Stop-Time’ by Frank Conroy: An Overview

In un homonerly Conroys memoir, Stop-Time, he combats many situations throughout his childishness that anyow him to advance and gain cognition of the military man he lives in. As wienerwurst grows older, he understands fear, hatred, and unfairness. He first encounters rottenness when a patrol officer approaches him and jean on the streets of New York and accepts a final payment from blue jean. As Frank detectes the guard officer casually leave after victorious the bribe, he feels disillusionment towards the practice of jurisprudence officer. By passively observing the officer, preferably than aggressively interfering in the situation, Frank matures.Franks encounter with the police officer allows him to compreh revoke that anyone, regardless their level of means, is capable of backing their morals aside and cheating. Frank and Jean meet with an Italian who shows them how to bribe the strapper in order to avoid a citation. In this mount the phrase watchword of a bitch is used ambiguously, since it is hard to describe who might of said this (133). By not specifying who said the phrase son of a bitch, it leads to the assumption that that either Frank or the Italian or both, are expressing their anger towards the police officer.Frank and the Italian feel resignation towards the police officer. The police officer abuses his agent of authority he possesses the power to control many of the harvest vendors by forcing them to pay a smallish fine. The police officer is playing a game with all the fruit vendors in which only he is victorious. The ambiguity of this phrase can alike stand as a representation of all the fruit vendors, they all feel that they have lost to the cops game and end up giving him what he wants. As the police officer approaches Jean and Franks fruit stand, Jean orders Frank not to watch the cop.However Franks curio coming backs everywhere and he ignores Jean and waits to see whether or not the cop accepts the bribe. F rank describes the cops actions and attitude as calm. The police officer was slapping the baton neatly into his palm every few seconds like the plunger of an engine. Frank compares the cops actions to a plunger of an engine to signify his calm and repetitive actions of corruption. A piston of an engine repeatedly goes up and down with no other work and continues until the engine is shut off. Franks comparison of the cop to a piston signifies that the cop routinely weakens the equity.The cops extravasateing law routine ends when he no longer wears the uniform and is off duty. This shows that the cop is like any other person once his shift is over he looses all power of authority, just like a piston looses its power when the engine is stalled. The police officers act of corruption consumes Franks attention. Franks passive observance and curiosity allows him to describe the police officer with great detail. When the officer came within piteous distance, Frank becomes shocked as the police officer reaches over to produce the money.Franks focus allows him to describe the cops, big arm, cover with thick, curly, ginger-colored hair, in great detail. The great detail he describes is due to Franks astonishment that a police officer, who is supposed to uphold the law, would break the law. Franks passive observance allows him to become more mature Frank had many opportunities to speak up and take action to immobilize the cop from taking the bribe, but he remained silent and still. Before the police officer took the bribe, Frank respected the police officer, but after he took it, he was nobody.After Frank witness the police officer take the bribe and walk a management, he transforms the way he thinks of authority and regards those who break the law as nobodies. Frank strips away the Police officers power by saying, approaching, hed been a policeman, and now, retreating, he was just a man dressed in blue. (133). As Frank is experiencing this, he begins to underst and that police officers who gain authority by dressing a certain way with a badge, does not necessarily mean that they will enforce the law and do the right things.Frank takes the power away from the cop by describing him as a man just dressed in blue, with no special significance, as if he were just any other person kind of than an authoritative policeman. Frank couldnt have been more amaze if the police officer disappeared in thin air. (133) Air is a representation of nothing. Franks reference of the cop to air signifies that the cop has no authority the cop is just like any ordinary person. When you think of a police officer, you imagine peace and order.When Frank encounters a police officer, he gets exposed to corruption. Being exposed to corruption helps Frank realize that the world he lives in is not perfect. Conroy learns that individuals should respect authority and not renegade when an authoritative figure performs an act of corruption. However you should question corr uption rather than be oppressed by it. Frank matured by not interfering with the police officer, but he could of gain more knowledge by revolting the cops action and standing up for what he thinks is right.