As the book The Blind Side focuses on the remarkable story of an African-American teenager's life, we also learn about the cities and towns in which this true story took place. Michael Lewis explains that "he (Michael Orr, the African-American) never let any of the Tuohy's near his old inner-city home..." (Page 124). Michael Orr grew up in the inner-city of Memphis, Tennessee, a mostly black and unsafe part of the city in which he moved out of to live with his new family in outer-city Memphis. Lewis writes "Driving East he left the 3rd poorest zip code in the United States and headed towards some of the richest people on Earth." (Page 39). This quote reasonably sums up the claim that places so close can be so different and how America is considerably different.
New york income map
New York, a commonly known state, is usual thought of as a big, industrial state full of sky scrapers and buildings. But actually, it isn't. The majority of New York is actually farmland and suburbs. This is mostly northern New York though. The southern-most area of New York tends to have a drastically higher average income than most other places in New York. Once you leave this "extension" area of New York, the average income drops from around $100,000 to $50,000. Just like the quote from The Blind Side this example supports the idea that income and living styles can change in a second depending on where one lives.
The Other Wes Moore
By Wes Moore
The Other Wes Moore follows the life of two African American kids growing up in the same area; Baltimore, Maryland. These two young men both took different paths to become who they are today. One of them, the author, grew up to live a safe, healthy life. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore was raised into a life of crime and violence which led him to where he is today...prison. This just shows that even in a region as small as a city, there can be a multitude of different people and lifestyles that can affect other people.
Bleachers
By John Grisham
The novel Bleachers follows the life of an old student athlete, Neeley Crenshaw, as he returns to his home town and high school to attend his football coaches funeral. As he recaps his life as a high school student, the reader discovers how much football matters to this small school in Messina, Texas. It was said that this school actually reduced the amount of money they would spend on the science department and give that money to the athletic department to buy new helmets and jerseys for the football team. Many schools nearby would most certainly not allow this to happen as education is more important than athletics. But Messina high school isn't the only one. There are many other schools that do this all over the country.
Crime in new hampshire
Although New Hampshire is usually thought of as a very healthy, safe state, there are towns within New Hampshire that can be, well, not so safe. For example, one of the towns in New Hampshire that has a high rate of crime is Greenland. The significance of this state having a high crime rate is that it is directly next to Stratham. Stratham is one of the safest towns in New Hampshire and it is weird to think that the town neighboring Stratham isn't so safe. This just goes to show that no matter how close towns or cities are to each other, there will be many differences.