Gang Leader for a Day Essay - 2388 Words

Gang Leader For A Day SECTION 1 1.) How would you respond if a graduate student from an elite university turned up at your door and announced his intention to study you? If a graduate student from an elite university showed up at my door with intentions to study me, I think that I would allow him access. I would like the chance to hear what they had to say about my lifestyle. I’ve always questioned the way I live and if other peoples lives’ are similar. I don’t think that I live an odd life, but it would be interesting to see how a stranger viewed it. I know at first that I’d be a lot like J.T. in regard to certain aspects of my life. I wouldn’t behave the way I always do, I’d be on my best behavior at least until we†¦show more content†¦In the Black Kings, there is a â€Å"board of directors† who I’d say are the equivalent of a large business owner. Things get done the way they want it done, and they stand to make the most profit. Then you have the à ¢â‚¬Å"Captains† and â€Å"Lieutenants† who would act like the CEO’s. They have a lot of the power, but there is still someone above them that hands them orders and who can fire them. The ranks continue like this until you get all the way down to the bottom. In the case of a business the lowest ranking would be the intern or an assistant and in the Black Kings it’d be the young boys or â€Å"foot-soldiers† that do the heavy lifting and clean up. It’s very business like in that the higher up the ranks you’re able to move, the more money you’ll be able to make. Also, the rival gangs are competing with one another, to see who can make the most money, just as large corporations do. So, I think this was a great comparison. However, when you get down to it, illegal is still illegal. It makes no difference to me if it’s the gang-banger or the CEO committing the illegal act, they should both be punished. It also stands to reason t hat they’d organize a gang the same way as a business, since they both have the same goal; money. 4.) In chapter two, Venkatesh and J.T. argue about whether a culture of poverty exists among poor blacks in America. In your opinion, does Gang Leader for a Day do more toShow MoreRelatedGang Leader For A Day957 Words   |  4 Pagescompared to only 5.4% of unemployed white people (Street,2007). These statistics represent racial inequality which caused a lot of internal, and external damage to the black population. Rogue Sociologist, Sudhir Venkatesh’s (2008) novel called Gang Leader for a Day, reveals this disparity. In 1989 Sudhir participated in qualitative research, by studying the lives of people from the projects of Chicago. The projects are a subsidized housing development, provided by the government which requires low rentRead MoreGang Leader for a Day Essay2292 Words   |  10 PagesInnovate Your Life 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 â€Å"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 forRead MoreGang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh1376 Words   |  6 Pagesunfamiliar with the black culture within Chicago. In his book Gang Leader for a Day, he tells of his sociology research within one of the roughest housing projects in Chicago. Sudhir starts his research by talking to a few elderly gentlemen he played chess with at the park. His conversation with them led him to the Robert Taylor Housing Projects which was described as one of the worst Ghettos in America. His research began the first day he arrived with his clipboard of questionnaires ready to askRead MoreGang Leader for a Day: Book Review1413 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Gang Leader for a Day Book Review It takes a lot of guts and no small amount of courage and cunning to infiltrate a street gang in the tough neighborhoods of Chicago, but that is what Sudhir Venkatesh did as a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Chicago. In order to find out first-hand how a gang that earns its money selling crack cocaine functions from the inside, Venkatesh dared to get involved on a superficial basis with the gang. But Venkatesh wasnt seen as person who wasRead MoreGang Leader For A Day : A Rogue Sociologist1589 Words   |  7 Pages Having read the book Gang Leader for a Day: a rogue sociologist takes to the streets by Venkatesh (2008), based on my childhood education (formal and informal), life circumstances, personal and professional life experiences, I perceive JT to be a lawbreaker. Moreover, based on how our society informally defines a criminal or lawbreaker, JT is clearly someone who does not or will not conform with our collective legal standards or requirements based o n the majority opinion of the wider publicRead MoreGang Leader For A Day Chapter Summary2784 Words   |  12 PagesAP English Language Ms. Donohue Gang Leader for a Day Chapter Summary CH. 1- Characters 1 s Name: Sudhir Venkatesh. Sudhir is Indian, he was born lived in California. He walks into the projects and stays overnight with a gang even though he knows he doesn t fit in.ï » ¿ Sudhir respects J.T. s rules and isn t intrusive with the gang. Sudhir is a university student wanting his degree in Sociology. Sudhir is also intelligent because he goes undercover into a gang for his project that will gain himRead MoreEssay about Gang Leader for a Day1786 Words   |  8 PagesIn 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 projectsRead MoreThe Gang That The Author, Sudhir Venkantesh1148 Words   |  5 Pages I would describe the gang that the author, Sudhir Venkantesh, studies in this book as a deviant group because they are not following usual or accepted standards in social behavior. â€Å"Deviance is a behavior, trait or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group†. (Real World, Kerry Ferris, Jill Stein, p 153) According to this definition we can definitely see gangs departing from a norm by committing many crimes and not obeying the laws. One example to deviantRead MoreSocial Control And Its Impact On America s Public Housing Essay1658 Words   |  7 PagesChicago’s public housing soon found themselves in dilapidated, drug-infested, crime-filled, isolated centers of despair. During a time in which most American citizens could easily turn their eyes from the struggles of the poor, Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day took readers into the depths of the world in which the poor resided. Through Venkatesh’s wor k, readers are inadvertently introduced to broader sociological concepts such as, collective efficacy within communities, the concentration effect,Read MoreCentral Purpose And Core Theme1513 Words   |  7 Pages Central Purpose and Core Theme Author Sudhir Venkatesh wrote â€Å"Gang Leader for a Day† to produce an in-depth ethnography on how people make a living with the use of underground economies in marginalized communities. He does so by providing descriptions of encounters with a crack-selling gang named the Black Kings, operating in Chicago, Illinois’ projects. The central take Venkatesh uses to explain how one makes money and the most popular way that young African-American males made money was by selling