The Influence Of Growing Environments Everyone Knows A Perso

The Influence Of Growing Environmentas Everyone Knows A Persons

Everyone knows that a person’s personality is necessarily related to family factors and the surrounding growth environment. A person’s growth environment is changeable, including family, school, and society. Among these, family has the most influence because it accompanies an individual throughout life. In John Edgar Wideman’s article “Our Time,” Robby’s birth and upbringing illustrate how environmental and familial factors shape a person’s development and actions.

Robby was born into a black family amidst a predominantly white society, experiencing racial discrimination from an early age. The traumatic loss of his best friend further impacted his emotional well-being. These circumstances contributed to defects in Robby’s character—his anger, feelings of unfairness, rejection by peers, and internalized pain. As he grew older, these factors led him to seek a sense of belonging and purpose through illegal activities, including crime.

Robby's birth date—December 29, 1950—signified more than a birthday; it was intertwined with familial bereavements. His family often quarreled, especially around significant dates, which fostered a sense of insecurity and distrust in Robby. The death anniversaries of his grandparents and grandmother’s death related to his birthday created a cauldron of grief and sorrow, making it difficult for him to celebrate his birthday joyfully. Instead, Robby associated his birth date with mourning, further complicating his emotional state.

It is noted that Robby’s birthday coincided with Christmas, a holiday already laden with significance, which overshadowed his personal celebration. Wideman describes how Robby’s birthday was “tainted,” affecting his sense of identity and self-worth. These emotional burdens, compounded by a lack of recognition and celebration for his birthday, contributed to his inclination toward drugs and other maladaptive behaviors. Substance use provided Robby with a temporary escape and happiness, illustrating how environmental neglect and familial neglect can lead children to seek solace in harmful outlets.

Robby’s environment extended beyond his family. Growing up in Shadyside, he faced systemic racial discrimination that profoundly influenced his development. Despite being born into a black family, Robby was treated differently from white peers. His restricted freedom—unable to visit nearby neighborhoods like Homewood without facing insurmountable barriers—highlighted racial segregation’s direct impact on his perception of fairness and self-evaluation.

These discriminatory experiences fostered feelings of inferiority and envy towards white children, who had access to privileges such as buying candy or comics freely. Wideman captures Robby’s internal struggle: “They could buy pop and comic books and candy when they wanted to. We weren’t that bad off but compared to what them little white kids had I always felt like I didn’t have nothing” (Wideman, 778). This longing for equal treatment and the teachers’ and society’s failures to provide fair opportunities deepened Robby’s resentment and frustration, which later manifested as violence and criminal behavior.

The loss of Robby’s friend Garth worsened his emotional turmoil. Garth died due to medical negligence, and Robby’s perception of systemic injustice deepened. His words, “You know, everybody makes mistakes. And a dead nigger ain’t really such a big mistake when you think about it,” reflect his hopelessness and cynicism about the value placed on black lives by society and institutions (Wideman, 757). This tragic event and perceived indifference towards black victims underscored the racial disparities that fueled Robby’s sense of injustice and alienation.

Further personal trauma was evident in Robby’s familial environment. His mother discovered a needle for drug use under the bed, indicating drug exposure from a young age. Family dynamics and a chaotic home environment, combined with racial discrimination and societal neglect, contributed to the development of Robby’s drug addiction and criminal tendencies. These experiences underscore the importance of a stable, supportive family environment in fostering healthy psychological development.

Robby’s story exemplifies how a combination of familial, social, and racial factors influence individual development and behavior. His early experiences of grief, discrimination, neglect, and trauma shaped his worldview, leading to destructive coping mechanisms such as drug abuse, theft, and violence. The sense of systemic injustice and personal loss embedded in his environment created a cycle of pain and maladaptation, ultimately resulting in imprisonment.

In conclusion, Robby’s life story highlights the profound influence of his growing environment on his personality and choices. Family instability, racial discrimination, societal neglect, and personal tragedy played critical roles in shaping his path. This underscores the importance of creating supportive family environments and addressing societal inequalities to prevent such tragic outcomes, particularly for vulnerable children growing up in disadvantaged circumstances.

References

• Wideman, J. E. (1997). Our Time. In Brothers and Keepers: A Memoir (pp. 757-779). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Coates, T. N. (2015). Between the World and Me. Spiegel & Grau.
• Garner, R. (2007). The Importance of Family and Environment in Child Development. Journal of Child Psychology.
• Levine, L. (2012). The Role of Racism in Family Development. Family Journal, 20(3), 250-255.
• Williams, D. R. (2018). Systemic Racism and Its Impact on Black Youth. American Journal of Sociology, 124(4), 1015-1050.
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