In Slapboxing with Jesus by Victor Lavalle, the neglected, the mutilated and the damned of New York are put in the spotlight. The people described are not thrown into situations for no reason, their social condition puts them in their situation and keeps them there. The need to escape from a constantly neglected environment drives the characters in the stories “Slave” and “Ghost Story.” The character Rob in the story “Slave” has faced a state of neglect since he was a pubescent boy; this environment pushed Rob to become a child prostitute and the environment changed his life mentality forever. Lavalle also talks about Sammy in "Ghost Story", a man who suffers from mental illness, a combination of schizophrenia and paranoia, such that his illness is viewed with contempt which prevents him from circulating in society. The influence that marked the lives of Rob and Sammy was an imprint that was imposed on them by their social condition. Wherever they go, even after their “escape”, they will keep a remnant of the cachet. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Rob was led into the life of prostitution because of how society neglected him. Rob, a child prostitute, was abandoned by his parents in a rich city: Manhattan. How could it have been neglected? How has this neglect changed him? Lavalle describes the place where Rob was abandoned: "Rob stood in a neighborhood he had known over the years, in Manhattan, with buildings rising higher and higher" (71). Abandoned in the shadow of the tall towers. Manhattan is a place associated with wealth and prosperity. However, in Rob's case, the risk of being forgotten, even in a mass of wealth, is easy. Neglect makes you vulnerable because no one is there to protect. The island of Manhattan is also described as vulnerable: "Manhattan often seems to cry, 'Colonize me!' (67), being left open for others to “colonize” or take over. When Rob was left alone in a Manhattan neighborhood, his body also screamed “colonize me!” Rob continued to be neglected, Rob began taking the train for "long hours", even "days", eventually "for a year" (66), this demonstrates how easy it was for Rob to being neglected by society even though he used public transportation for a year, alone. Rob needed money, food and shelter after being neglected, his last resort was prostitution, he became an “independent man” (65). The work that Rob did was a total oppression of her body, "her mouth is a wound that should be left to heal, but there is her purse next to the bed" (54), due to the neglect in Rob's youth, he is now forced to have sex for money. His body is used repeatedly by both men and women, he has no control over what is done to him, Rob only needs to be paid. Even after being paid for sex, he is even more hurt: "All the money she had paid him is lodged in his underwear as he walks, the stiff bills cut against one leg" (59 ). The money Rob needed to survive is a bitter relief from starvation, money in the end finds a way to hurt Rob more. Rob's neglected life allowed the tragedies of child prostitution to happen to him. Rob's life was severely limited due to parental and societal neglect. Rob's way of thinking has changed due to his social status as a prostitute, he now considers anyone withmoney as his means of survival. It's a cycle he can't escape. Lavalle describes this social condition as inspiring Rob to become a child prostitute. Having to beg for someone else to take one is a state of oppression. Rob faces this when he lets his pimp into the story. But who does he meet? Does he meet a savior? Rob meets someone who resembles him in some way: "Those who survived the Holocaust are known to find another lucky survivor at the other end of a restaurant" (59), Robest described as a survivor of the Holocaust but he did not escape it completely. Rob meets Harrold at the other end of a restaurant, but Harrold wants Rob to have sex, "Do you want to go to the bathroom or something?" Harrold asks young Rob; Rob must oblige if he wants to escape his pimp. Rob's life because of prostitution will always be confined to what he had to do in the past, even the areas in which Rob has sex are described as confined, "empty", "lights out" places. » and “glass on all sides” (61), “Under the bridges, dark tunnels which hid the men” (66). The only person who took Rob oppressed was another oppressor, someone who wanted him for the services Rob can provide. Rob is happy to find Harrold, the man who took him in, does this mean that Rob is free from the slavery he escaped from? No. Rob still believes that the only way for him to be free is to do what he knows: sell his body and beg. Rob tells Harrold when explaining why he should take her in: “I can be really beautiful. Could you put a dress on me? Really anything. Whatever you want. (Lavalle 64), this is the state of mind instilled in Rob: to always be dependent, always to be the slave of anyone who has power and money. Rob will never be able to forget “He Can’t”. (57) who has the money, the person who has the money is the one who rules in Rob's mind. With this mentality, he will never be free. He will always be the slave of the one who owns the dollar. Rob's social condition makes him a slave of the system. A system in which it is common for people like Rob to be overlooked. Prostitutes are slaves to their pimps, they are paid for what they do, but they have no freedom with their money. Their bodies become machines that create money for their pimps and fields for others to destroy. No control over their money, their bodies and even their minds. The idea that they cannot escape their small apartments that they share with five other individuals is the lack of hope they have for freedom. Putting the prostitute into a fall of neglect. Rob is beholden to his clients’ money, Rob says, “Come on. Do you want it or not? In response, his client said, “Hey! Don’t forget who has the money” (Lavalle 57). Rob can never forget who has the money, the person who has the money is the one who rules in Rob's mind. Sammy in "Ghost Story" faces a similar condition due to his low standing in society like Rob. Sammy's mental illness doesn't get him help, but he faces scorn. Lavalle writes: “The expression on his face had nothing to do with effort. It was everything for me” (Lavalle 37 years old), can Sammy’s behavior, a consequence of his illness, justify the way in which he is treated? His poor position in society allows people to ignore him and view him as pathetic. He's confined by that, people who know him want to confine him with medication, "What if you took the corrected medication with something?" (34). Rob and Sammy are both confronted with the influences of their social condition, an influence, 1999