Hope's Boy

The story of Andrew's childhood shines a light on the darker side of this world. Some people are treated very poorly. Andrew tries to help children in the foster system. However some people don't realy care about the kids and just dump them into a facility. "I spun toward Carlton, ready to leave. But he confused the quick move for something more. He mistook it for discovery "We take the doors off, where we keep the children," he suddenly shouted down the hallyway"(Bridge 12). This facility keeps the children in rooms with a bare mattress in the basement. The employees don't care what conditions these children have to live in. Carlton fears that Andrew might have discovered tis and feels guilty. "The sharp bones of his elbows poked at his skin. Scars of countless widths,lengths, and shapes were scattered acroos his arms and up under his shirtsleeves"(Bridge 13). These kids are extremely thin probably becasue they don't have enough food to eat. The scars could have very well come from beatings to keep them in line. The environment these kids live in are horrendous.
Some of these kids could have very well avoided the system if they had better parents. "When the squad cars tracked Jeff down, his mother insisted on pressing charges"(Bridge 17). Jeff's parents gave up on him. They didn't try to resolve the problem. Instead they just gave him up to the state deciding it was the best for everyone. However even though Andrew's eperience with the foster system was horrible there were people that cared about him. "She lobbed one, deliberately missing me by inches. Still at the curb, she waited, unarmed and laughing(Bridge 27). His grandmother loved him very much and cared for him as a child. Even though they were not living in the best of conditions they loved each other and helped each other.