Marie Elliot's Saudade: A Narrative Fiction

People that have lived their whole lives in the bad neighborhoods of the lower class, do not know how to provide for the new generation of kids that now will iherts the misfortunes of the adults. In many cases this kids that are force to live in neighborhoods filled with violence and drugs have a hard time developing normal social skill that would help them in the future. When the parents fail in helping the kids get a better future, the only thing a kid can do is look for guidance somewhere else and that is how kids fall into the wrong path in life. Much like Edwin Debrow a 12 year old kid who had to rely on the streets to get some guidance, but now he is in prison paying for the mistake he did. The article “The Prisoner” tells the story of the 12 year old killer who now faces many years in prison. The author if the article uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos to make the argument that kids that commit a crime should be helped with the way they are acting and get placed in a better care, then to keep pushing them to fight authority.

In society, things are not as they seem at times. The criminal justice system was created to help deter crime and to punish those who break the law. Laws are put in place to be fair to all citizens. Your economic situation, gender, race should not become a factor for you to be given “due process”. Years have come and gone and the crime rates increases and decreases with the years. There have been many senseless killings and everyone has their point of view as to the causes. The focal point of this report will be the findings from the readings of, “The rich get richer and the poor get prison by Jeffery Reimer and Paul Livingston”. I will discuss the causes of the rise and fall of the many different types of crimes ; why the rise and fall of crime rates; what contribution has the criminal justice and or police system has contributed whether positive or negative; and lastly discuss which economic group ends up in prison and why.

A prosecutor looking for real justice, Adam Foss demonstrates just how effective rhetorical devices can be to persuade a population to defend the rights of others. When telling the story of how people end up in the criminal justice system, Foss tells “Even in our ‘worst.’ I saw...childhood trauma, victimization, poverty...interaction with the police…”(3:24) Many people tend to see people convicted of crimes as inhuman or lesser than us. However, Foss begins to humanize them. Moreover, he states that the reason these people commit crimes isn’t because of some violent, unfathomable reason, but rather because of their rough experiences earlier in life. To fix crime, people must step up and fix issues that cause crime, not throw people into a broken

“Poverty goes up; Crime goes down; Prison population doubles. It doesn 't fit, unless some sort of alternative explanation comes into play. Maybe all those new nonviolent prisoners fit into some new national policy imperative. Maybe they all broke some new set of unwritten societal rules. But what?” – Matt Taibbi

The motivation of criminals encompasses more than one common denominator, however, the degree of culpability and causation are within close proximity of one another. People every day engage in illicit acts for a myriad of reasons that run the gamut from white-collar crimes such as embezzling large sums of money to retail thefts. Gang related and drug-crimes that result in violence have plagued metropolitan areas throughout American. There is never any justification for taking someone’s life unless it is in self-defense, but people kill indescribably for material goods or money. Is it the Americans’ insatiable appetite and relentless pursuit of obtaining wealth and prosperity in achieving the American dream? Yes and no. For some people, this is the underlining-motivator for committing criminal acts regardless of the consequences. The perception of wealth in America as a viable solution for resolving problems is a mirage not a remedy. Even though this is a common known cliché that “money doesn’t buy happiness,” people continue to risk their freedom and commit criminal acts for such a dream. These are just a few irrational explanations of why people under the general strain theory, whether first offenders, or career criminals commit crimes. There are many exceptions, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, mental health problems, drug and alcohol addiction that contribute to criminal behavior as well.

The criminal justice system is well talked about throughout communities, law officials, and etc. Through social media we hear about the criminals who go into prison and the prisoners who return to prison, but never about the ones who change or learn their lesson from it. It is believed that once someone has been arrested and sent to prison or jail, it is likely that they will return to their again at some point in their lifetime. We believe this because we think these criminals were made this way and don’t have the ability to change. The memoir, Dreams from the Monster Factory, written by Sunny Schwartz and David Boodell, talks about the life inside a prison and jail and how Sunny’s RSVP program gives prisoners the ability to change their life around. Dreams from the Monster Factory was Sunny’s experience about what she saw working behind bars. She directed her book towards the public and other jails around her to try to bring awareness about how the RSVP program came and helped out more prisoners to become less violent. Sunny proved this by giving personal stories from real prisoners, how the RSVP program came to help them. This essay is directed towards anyone who hasn’t read this book. In the memoir, Dreams from the Monster Factory, Sunny Schwartz and David Boodell use rhetorical appeals, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to show her audience that by implanting the RSVP program

Becker argued those who are labeled as a criminal by the police and middle-upper class, are more likely to conform to that label because they view authorities and society as the enemy. He goes on to explain that “social groups create deviance by making the rules, [and] those who break them are deviants” (Slides 6 and 7, 11/18). In other words, Becker insinuates a person could be forced into criminal acts due to the stereotypes the public has about criminals.

