“Into the Pit” by Nicky Cruz

Discussion Questions:
1. What does the text suggest to be the source of Nicky’s anger?
The text suggest that the source of Nicky’s anger is that he had never been loved, he seems to hate everything and whatever threatens him, he wants to kill it, as the judge said he is like an animal. Nicky came to the United State by himself at age sixteen and depended on the streets therefore he became the head of a famous gang.
2. How are the police portrayed in the story? Why do you think the police, and the justice system generally, failed to solve the gang problem in Cruz’s time?
The police is portrayed in the story as bad cops they are racists and teat the gang members with no respect, they are very aggressive and have no compassion for the people who are locked up they reefer to most of them as “animals”. I think that the police and justice system generally failed to solve the gang problems because they didn’t really cared about what was really going on the only way that they solved problems was by using violence and that’s the opposite of what the gang members needed.
3. Why does Nicky hate caged animals and birds so much?
Nicky hates caged animals and birds so much because they are free, they have the freedom to do whatever they want to do and go where ever they want to go, it bothers him in a way since he knows he can’t be like them.
4. What is the court psychologist’s conclusion after examining Nicky? Do you think he makes a sound decision in letting the young gangsters go?
The court psychologist’s conclusion is that there is no hope left for him, he has no intentions in changing therefore there is nothing left for him but jail, electric chair and hell. I think he does make a sound decision in letting the young gangster go because later on he realizes that he had done a lot of wrong decisions.
5. Why does Nicky want to kill the “old wretch of a woman” he encounters after being freed?
Nicky wants to kill the “old wretch of a woman” because for him it symbolizes who he is, he doesn’t like feeling dirty and he hates it and to that purpose he wants to kill the woman.
6. What is the metaphorical significance of the red balloon? How does Cruz’s tone change when he fallows and describes the journey of the balloon?
The metaphorical significance of the red balloon is that he compares himself to the balloon, at the beginning of the story he didn’t really cared about anything and in this scene it gives the reader the impression that he realizes that he cares about something even if is a balloon, he doesn’t want it to explode because he sees himself as the balloon, his tone changes when he shows that he cares about something for the first time.