Luffy's Gangs: A Narrative Fiction

Gregory Boyle, the author, said, “A spacious and undefended heart finds room for everything you are and carves space for everybody else.” In the novel, actual accounts from gang members evoke heartfelt and sincere feelings. Additionally, their life experiences widen my outlook on the gang members. The harsh circumstances each individual experienced was heartbreaking and miserable. Men and women are unable to escape their past incidents without Gregory Boyle’s help. Gregory Boyle, a courageous and sincere person, was able to transform people’s lives dramatically. The gang member’s realization to change evokes blissful and content feelings. Overall, the factual stories of the gang members were genuine and cordial.

In the book, Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, a sociology student from the University of Chicago starts out simply trying to understand “how it feels to be poor and black,” and ends up spending years and years figuring out the ins and outs of a gang society (Venkatesh 14). Sudhir receives the chance of a sociologist’s lifetime to see first-hand what life is like in the projects. He follows gang leader, J.T. around and studies his life at the Robert Taylor homes for years. Throughout Venkatesh’s experience he witnesses many things some people go a lifetime without seeing. For example, he was no stranger to seeing people use drugs or get beat up by gang members. One interesting aspect of Venkatesh’s experiment

In the middle and late part of the nineteenth century, the West was a harsh and dangerous place to live. Bar fights and murders were being committed in every town. This was acceptable behavior however in those days. Men settled their problems face-to-face, and normally, the slower man ended up dead. Gunfighting in the West was started and carried on by a group of men known as the Clanton Gang. Old Man Clanton was the leader and founder of gunfighting, his sons carried some of his fights and continued with their own fights, and his last surviving son parted with gunfighting and started his own successful business.      

In his “Gangsters– Real and Unreal”, Nelson George discusses the rise of drug use and the manifestation of criminal activity originating from drugs, prostitution, and dominance relating from the influence of gangsta rap lyrics. George observes the rise of cocaine “[i]n the ‘Superfly’ ‘70s” (22) and the prevalence of its “first references” (26) in 1983, a sign of the rise in popularity, concurrently though slightly succeeding the crack price drop from 1980 to 1992. “The bitter street-hardened sense of irony” (George 55) is developed throughout gangsta rap lyrics, where George emphasizes on the growth, severity, prevalence, and influence that drug use has, specifically crack due to its widespread distribution and affordability in the era, on

The films Gangs of New York and Far and Away are both similar and different. For example, both films depict a similar time period, but in a different location. The main characters in both movies have a similar heritage, but are a bit different personality-wise. Finally, in the beginning of the films, the main character wants revenge. However, Far and Away quickly resolves this issue while Gangs of New York continues this for the majority of the movie.

Directed by the legendary director Martin Scorsese, along with splendid performances of the duo Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day - Lewis, Gangs of New York is an excellent film illustrated the chaotic peril of 1860s New York City based on actual historical events. Build upon the nonfiction novel by Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld, the movie depicted the conflict between the Americans and the Irish immigrants due to the rising wave of immigration to America. Although the movie is overall very intriguing, and gave an in-depth insight into the modern gang of New York City in the 19th century, it omits certain events in history for the purpose of entertainment.

Gangs in Chicago go hand and hand because of the rich history this topic has to offer. Coincidence? One may think not. In the time of famous mobster, Al Capone, gangs in Chicago were just evolving but did not live up to the names they have today. This includes their literal name, “gangs” , and the reputation they have today. However, groups similar to these of today have been around since the beginning of time, and not until after Al Capone did these groups get their name of “gang(s)”. Before they were just known as “mobs”. These sort of “gangs” were groups that had similar interests, backgrounds and goals they had in common. However, there is a difference between them then and now, but there are similar characteristics as well. The makeup of gangs today seem to have the same consistent patterns in terms of people who join, how they join, and where they join.

