All Gods Children summary

According to the author, the case of Bosket can be rated as one of the most violent criminals in the entire history of NYC correction system (Butterfield, 1996). The violent behavior of this criminal can be traced back from several generations where culture was very violent. The setting of this violence is obtained in South Carolina in the county of Edgefield. Again, the violence of Bosket can be traced from his grandfather who was a slave in Edgefield County. Therefore, the author applied implicit theory to demonstrate how violence was transmitted from five generations of Bosket family thereby making him a violent criminal. Once a new generated emerge in Edgefield, the author says it is inevitable as compared to previous one. Lastly, the 16 chapters of the book try to connect how violence extends from one generation to another where the author set the flow of the book in five parts.

First part opens in Edgefield where we find Bosket family, Aaron and Pud as first two members in the generation of Bosket family. Part two introduce Butch and James as another generation of Bosket men. Part three provides the life of Willie and how his first murder occurred (Butterfield, 1996). In addition, the community fails to appreciate them simply because they come from Bosket family generation that is associated with slavery. Lastly, we find that Bosket, Willie, Aaron, Pud and James are alienated from the community. This subjects them to terror, being unloved by the loving community as well as fear of losing honor and respect. As generation of slaves, they are left with only one option. That is, to express honor and respect since they had no material possession.