A tale of two lives - Essay Example

A Tale of two lives A tale of two lives concerns two teenage boys, Frank and Carlos. Both boys share a lot in common and are juveniles serving jail sentences for different crimes committed. Frank and Carlos originate from a humble and poor background in rough urban backgrounds. They were brought up in a normal street life. While they were young, they witnessed a community dominated by violence and drugs. Their upbringing taught them that respect could only be earned through violence. At a younger age, the teen teenage boys started engaging in hard drug abuse which in turn made them unruly.

As a result, the two teenage boys are now serving a sentence in juvenile jails (Pioppi 3).Frank court sentence is more rigid unlike Carlos. Frank is more violent and his criminal activities have landed him in jail thrice for alleged offences including drug peddling and murder. He is serving a sentence at the Long Lane School in Middletown. The juvenile prison is regarded as the home to some of the toughest teen criminals such as Frank. At this prison, the freedom of juveniles is curtailed and when they are allowed to go out, it must be under a guard watch (Pioppi 4).

Unlike Frank, Carlos detention school is friendlier than Long Lane and it is managed by a private agency. Detainees at this prison are also privileged to have several amenities unlike in Long Lane. There are tennis courts and a swimming pool where the teens can unwind. According to the author, the Connecticut Junior Republic in Litchfield is more of a boarding school rather than a juvenile center for young criminals. In my view, Carlos prison enjoys more freedom than in Long Lane School, where juveniles are always handcuffed and their movements monitored.

Carlos is never handcuffed and can move around the school without being guarded (Pioppi 5).Even though Frank is in a more secure facility, he manages to escape and still commit other serious crimes. His first crime was selling drugs at the city of New Haven. He was later released and was sentenced against for murder charges. He escaped again several time and was involved in a shooting incident. This shows his determination to commit more crimes without getting worried about spending his entire life in prison.

His tone is rough and unapologetic and it shows that prison life has not rehabilitated him. As the author notes, the prison authorities are contemplating sending him to prison for good (Pioppi 4). Carlos is friendlier and polite as compared to Frank. The author describes him as a changed person who does not correspond to the crimes he has been charged with. Carlos was introduced into drugs by his peers and he is serving a jail term for stealing a car. Carlos had to apply to be admitted at the Connecticut Junior Republic which only holds 84 boys at a time.

At the institution, students are assigned special learning plans and programs in a bid to rehabilitate them. The institution emphasizes discipline and responsibility for all the admitted boy. Carlos is a rehabilitated teenager and his attitude towards crime has changed since he joined the institution. When he was allowed to visit home, Carlos denounced his gang and resisted bad influence from friends (Pioppi 6).In conclusion, the author outlines two lives of crimes which are totally different once they are taken to the detention centers.

Frank has not changed and he maintained his criminal behavior while Carlos has been rehabilitated by the detention school and has denounced criminal activities. Works CitedPioppi, Anthony. "A tale of two lives." Scholastic update (1995): 2-7.