Skip to main content

What are some social aspects of Robert Parker's novel Double Deuce?

There are several important social aspects to Robert Parker's novel Double Deuce.


The inciting incident for the novel is a gang-related drive by shooting of Devona Jefferson. She's a teenage mother who is shot for her involvement with a gang. These are social problems that are all too common: street violence, gang violence, and teen mothers.


Throughout the novel, race plays a major part. Spenser (Parker's main detective) gets involved because Hawk (his best...

There are several important social aspects to Robert Parker's novel Double Deuce.


The inciting incident for the novel is a gang-related drive by shooting of Devona Jefferson. She's a teenage mother who is shot for her involvement with a gang. These are social problems that are all too common: street violence, gang violence, and teen mothers.


Throughout the novel, race plays a major part. Spenser (Parker's main detective) gets involved because Hawk (his best friend) is asked to bring the girl's killer, and Hawk asks Spenser to help. Hawk is black; Spenser is white, and he is very much out of place in the almost completely black environment of the housing project.


Beyond race, public housing is a major social issue. Public housing is meant to address several major social problems (a need for low cost housing, poor or crime ridden neighborhoods, etc.).


In attempting to deal with this problem, Spenser consults Erin Macklin, a former nun who had dedicated herself to trying to help kids in the ghetto. Like Spenser, she is effective in part because she works outside the question.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...