Prominent among them is the reduction of the prison sentences for nonviolent and low-level drug crimes. However, this is not enough. “Even if we released everyone imprisoned for drugs tomorrow, the united states would still have 1.7 million people behind bars.” That massive statistic comes as a great shock to readers, as they only now realize the true urgency of the issue. The authors acknowledge that “half the people in state prisons are there for a violent crime.” However, “not all individuals convicted for a violent crime are alike.” They are convicted for different levels of violence: some are mass murderers or serial killers, while others are “battered spouses who struck back at their abusers.” Mauer and Cole also refer to studies that found that longer sentences are not better deterrents, as most serious offenses were committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The authors call for acknowledgement that excessively long sentences are merely a waste of money and totally

Incarceration is considered society’s ultimate punishment. The social consensus is that prison is an individual’s way of amending their wrongdoing and balancing the scales of justice. This is the function that prison would serve in an ideal world. Unfortunately, being introduced into the correctional system often seals offenders into a lifetime of punishment. There are barriers that exist outside of prison walls that contribute to the cycle of incarceration and recidivism. Numerous criminological theories including strain theory and social disorganization theory have found that socioeconomic status, poverty, and ecological factors all contribute to a greater likelihood of recidivism (Miller, Schreck, & Tewksbury,

Particularly, in 1902, Clarence Darrow issued his famous Crime and Criminals: Address to the Prisoners in the Chicago Jail. Here, he approaches the question of crime, including its causes and cures, from the stance of non-believer in crime. His conflict theory-type explanation for crime

All criminals strive to maintain a sense of normality and humanity and, despite the situations they evidently put themselves in, human nature forces them to fit the “Norm”. This normality can only be achieved through acceptance in the mind and soul, but criminals have already thrown away part of their soul to benefit themselves. In order to regain back the parts of their soul that they lost to the deep abyss of societal pressure they search for a sense of redemption in others, or try to cancel out their wrong by doing a right. This never works however, as In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

or the same criminal behavior, the poor are more likely to be arrested; if arrested, they are more likely to be charged; if charged, more likely to be convicted; if convicted, more likely to be sentenced to prison; and if sentenced, more likely to be given longer prison terms than members of the middle and upper classes.1 In other words, the image of the criminal population one sees in our nation’s jails and prisons is distorted by the shape of the criminal justice system itself. It is the face of evil reflected in a carnival mirror, but it is no laughing matter.

Even after everyone’s efforts to rebel against the tyrannical company, the Circle is stronger than ever. The world is completely transparent while being under the illusion of a utopia. Annie, a worker at the Circle, fell into a coma as a result of stress from the company’s impractical system. While Mae is witnessing Annie’s current state, she questions what Annie is thinking which ultimately leads to her questioning why everyone can’t be in constant view of other’s thoughts. Mae is completely brainwashed mind and her idea of controlling an entity of thoughts and consciousness will turn into reality. Eggers last sentence truly haunts the reader with the impression that no one is safe and ends his novel with a malicious twist.

His idealized expectations disillusioned him and thus left him feeling great loss. It wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t triumph in his quest to impress the girl who lives in his neighborhood that made him feel this way, however, it was the fact that he had invested so much expectation and hope into this one pursuit that it destroyed his ability to ever look back at things the same way, it destroyed the innocent lens he had. Reality is a hard road to take and once it sets in, it can’t be ignored. To go back to childish beliefs of adventure and magic is only teasing and a waste of time wrapping up in the unreal.

The Criminal Justice System goes as far back as the days of Jesus. There were Soldiers who acted like policeman, the tribune which was the court system, and Caesar, Herod and even Pontius Pilate stood as judge. The prison system was that of dark caves and dungeons. As we journey to the twenty-first century, nothing has genuinely changed. In my essay I will explicate how the various aspect of criminal justice relate to one another as well as why it so important in society. Criminal Justice refers to the facet of social justice that concern violators of criminal law. The