Code Of The Street Analysis

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

Culture in urban communities, also referred to as inner-cities, are growing increasingly violent. In the article, The Code of the Streets by Elijah Anderson, he begins to take an in-depth look at the root of the evil. He deduces that economic factors, parenting and the troublesome environments largely influence the violent norms within this culture.

The Elijah Anderson’s article, “Code of the Streets” is a perfect illustration for cultural arguments because it involves environments that are susceptible to learning a criminal culture; even up to a point of promoting that type of criminal behavior as “normal”. It also has links to Differential Association and Social Learning theories of crime

John Turner apparently never really was of enough intellectual substance to figure out how to stay on the "straight and narrow" side of life. A young black man on probation who can't pay his fine is doomed to find more trouble and that was John Turner. A young black man who has sired four children with different women and can't seem to keep a job even though he gets help in finding work that was John Turner too. As the author writes on page 285, when the "two worlds collide the street prevailed"; the street and its "code" were too powerful for John to turn away from because he was always suspicious of the various jobs he had.

Anderson’s theory examined African Americans living in America’s inner cities that are driven to follow the “street code” and work to maintain respect, loyalty, and their own self-image. The “street code” Anderson is referring to is “a cultural adaptation” which is the cause of violent crime in America’s inner cities (Anderson Article PDF, 3). Since these people are living in mainly

Reading Alice Goffman’s On the Run, I realized that unfair treatment of black people is still a serious issue that does not show many signs of improvement. The lives of the members of 6th Street are inextricably tied to the penal system, which seems to lie at the center of the perpetual cycle of violence and suspicion between the police and the residents of 6th Street. The young men in the book are raised to believe that the police are constantly seeking reasons to arrest them, whether they have committed any acts worthy of arrest or not. Many are involved in a variety of illegal activities, and spend their days “dipping and dodging” to avoid being caught. The females in the community are also unable to escape the pressure of the penal system

In this paper, I plan to first describe the “Code of the Street” which is a term coined and a book written by Elijah Anderson. I would also summarize and describe two journal articles that test Anderson’s idea of the “Code of the Street” for a more definite explanation. I will tell how the two articles that I have chosen relates to some of the concepts that Anderson talked about in the book. I will then define general strain theory and social learning or differential association theory. Lastly, I will explain how general strain theory and social learning theory or differential association theory explain some of the behaviors that were seen by the individuals in the book published by Anderson. I will point out some of the individual’s behavior and demonstrate whether it may lead to crime or whether the behavior was learned in any way.

Attention was brought to situations some might brush off as ordinary or an everyday occurrence. Small details, like the look into how America is perceived through the eyes of African Americans and what white Americans see, help the reader understand the disconnect between people of America. When the author’s father says, “I beat him or the police do,” this illustrates a conversation African American families must have with their children. Black children must be told how to act in situation involving law enforcement to ensure their survival without the need for survival. Fear is instilled into young black children to steer them away from bad decisions, while young white children are told to go after what they want and do not allow anything to stand in their way.

An instance of dialogue is, “‘But you don’t have to be acting up to be targeted,’ Harris said. ‘You can just be walking home from the store and bang, you’re a target’” (para 31). This dialogue shows how dangerous it is for young African-Americans when they are just casually walking down the street. It makes people want to help them, and appeals to the emotions of the readers. The authors’ purpose is to inform their audience of these problems of racial biases in the justice system so that more people will be aware of these issues in society. The speaker in this article can be described as a civil rights advocate, as they show their concern for instances like Michael Brown’s occurring across the country, which is evident in the quote, “The reality is, this is happening all over the country- the criminalization of young black men, stop and frisk” (para 25). They establish a professional, yet solemn tone for an audience of young African-Americans, as they want to inspire the next generations to stand up for themselves and do something about these injustices, because the justice system is not going to help. This work is significant because it talks about a controversial topic that has been around

After critical review of all three different criminological theories, Life Course Theory was the theory that was most effectively represented the issues discussed in Code of the Street. Life Course Theory embodies many of the issues that occur in black inner-city neighborhoods. It precisely explains how delinquents are prone to implicating themselves in criminal activities. It gives rise to an explanation behind the initial crime. The theory then presents an oversight to the different motives that delinquents might have for escalating or de-escalating away from the crimes. An individual’s desistance from their crimes also explains why many perpetrators age out of crime. Life Course Theory can be applied to most of the characters, especially John, Robert, and Angela as they want to follow a decent life, but have persistent trouble

Jack Rogers graduated from high school last year. Post-secondary education was never a consideration as Jack’s family and many of their friends viewed education as a luxury and not a necessity; just “getting a job” was the dream. However, Jack had never had a summer job because in the community where he lived, jobs were scarce and adults vied with teens for employment. Jack’s mother and grandmother lived in government assisted housing and neither owned a car. There were jobs 45 minutes away, but Jack just couldn’t get there. In order to make money, Jack started his own personal business for himself; he sells marijuana.

The constant threat of violence and the sometimes overwhelming emotion that is anger are things not unfamiliar to disenfranchised members of the urban community. Day to day life is pervaded by these two things, making them seem almost inescapable to those trapped in their vicious cycle and this is explored by author Ann Petry in her novel, The Street. Petry tells the story of residents of 116th street in Harlem during in 1940’s America and how the constant whirlwind of generational poverty and violence and the pent up anger that comes from living in a stifling and unfulfilling environment combined with the trials faced by black people in this time affects these characters and their interactions with the world around them.

Low-wage workers in America are not being afforded the basic labor protections that skilled workers enjoy. This neglect of low-wage workers is a personal trouble as much as it is a public issue. According to C. Wright Mills, troubles are personal problems that take place within the individual and their relations to others (1959). Issues, on the other hand, expand far beyond the individual’s personal characteristics and onto institutions in a particular historical time period (Mills 1959). Mills indicates that personal troubles can be easily detected by pointing at an individual’s characteristics, public issues on the other hand cannot be easily identified in that manner (1959). To develop a personal and social understanding if individual troubles and societal issues, Mills uses the sociological imagination (1959). Wage-labor, under the sociological imagination, can be identified as a socially constructed issue and not just an individual’s inability to be employed in something better. By looking at wage-labor in a narrow sense, it becomes easy to blame the individual for their troubles. Policies are then established to punish individuals and not the structural causes of their troubles.

In the poem “The Mill” by Edwin Arlington Robison, is an example of social issues we experience now a day. The poem narrates a man devastated after losing his job. Edwin is trying to demonstrate the circumstances of death and loss. In the “The Mill Analysis” says, “For the mill, the loss of his job was more than just the loss of his occupation. The husband lost his identity and was not able to overcome it.” The poem

When these members migrate to Canada, those involved in the act of “liming” may be classified as being lazy, deviant and a nuisance. The idea of “hanging out” on the street in Canada differs from “liming” on the street in the Caribbean. Cultural differences can alter meanings of ‘The Street’ as ethnic and racial groups negotiate their experiences and different socialization processes when interacting with the police. In this paper, I will discuss ways in which the street is a distinct form of social life for Black males using a critical race perspective. I will use the ethnography “Enforcing Order: An Ethnography of Urban Policing” by Didier Fassin and “Between Good and Ghetto” by Nikki Jones to further analyze how Black males’ presence are deemed “unacceptable” in public space.