The Basketball Diaries: The Classic About Growing Up Hip On New York’s Mean Streets

Jim opens this part of the book by explaining his religious background—or lack thereof. Despite being baptized as Catholic, he never attended church nor heard about religion at home. But at his new school, he must attend confession. The idea of doing so makes him extremely uncomfortable and resentful, and he gets nervous during his first time in the confession booth. He explains his discomfort to the priest, who lets him leave. The priest gets angry at the man who forced a reluctant Jim into the booth, and Jim is free from the obligation henceforth. Jim briefly discusses an incident in which a boy from a nearby baseball team fell off a roof and died while sniffing glue.

Catholic school has other downfalls as well. Jim earns a 99% on an assignment but a “D” for effort. When he asks what he did wrong, he is strapped across the wrist. Jim confesses, “deep down I think they have the right to boss me around. I’ve got to break loose” (28). He describes the mental health issues of some peers and the poor ways in which they are handled, noting that a boy with epilepsy has constant fits and another becomes catatonic regularly. Cheaters are punished via being struck in the rear with a fan belt. A boy named Mikey is hit several times; the next day, Mikey’s older brother beats up the Brother who carried out the punishment, accusing him of perversion. Jim notes that most of the boys at school are ignorant of being gay and realizes that “Brother G. never did pull that bit with any ugly guys” (36). The teacher is fired, and the class marvels at the idea of having been in the presence of a gay man.

Jim opens up about his first experience with heroin, recalling “vows I’d made never to tough any of that shit when I was five or six. Now with all my friends doing it, all kinds of vows drop out from under me every day” (30). He is pressured by his friends to try heroin and laments that the first rush can never be topped. In his naivety, Jim mixes up the effects of heroin and marijuana, noting that he only does heroin on rare occasions but smokes joints regularly. A 15-year-old Jim proclaims himself an experienced smoker and teaches some older kids how to smoke one afternoon.

This part begins in the Spring of 1964. Jim believes that the “only good thing about this new neighborhood up here in Inwood is the giant park and the woods” (41). There are caves for exploring, and he revels in the peace and quiet they provide him. Jim also admits he likes to “stare into the star machine and jerk [himself] off” (42) while naked on his roof at night. He explains that this act is not about sex; he seems to be happiest when in a natural state and gets a thrill from putting himself in danger.

Jim gets a summer job at Yankee Stadium selling concession food. He believes his manager leaves him with the lowest paying jobs. Jim spends time swimming in the Harlem River with his friends as well. One day, they all jump naked off a cliff into the water—and one boy injures himself by landing in a flail. Jim jumps and remembers that he “jumped into a jerky dream [...] the feeling [of] being suspended in front of the sheer cliff, mid-air, with the waters rising up sharp and fast at you” (50). He lands successfully, and his friends cheer. A few days later, they break into a baseball field and throw some balls around, only to be caught by police. Jim’s friends describe Jim “doing the ‘James Brown’” (51) as he dodged and weaved to escape. The police catch him and realize he is not the person they are looking for.

Jim loses his job at Yankee Stadium fairly quickly. On a day more stressful than usual, he decides to sit with some girls in the stands to smoke a joint. He is caught and fired. His attitude towards the event is one of apparent indifference and relief. Jim goes on to spend time with his friends playing basketball and baseball, enjoying the organized nature of sports. He also has several sexual encounters, some positive and some negative, most of which are surrounded by drugs and alcohol. Jim has a somewhat objective attitude towards girls, viewing them as means for pleasure. He describes his sexual experience with a girl named Blinkie in great detail.

In the Fall of 1964, Jim transfers to his “ultra-rich private school” (65). He meets a fellow new student named Eggie who comes from a very different lifestyle of riches and tennis. Jim is disciplined for saying “yah” instead of “yes” and other etiquette issues he is unaccustomed to. His first instinct is to rebel against these social norms, even punching a bully to defend himself. Jim describes the school’s football team as “lame” (66) but winds up showcasing his kicking skills to them. He ends his first day of school “loving everything about this crazy place” (67).

Jim has his first real exposure to death in the Fall of 1964: Bobby, a friend from his old school, dies of leukemia. Jim attends Bobby’s open casket funeral and leaves shaken. He also describes a Thanksgiving tradition to honor starving Black people of the South, expressing skepticism over the gesture. He is cynical about many of the practices and traditions at his new school but goes along with them because he enjoys being there. This part of the book closes with Jim having a strange sexual encounter with a girl who teaches him the value of patience and timing; she makes him wait all night to touch her, stating, “there’s a time and a place” (74).