At the start of the movie, there are two of the many gangs in the five points prepping for a brawl to see who would control the five points. Amsterdam Vallon walks with his father, the leader of the Dead Rabbits Gang, to Paradise square where the brawl would take place. Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, the leader of the Bowery Boys, leads his gang to the square. The fight ensues Bill has eventually killed Priest Vallon which ensured that the Bowery boys would control five points. Amsterdam is sent away, he returns years later from prison. He wants revenge for his father’s death years earlier, he knows he has to defeat Bill from the inside so he joins Bill as his assistant. Amsterdam falls for smart thief Jenny. Amsterdam tries to kill Bill, but fails and is wounded by Bill. Jenny nurses him back to health. Amsterdam publicly announces his return to five points by hanging a dead rabbit in the square, Bill sends a gang member to investigate and is killed by Amsterdam and hung in the square. In vengeance, Bill beats Johnny and puts him on a pike in the square forcing Amsterdam to put down suffering Johnny. Amsterdam challenges Bill to a duel in the square just as a riot breaks out, and the military is sent in to control the rioters, Bill is wounded from cannon shrapnel. Amsterdam kills Bill, Amsterdam then leaves with Jenny and they move together to San Francisco.

The book “Gang Leader for a Day” by Sudhir Venkatesh is and interesting insight into the life of a gang member, as well as people who live in the projects. When reading this book, several sociological things stood out to me, however three things really captured my mind. Those included social class differences, racial discrimination, and power conflict theory.

You think of a group of hoodlums who tote guns, sell drugs, and ruin neighborhoods as thugs, and gang members. These are things not tolerated or seen as good in society so it’s considered a violation of social norms. A street gang is group of people that form an allegiance based on various social needs and engage in acts that can cause harm to public health and safety. Members of street gangs engage in, or have engaged in gang-focused criminal activity either individually or as a group, they create and fear and intimidation in the community. They are punished by society and the consequences are different depending on the types of crimes committed. Societies “punishments” on the crime committed is what sociologist consider deviance; and

Contrary to popular belief, the location of gangs varies widely. There are three main areas that gangs usually exist. The primary location for gang activity is in the inner cities, especially areas in decay. Gangs tend to form in shifting, changing, or transitional neighborhoods of the larger cities, or better known as the “projects.” These areas are characterized by social disorganization and rapid population shifts.

In the book, Gang Leader for a Day, a rogue sociologist passionately dives into the lives of one of Chicago’s toughest housing projects in an attempt to develop an insight as to how the urban impoverished lived. Throughout the text it becomes clear that a conflict paradigm is being reflected. A conflict society is based on social inequality, in which some individuals benefit and thrive more than others, which tends to lead to conflict and thus change. This is evident both in the housing projects where a gang known as the “Black Kings” take over and also in the surrounding neighborhoods where the more elite citizens, including persons from the authors university, shy away from associating with the nearby poor black nearby public, thus

Gangs of New York (2002), a bold and violent movie directed by Martin Scorsese takes us back to a New York without skyscrapers and modern-day lavishes that shows the rise of violent gang power and political corruption. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis, the film features a personal struggle placed within the context of gang warfare between Nativists and immigrants, which is set in the larger context of the Draft Riots and the Civil War. It is a reconstructed historical narrative that uses interlocking events filled with gang violence and political corruption to show how the modern New York was born.

Putting gang members, especially the younger ones in prison is perhaps the worst possible idea, no matter what the reason for their jailing. Chances are their associations in prison will turn them into more expert, hardened criminals when they get out. For the very youngest offenders, chances are they will be expected to ask for protection in return for homosexual favors, which, if that practice continues on the outside, can mean even more serious repercussions by homophobic gang members.

when waking up the first thing you expeced to see was the sky not your crew mates faces crowded around you "huh?" luffy shoved a peace of paper in your face begging you to read it rubbing the sleep out of your eyes you began to read a smile spred on your face as you said "this is great news" but your smile turned into a frown "well it's great news for you but now well be in danger" nami sigh relived that somebody had a brain your smile came back as you said "but now you're a real pirate" luffys good mode was infecsuse soon everyone is cheering mostly everyone anyway clearing her throat nami said "molly i have a question to ask you" turning to her you said "shoot" you did a little pistle to go with it rolling her eyes she said "it's about what happened at arlong park" the mode darkens at arlongs name now more serious you said "you want to know about THAT huh" everyone looks on in confusion as you said "okay everybody story time gather around" luffy sit's on your right as nami sits on the left soon the circle is complete as zoro sits down looking over at nami you said "okay first what questions do you want to ask" nami gives you a look that said you know what i want to ask you but she complys "why couldn't arlong and the villagers see you" luffys eyes bulge out at namis words "arlong couldn't see molly that so cool" he puts a finger on his lip as he said "that reminds me when me and molly went on a walk we ran into some fish men and they couldn't see her ether not until i pointed her out"