Anh T Hoang

Sabatino Mangini
English 112
4/8/15

RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS

1/ Derek Vinyards conflict
a/ Derek conflicts himself:
Derek hates niggers; however he respects Sweeney, a black history teacher. When he is in
need, the first person he wants to meet is his teacher. Also, he is friendly with a black inmate who
shares sadness with him. In fact, these two people have a strong impact on his change
b/ Derek conflicts environment:
After released from prison, he wants to retreat from a racist group so that his family can get out
of danger. It looks as a murderer wants to be a good person. However, he has to face up with two
revenges: one is niggers, and the other is his racist group. He said to Sweeney: These guys are
probably gunning for me now.
2/The main factors that led Danny Vinyards death were:
Danny was a teenage boy whose mind looked like a white paper. Therefore, it was easy for
Danny to be seriously infected neo- Nazism by two people.
Before Derek was in prison, Danny always followed Derek, so he could witness or sometimes
join with him , As a result, he ingrained racist ideology. For example, he encouraged Derek at
the basketball court, witnessed Derek as a hideous murderer, and joined in vandalizing the
Korean store.
When Derek was in prison, Cameron Alexander injected his brain racial lectures. For example,
Cameron asked him about Sweenys history class and encouraged him to write about Hitler

Adoft. Besides, Danny was proud of his brothers action and boasted about Dereks feats with his
new friends.
3/The major themes in American History X are:
The struggle against racial discrimination still doesnt end, and its consequences are difficult
to predict.
4/How did the prison society mirror the home society of Derek Vinyard?
Prison is a place where prisoners can reform themselves to become good people. In prison,
Derek recognized complicated problems happening as outside society. Bribery and corruption ,
strong people bully weak people, drug dealers come from white people whose progress Derek
are always proud of . He is disappointed in them.
5/ What did Doris and Davina Vinyard symbolize ?
They symbolize a burning coal stove to maintain the family bond. Therefore, Derek always
thinks about his family members safety.
6/In ten years after the death of Danny, what type of life is Derek living?
He always regrets his innocent brothers death because of his wrong awareness. I think that he
will overcome this sorrow from concrete actions. His teacher tried to persuade him to awake his
friends after a long sleep of racism. At first, he refused it, the teacher said You want to take a
break now? You take a break to find no peace. The way to find peace is to stick. In fact, Derek
used to be a leader of the white group, so nobody is better than he who will succeed in
eradicating racial ideology from them. As a result, tragic life will end soon.