The Gangster Disciples' entrenched presence in city life, from West Side drug sales to political protests at City Hall, is a painful reminder that Chicago has a long and well-earned reputation as a gangster town.…
At a time where crimes of passion flood the newspaper’s headlines, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves in Chicago’s own Murderess Row in The Cook County Jail. Broadway fanatics everywhere raved about the 2002 award winner of best picture, Chicago, starring Renée Zellweger, Richard Gere and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The glitz and glamour of jazz, liquor and sex shine through in this film, but are all these things worth murdering someone for?…
I’m reading a book called the Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, and it is a very good book. I saw a word that just kept coming up again and again, and that word is harpoon. The word harpoon came up so many times in three pages. I know that this is important because I know something is going to happen very shortly. I know it is going to be shortly because I'm getting to the end of the book.…
While reading “Broken Spears”, written by Miguel Leon-Portilla, I’ve had a small view of what Mexican culture was like back in those times. They are sort of different from America’s traditions and societies. Broken Spears is unlike others written about the loss of the empire because it was written from the point of the Aztecs and not the Spanish. As the book goes on, Miguel Leon-Portilla describes how the Spanish were successful in taking over the solid empire. The book really starts out by giving a clear background of the beliefs and culture. Motecuhzoma is seen as scary because he made his people surrender. I respect the Indians and Aztecs because their morals and customs were Christian like and seemed as if they did the right thing…
This essay will be focusing on the book Deadly Unna? by author Phillip Gwynne. We will discuss the significant changes of character Blacky through the relationship with his friend Dumby Red, family, football and girls.…
For Detroit, as the car business faded, poverty rates went higher, the reputation for violence got bigger, and gangs became more prevalent. Former DD leader Billy “Wadds” Smith grew up in Brightmoore, one of the most violent and poverty-stricken areas of Detroit. He stated that the reason he became involved with criminal acts was because “you learn to adapt to your environment.” The many environments that the gangs are located in aggravate the problem significantly.…
A hero is often defined as someone that demonstrates courage, performs brave deeds, and displays noble qualities. Personally, I think that this definition can be applied to both Kevin and Maxwell due to the fact that they have both faced many difficult obstacles with the qualities of a hero. However, if only one character from the book, Freak the Mighty were to be chosen and defined as the hero of the story, I believe that Kevin would best represent the title, hero.…
There are many themes in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee. However, one of the most predominate is fighting. This theme is shown by almost all of the characters in the novel.…
His line of work is not the safest. He works in Boyle Heights, a section of Los Angeles, CA; it is often known as “the gang capital of the world”. He is often surrounded by dangerous situations. the most dangerous thing about his job is the fact that many of the gang members have been told that they are less than humans. Greg argues that, “... our collective task is to suggest that ‘ENOUGH’- enough gifts, enough talent, enough goodness. When you have enough, you have plenty” (201). Greg lets the gang members know that they are enough because their behavior shows that no one has honestly cared enough to let them know the truth. It takes courage to let someone know that they are enough because it is not something that is easy to do. He goes on to explain that, “ … we see in the homies [gang members] what they don’t see in themselves” (201). Greg has courage because he affirms the greatness in people who have only seen the bad in themselves. Courage helps successful or “faithful” advocates to reach those who have been…
‘Deadly Unna’ written by Phillip Gwynne, shows us through the main character's eyes, a large range of bullying styles which are physical, verbal, mental, and emotional. This novel shows a good understanding of Australian life in the country with football and how it can bring people together, the crime thats happening in the Port and how it can tear people apart.…
"Being tired is the worst. When your limbs feel like stone, and you can’t think straight because you’re so drained. When you can’t articulate a sentence and moving at all is so hard, you feel you might pass out. Every time you stand, you feel faint, and every time you try to do anything, you just can’t. You’re too exhausted to enjoy anything. Life feels like nothing but hard work, and you don’t even have the energy to care. And worst of all, despite all of this, you still can’t sleep at nights. It feels like you’re dying, but somehow, you never do.…
Santana along with his childhood friends J.D. and Munda founded one of the most powerful street gangs in Los Angeles. Montoya Santana ran the Mexican Mafia commonly referred to as La Eme inside a California prison where he controlled the sale of drugs, pornography, prostitution, extortion, and hired assassins. My argument is that in most situations a person’s environment has a lot to do with who they become in life and that prison time changes a person’s mentality. Santana’s mother was raped by multiple white sailors and impregnated during one of the infamous Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. “When you were born, I tried to love you. But every time I looked at you, I wondered who your real father was. I wondered which sailor's blood you carried inside of you.”- Pedro Santana.…
Chicago has been known for its violence. Many claim that it is due to class while others think it is due to race. Research of gangs typically does not include the role of race, though a closer look at gangs in Chicago tells a story of hatred between races. Frederic Thrasher, an experienced sociologist of gang research, followed Robert Park, a noted liberal and leader of the Chicago Urban League, in arguing that gangs were the problem of violence in the city and not race. Park says “gangs” came from the “city wilderness” without regard to race, creed, or color. Park along with Thrasher are both wrong since it is because of race that the…
The sociological analysis of gang membership explores the different types of effects that arise due to criminal involvement. Because of the social conflicts that are associated with gang membership, this paper will explore the different theories of social learning and both personal and control issues that relate to the recent surge in crime across Chicago. As we open the doors of a crime ridden society, the truth begins to unfold. It isn’t just the thought of helping, it is the action that remains the barrier between living a life of crime or a life that carries hope.…
■ "Hath she forsook so many noble matches ... To be called a whore?" - Lodovico…