Rikers High by Paul Volponi

Rikers High is an eye-opening story about a seventeen year old boy in a juvenile jail that is isolated from the rest of the world. Some say Volponi wrote Rikers High to declare that you should always do what is right and make the correct decisions. It is also evident that Volponi wants the readers to realize and acknowledge the good in every situation, even if they are in a bad position. Through Martin’s point of view the reader is able to understand his thought process and decisions in order to convey the real content of the book.

If Volponi had written Rikers High in third person it would have been much harder to relate to Martin because we would not know what he was thinking when he makes the decisions he made. The story wouldn’t seem as realistic, it would seem just written, making it difficult to comprehend the story and what it is truly about. The way Volponi characterizes Martin helps the readers (despite how cliche it may seem) recognize there is always a positive, and it can bring out the light within yourself.

Seeing the bright side of every situation can be motivating and inspiring. In Martin’s case his motivation is his family at home; he can’t wait to get released so he can see how old his sisters have gotten and hug his mother and grandmother for the first time in months. On Martin’s most recent visit to the court he had gotten cut by a boy with a spider tattoo on his neck.

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Martin spots the same “spidered neck” boy when he is waiting to go court and get sent home and he is faced with a decision- cut the boy back and get revenge or be a “herb” (a jail term for a weakling) and let him go. Martin has the blade in his hand struggling with his conscience and will to get revenge when he says “For a split-second I thought about Mom and I saw her face.” (242). He ends up elbowing the boy in the face, throwing the blade and pretending that the “spider neck” boy was wrestling him, knowing the boy would get…

Rikers High by Paul Volponi Rikers High by Paul Volponi Rikers High by Paul Volponi