Internal Workings In Ken Keefe's The Snakehead

From “Inside Rikers”, written by Jennifer Wynn, Wynn shares the lives from the “world’s largest penal colony” the inmates from Rikers Island. She really humanizes criminals by giving them faces and names because she does what most American are unwilling to do because they are afraid, that is forgiving people and giving them second chances. She really does see the good in the hearts of some staunch criminals. At the same time, she is a clear sighted humanist on how hard it is to leave the criminal lifestyle. Drawing all the difficulties and complications that our society has placed in the way of the newly released inmate. Not to mention the persuasions of the criminal lifestyle itself. The first chapter is Welcome to the Rock, where Wynn introduces the narratives of Angel, Kenny, Charlie, Alfonso, and Benjamin. Chapter two is titled, From the Belly of the Beast to New York Streets where both Frank and Mike are introduced here. In Chapter Three, the Captain and Harry tell the stories of Keepers Of The Kept, Convicted At Birth with Rico, Napoleon, Hilton, and James in Chapter 4.

In the richly detailed autobiography of a pickpocket and con artist named George Appo, editor Timothy Gilfoyle brings to life the happenings of New York’s opium dens, organized crimes, and prisons that encompassed the quickly changing criminal underworld of late nineteenth century America. In doing so, a comprehensive introduction and various supporting documents, which consist of investigative reports and depictions of Appo and his world, all connect Appo’s life story with the bigger picture of urban New York and in what ways crime changed during this time in history. The autobiography also examines aspects like race and class that may have led some people to a life of crime, and the encounters of incarcerations and criminal justice that helped to define the nation’s criminal subculture. George Appo, being in the middle of all of this newfound criminalization, ultimately, found himself becoming part of the criminal underworld as he partook in pick pocketing, green goods scams, etc, as well as found himself in and out of prisons throughout his life. Overall, Appo’s unfortunate fall into criminal activity is due, for the most part, to impactful social changes that were taking place during this period. The social changes that were the most important in leading to George Appo’s life of crime were because of the influx of thousands of Chinese immigrants to New York City every year which led to the surge of opium dens, brothels and

Charles Chesnutt’s “The Doll” is a story of seeking truth, facing discrimination, and making bold choices for the sake of one’s own livelihood. Through Tom Taylor’s slow-building narrative, Chesnutt reveals the complications keeping the barber from exacting his revenge on the man who murdered his father, Colonel Forsyth. Despite having the perfect opportunity to do so, Tom remains steadfast in the face of the colonel’s taunts, ultimately deciding to stay silent. Aside from highlighting Tom’s emotional turmoil throughout the tale, “The Doll” also ponders how black Americans are to advance and protect themselves, especially as individuals within a societal system built against that very idea of social mobility. The story therefore

In the annual household survey, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics earlier this year, it was reported that 84 out of 100 incidents of rape or sexual misconduct were reported by women (FiveThirtyEight). In most cases, when women immigrate to the United States they are either alone or have paid a great deal of money to have a smuggler help them on their journey to reach the US and Mexico border, which means that they are in a situation where they are very vulnerable, which can lead to them getting raped, or even murdered. Throughout the novel “Enrique’s Journey”, Nazario writes about how Enrique witnessed the rape of a seventeen-year-old girl named Wendy while heading to America. She too was immigrating when Chiapas, a gang group, took her. “‘If you scream,’ he says, ‘we cut you to bits.’ Then he rapes her.” (97). Having Nazario write about the gang rape of a young woman immigrating to America has a very powerful effect on the reader because it shows the trauma that thousands of women go through when looking for a better

Many of the problems seen in modern times are due to events that many Americans pass off as “typical” in relation to misfortunes and injustices. The Other Wes Moore perfectly exemplifies these exact afflictions that a multitude of people face in the United States, partially due to ethnicity or cultural background. The instances of poverty, economic injustice, drugs, and family influence in The Other Wes Moore contribute to significant findings in socioeconomic structure that relate to considerable matters in the present day. An in-depth analysis on the story of both Wes and Moore in the eyes of a student of National Security and Foreign Affairs, and through the perspective of an Intelligence Officer, reveals small factors that both

The novel Mississippi Mud illustrates a murder of an illustrious couple that would shake the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, as well as, unveil political corruption structured around the Dixie Mafia. Vincent and Margret Sherry, the couple whom had been murdered, were loving parents to four children, which all were adults. However it was their oldest daughter, Lynne Sposito, which is responsible for discovering the motive for her parents’ murder and the killer responsible for it. She reveals the secrets and the cesspool of corruption that lies within Biloxi. Within this mirage Kirksey McCord Nix, Junior, is presented as a character that, some may consider being born with a silver spoon, being that his mother and father both were highly successful attorneys. Mister Nix juniors’ mother was the first woman to practice law in the state of Mississippi and his father was a senator in Oklahoma. Virtually speaking he was born and raised in the legal realm which caused him to have tons of political clout that would fuel the desperado mentality he developed as a child.

They first encounter dishonesty upon their arrival in America. The agent hired to get them transportation to Chicago takes advantage of them by overcharging and leaving them with virtually no money.

