he said "Not only was I going to try to prove to myself that I was going to be a man, but I was doing it fora great person and a great cause" (244). This was a really compelling story that was really connectable for me. I felt that I could connect because I too hold very high standards for myself.
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