Criminalogical Theories Applied to Monster The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member
In Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, Kody Scott tells the story of the struggle between two significantly large gangs. At the age of eleven he was initiated into the Crips, and committed his first murder. It was this day that began what would become a career for Kody: banging (Scott, 1993).
Kody worked hard to secure a reputation for his name. He held loyal to his homeboys and began to build up the Crips. His potential for being in a leadership position became more and more evident as time went on. During one incident, a police officer referred to him as a monster, and the name stuck. He worked hard to live up to his name, and soon the legacy of Monster was well known, by not only his own gang, but in others as well (Scott, 1993).
In this paper I intend to show how Kody's early child hood and teenage years, both proceeding and during his life as a Crip, fit quite well with several theories that were discussed in class over the quarter.
The Arousal Theory says that because some peoples brain's work differently than others, things that stimulate, or interest one person may not do so to someone else. People with lower arousals have a greater propensity to be criminally prone (Class Notes).
Throughout the book there are several examples of how Kody was bored with the everyday happenings of his life. In one part of the book he said that the excitement of the streets was "...the only thing in [his] life that had ever held [his] attention for any serious length of time" (Scott, 1993: 5). I believe that Kody was a very intelligent boy, but he also had a problem with his attention span. He never finished his education, ...
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...d in any activities other than his gang nor did he have any desire to be. As for his beliefs he started out believing that he was wrong, but as time passed he began to rationalize what he was doing. He told him self that the bloods deserved it, or that they were asking for it. Eventually he believed himself (Scott, 1993).
Many theories, both alone and in combination can be used to rationalize why Kody Scott was the way he was, and they can be looked at in many different ways. I hope my interpretations of the previous theories help to better explain, and understand Monster and other delinquents like him.
Bibliography:
Bibliography:
Bohm, R. M. (2001), A Primer on Crime and Delinquency Theory, Wadsworth, California pg. 82
Class Notes (2001)
Scott, K. (1993), The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, Penguin Books, New York.
pgs. 4, 5, 17, 173.
Kody Scott was born into the gang life weither he liked it or not. Born on 1963 in South Central Los Angeles Kody?s life would be affected by the growing number of gangs inevitably. Kody knew he had a choice to be made, be a gang member or be a pedestrian. He viewed pedestrians as spineless nerds who were always victims of someone?s ridicule or physical violence, who never responded to an affront of any type. He himself had a taste of pedestrian life in grade school were he was picked on and had his lunch money taken from him. ?Early on I saw and felt both sides of the game being played where I lived. It was during my time in elementary school that I chose to never be a victim again, if I could help it?(Shakur 100). Being in a gang gave Kody a feeling of security in a city of violence. ?I felt very different, older, more attached than any of...
When Kody Scott was 6 years old, the gang wars started in Los Angeles. It started out as a battle between the Crips and the Bloods, but by the late 70's and continuing today, the biggest killer of Crips is other Crips. The Crip Nation was divided into different divisions, which Monster compares to the U.S. Army. "For instance, one who is in the army may belong to the F...
The book emphasizes the idea of how difficult it is to leave the gang lifestyle. There are frequent cases of relapse by individuals in the book, who were once out to again return to gangs. This case is brought by what gangs represent to this in the book and what leaving entails them to give up. The definition of gangs presented to the class was, three or more members, share name, color, or affiliation, or must exist in a geopolitical context. To members associated with gangs, this definition can include your family members, neighborhood, everyone that they associate with. Take for example Ronnie from Jumped in by Jorja Leap it states,” Ronny’s role models are gangbangers. His family is a hood. His mentors are older homies in county jail.”(102). Ronnie and other gang members like him do not
Morch, S., & Andersen, H. (2012). Becoming a Gang Member: Youth Life and Gang Youth. Online Submission
Crips are a major gang affiliation that was formed in the year of 1969 in Los Angeles, California. The two men responsible for its creation were Raymond Lee Washington and Stanley Tookie Williams. There is an estimate of 30,000 to 35,000 gang members in the United States. Bloods are also a major gang affiliation, and was created in 1972 also in Los Angeles. Pirus are the creators of this gang. Crips and Bloods have an intense rivalry between each other that has been going on ever since both were created(“Gangs”).Though the Crips and Bloods have a long history, they are just two of the gangs that exist.
South, David. The History of Organized Crime: Secrets of The World’s Most Notorious Gangs. New York: Metro Books, 2013. Print.
The gang's genesis dates to 1960, with a South Side gang called the Devil's Disciples had become sufficiently large to warrant being given an outreach worker by the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Chicago Youth Services (source: Chicago Historical Society). The Devil's Disciples were mostly male African-Americans, 15-18 years of age, frequenting the intersection of 53rd St. and Kimbark Ave., and operated from 53rd and Woodlawn to 49th St. and Dorchester Ave. In the early 1960s this gang known as the Devils Disciples became the "Black Disciples" (see Explosion of Chicago's Black Street Gangs: 1900 to Present, 1990, by Useni Perkins). The three major players in the Devils Disciples were David Barksdale, Shorty Freeman, and Don Derky.
This paper will cover issues that young minorities encounter in the movies; Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008), Gran Torino (2008), A Better Life (2011). Movies will be summarize, and compare and contrast youths experienced. Criminological theories shall be utilized to further elaborate issues. Finally steps and theories will be utilized towards solving issues, also possible methods to correct the issues will be addressed in the end.
...me. Certainly I had little respect for life when practically all my life I had seen people assaulted, maimed, and blown away at very young ages, and no one seemed to care” (Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member 102). Monster reflects on his life after he is mortally wounded in a hospital, and in his thoughts he confirms what the two theories state. Violence was everywhere, and the people he knew were apathetic, thus he became apathetic to violence. This instance in the hospital is the first time we get a look at Monster reflecting on why he is what he is. As a victim he realizes he is desensitized to violence. At this point in his life however, he does not change his ways and continues to participate in gang activities. In Kody Scott's life situation it was less of a creation of a monster, and more of a destiny of a child doomed to be become a monster.
His gang is subcultural; they have a shared defiance and delinquency to where they reject normal values. The interactionist
The documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in America, can be analyzed through three works: “Modern Theories of Criminality” by C.B. de Quirόs, “Broken Windows” by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling and “Social Structure and Anomie” by Robert K. Merton.
Social deviancy is the violation of social norms. A deviant is someone who rejects folkways and mores. Any action that violates the values or rules of a social group is deviant behavior. In order to actually be characterized as a deviant, the individual must be detected committing a deviant act and be stigmatized by society. A stigma is a mark of social disgrace, setting the deviant apart from the group. Criminality is healthy for society. Deviance affirms our cultural values and norms. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries and brings people together. There will always be people who break society’s rules and that’s important.
Wilson, James and Herrnstein, Richard. "Crime & Human Nature: The Definitive Study of the Causes of Crime" New York: Free Press, 1998.
An integrated theory is a combination of 2 or 3 theories that offers many explanations on why crime is occurring, compared to a traditional criminal theory that just focus on one type of aspect (Lilly et al.2010). The purpose of integrated theories is to help explain many aspects into what causes criminal behavior and why one becomes delinquent. From this an argument arises can integrated theories be used to explain all criminal behavior. Integrated theories are successful in explaining certain aspects of crime on what causes one to become deviant; however one theory alone cannot explain why an individual engages in crime. This paper will examine three integrated theories and look in-depth how these theories can explain different aspects on why criminal behavior occurs and the weakness of each theory. The three integrated theories that will be discussed in this paper are Cloward and Ohlin Differential Opportunity theory, Robert Agnew General Strain theory, and lastly Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond theory.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]