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Nina Revoyr’s novel, Southland, provides a glimpse into the injustice, scandal, and struggle in Los Angeles from the 1940s to the 1990s due to its racial composition. The novel contains a unique cast of characters who, although often times interact with conflict, are forced to live side-by-side one another in their separate attempts to attain the American Dream. Southland takes its readers on a journey through a history full of trials and tribulations, with Los Angeles as its stage; throughout this story, the reader begins to understand that there was much more to this place than what was originally promised by the boosters. Revoyr makes it

This news is disheartening to Tom, but the family’s only choice is to keep traveling west. Tom’s grandmother eventually dies too from exhaustion and heat. Finally after many grueling days in the hot sun and numerous stops to fix the car, the Joads arrive at California. However, their dreams of finding a wonderful place to live are shattered when they hear California residents calling them Oakies and saying bad things about them. Californians feel threatened by the families migrating into California because the newcomers will take all the job opportunities and they will steal food to avoid starvation. At first the Joads can’t find work and they are forced to live in one of the Hoovervilles. The Hoovervilles are very run down and Connie , Tom’s brother, runs away from the family because of the disappointment of realizing his dreams will not come true.

The Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme”, as they refer to themselves, is one of the most powerful and influential organized crime gangs in the United States. The organization has risen through the decades of mass gang wars and violence to become the power it is today. Their control is limitless and they have ventured far beyond the expectations of what was thought that gangs were capable of. They have infiltrated governments and manipulated politics. They have taken over neighborhoods and attempted to ethnically cleanse them. Innocent people have become caught up in the affairs of La Eme throughout its history and many have faced violence and death at their hands. This paper is a continual of the case analysis of the Mexican Mafia and will attempt to provide explanations for some of the crimes committed by this organization. Researching gangs and organized crime is important because of their large influence and control over many aspects of daily life. The significance of attempting to provide causations of their crimes can better provide the criminal justice system a clearer understanding of problems that lead to gang members committing crimes on behalf of the organization. A clearer understanding of problems can help the system to provide solutions to combat situations that inhibit crimes.

A mother drives her three kids to soccer practice in a Ford minivan while her husband stays at the office, rushing to finish a report. Meanwhile, a young woman prays her son makes his way home from the local grocery without getting held up at knife point by the local gang. Nearby, an immigrant finishes another 14-hour shift at the auto parts factory, trying to provide for his wife and child, struggling to make way in a new land. Later, a city girl hails a cab to meet her girlfriends at their favorite club to celebrate her new promotion over cosmopolitans. These people – the suburban soccer mom, the tired immigrant, the worried mother from the hood, and the successful city girl – each represent the

Nora had asked Kerman to go to Indonesia with her to keep her company. Kerman had never been out of the country before, and she jumped at the chance. She spent her days and nights at the beach partying, traveling, and bartering with the locals. The fun soon began to come to an uncomfortable reality, when “tense phone calls” (Kerman, p. 11) became the norm. Alaji, a West African drug lord whom Nora worked for, would “make it known they had “contracts” for units of drugs (usually custom built suitcases with heroin sewn into the linings” (Kerman, p.11). Nora would set up transportation techniques for import to the United States, where they then were “handed off to an anonymous pickup” (Kerman, p. 11). It was a very risky and dangerous job which “required lots of flexibility and lots of cash” (Kerman, p.11). After the money started to run out, Kerman found herself at different banks, retrieving money wires from Alaji, the West African drug lord. Little did

With the introduction into gang life comes opportunities for wealth, women, status and power all with the convenient diffusion of any criminal or moral responsibility. Like any society, the secret world of criminal gangs has its own set of stringent expectations and rules that must be followed. In E. L. Doctorow’s Billy Bathgate, the secret world of Schultz’s New York gang empire is revealed through the eyes of the young protagonist, Billy Bathgate. During a time when the grave effects of the depression had trickled down into nearly every community, the opportunity to partake in the privy, elite, prosperous network posed by Schultz was the manifestation of all that Billy could hope for. In his short

The 2005 film, Jarhead focuses on the life of the protagonist Marine, Anthony Swafford. The viewer watches as Swofford endures the vicious training to be a US Marine, which eventually leads to his deployment in Kuwait in to fight the 1990 Gulf War. Undoubtedly, many aspects of the film link back to Gender, however for the purpose of this critical review, I will be focusing on the way in masculinity in Jarhead serves to highlight key ideas about hierarchy and freedom. Although broadly defined, I have interpreted ‘masculinity’ as men being expected to behave with particular characteristics, such as being strong, heroic, protective, and rational. This review will argue that through the focus on Gender, particularly masculinity, Jarhead provides a critique of the military’s dependence on masculinity as a means of shaping the ‘worth’ of men, an aspect which often leads to emotional and mentally isolation and entrapment, as well as raising questions about the masculinity of the state. Moreover, Jarhead criticises how the repression of aggressive masculinity, as fuelled and promoted military training, can have consequences, as the men do not have an outlet for this aggressive masculinity, for example, combat.