Ross Taylor 9W Page 5/10/2007
How realistic is Swindell’s portrayal of homelessness and life on the street
The novel Stone Cold which portrays a boys life on the streets starts with how he left home due to his views on his mums new boyfriend and clashes with him he heads down to London unprepared and ill-equipped for the experience .He finds a flat and spends two thirds of his money on two weeks, but gets turned out onto the streets, then he meets Ginger on his first night on the streets. Ginger then soon disappears along with several other homeless kids and they keep disappearing until Link becomes the target of the man called shelter.
Link wasn’t prepared for the dangers lying ahead of him, on his first night, “Nice watch. Gizzit.”Link had never thought these situations would occur, but then how many other people who’d run away from home new the dangers ahead of them. Link underestimated the harsh conditions he was going to have to face, “You won’t sleep unless you’re dead drunk or zonked on the downers,” proving it’s impossible to sleep on a stone floor, and the fact that there going to be quite sensitive because they eat very little and can really feel the cold, “getting to sleep with cold feet is near impossible,”Link never thought of these situations he had no knowledge of the streets at all, without Ginger’s help he’d probably of been dead .As well as the fact they were being constantly moved on every night by police so barely getting 5 hours sleep ,this means there bodies are going to take longer to repair as well as they’ll be very tired .Swindell’s portrayal of life on the streets is perfect due to accurateness and fine details .
