Elena Ariola

Mrs. McGovern

B4 Independent Study

10, May 2019

No Ashes in the Fire

The book “No Ashes in the Fire” is an emotional story about the author who writes about

his own story in the past. Moore discusses events that scarred him and that took him a long

time to recover. Beyond all of the bad treatment given to him by society, he is still alive

and well today except for all the terrible memories locked up in his mind.

The first two to three chapters of the book describe the way that Moore was brought up

as a child. His father raised him to be tough. Whenever someone at the pool was picking on

him, his father would want him to retaliate with a punch instead of with words. It was the same

way with water; Moore was afraid of water but his father pushed him to be more confident and

face his fear. Although his father was strict in the early years of bringing up his child, he was

also very caring. An example would be when he helped Moore take a shower by showing him

where he smelled the worst and gently teaching him how to shower. Moore stated that at this

time “I see a human being, a young black man, struggling to transform what he otherwise used

as weapons into instruments of care.” (Moore 41) Moore stated in the first couple of chapters

that his mother was once raped and that out of all the people to come help, it was his father that

came first to her aid.

It is clear to see that Moore’s relationship with his father in the beginning is civil and they

do not fight with each other. Moore seems to be scared of his dad when he is young because of

all the times that his father has taught him to be tough and do dangerous things. However, as

Moore grows older he tends to get in fights with his father trying to protect his mother. Moore’s
father would yell and try to physically hurt his mother therefore when Moore tried to stop it his

father turned on him and began to place his anger on his son. The last time Moore was in

contact with his father “before losing contact with him for several hours, he had just finished

breaking the glass pane in our backdoor.” (Moore 62) Moore was often very close with his aunts

because they all lived together in a three bedroom house. His aunts were always there for him

and his mother therefore they all had a very close connection. Aunt Arlene who was his

mother's youngest sister was known as the family protector.

Moore attended Morgan Village Middle School when he was younger and was one of the

smartest kids in the school. After receiving the results from the California Test of Basic Skills

Moore was more determined than furious to see that his grade “equivalency was ranked at 12.9,

which meant he tested at the same level as the majority of students who were in their nine

month of twelfth grade, even though he was only in eighth grade.” (Moore 69) Most of the kids in

the neighborhood that Moore lived in ended up failing out of school.

I believe that out of everything that happened Moore was a strong individual and

believed that he could achieve great things. I believe that he was a kid who wanted to change

the world for the better. Moore believed in respect and kindness for everyone. I think his youth

made him believe that he is a strong individual. Although his father made him feel a little

worthless I think it made him realize that he is better than that and that he does not want to end

up like his father. In addition when he received those high scores on his test I think he had a

good self image of himself especially when others in the class were failing out and doing poor in

school.

The title of the book “No Ashes in the Fire” has a real significant meaning to the story. I

believe that the literal meaning of this title refers to his past when he was doused with gasoline

with an intent of being set on fire as a hate crime. When he says ashes he is referring to his
past being burned. I believe that the metaphorical meaning to this title is that you keep moving

through life and that nothing holds you back. I believe this is the meaning of the title

metaphorically because after everything that he has been through he continues to be strong and

continue his life being a leader for others.

Today Moore is a speaker discussing his own experience to audiences. He continues to

be an activist and one of the most compelling authors and men in history. He is now 43 years

old and he still lives in Camden New Jersey. His story has motivated others to help make a

change and he still encourages change today as he interviews often with different people.

Moore continues to write other books and even sent a love letter to black and queer

communities.

Some may argue that the United States has changed for the better with all the new

legislations put in place. Although some legislations such as the Anti-Discrimination Act were

put in place, there are many people who choose to ignore these legislations and still show hate

towards groups such as African Americans. There are still countless black shootings since the

Anti-Discrimination Act came out in 1977. Not only are there hate crimes against race but also

against genders and sexual preference. At this point it can be said that we are getting worse

over the years and that hate crimes towards LGBT and race is increasing over time. “Anti-LGBT

hate crimes rose 3% in 2017”. (Fitzsimons) This statistic shows that we are not coming together

as a nation but instead pulling apart.

Works Cited
“Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes Rose 3 Percent in '17, FBI Finds.” ​NBCNews.com​, NBCUniversal

News Group,

www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/anti-lgbtq-hate-crimes-rose-3-percent-17-fbi-finds-n936166.

Moore, Darnell L. ​No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black & Free in America​. Bold Type

Books, an Imprint of Perseus Books, 2019.