Richard Bausch’s “The Man Who Knew Belle Starr” describes the expectations and stereotypes of human nature through his two leading characters, McRae and Belle Starr. Through Merton’s Deviance Typology and Jenks’ “Withering Transgression?” the two characters can be easily dissected by their types of deviant personalities and whether or not the two are considered transgressive. Debra Marshall defines deviance as behavior that violates standards or expectations (Marshall), which means, any action that is considered morally wrong by society. Marshall classifies social behavior into five categories: conformists, ritualists, innovators, reatreatists, and rebels. Conformists are people who abide by the laws and standards set by society; while ritualists …show more content…
Debra Marshall defines rebelism as: “They reject the means and reject the goals, not only that, but they work hard to change the goals of society” (Marshall 15:11). Starr glorifies her actions and values the historic American Wild West time period, hoping to adjust society’s standards to the period she idolizes. Belle Starr is an outlaw who murders five men and one dog, she justifies this by explaining how they merely gave her an obscene look, or made an offensive remark towards her. Starr sees nothing wrong with her actions, and expects society to understand and empathize with her reasoning. After Starr murders a diner shop owner for suggesting she would enjoy a hotdog he offered to prepare for her; Starr and McRae converse, “’I didn’t shoot that man for money, you know.’ McRae said nothing. ‘I shot his because he made a nasty remark to me about the hotdog.’ ‘I didn’t hear a nasty remark.’ ‘If he hadn’t said it, he’d still be alive’” (Bausch 121). Belle Starr is delusional and overly sensitive, she believes the shop owner is a pervert and therefore deserves his fate. Starr explains her reasoning to McRae, and despite the fact that McRae does not support her decision; Starr continues to believe her actions are justified. Belle Starr believes that by murdering those men, she is performing a service to society in order to improve her own life and the lives of others. In reality, society …show more content…
Transgression is described as breaking rules and exceeding society’s boundaries (Jenks 3). Starr has borderline personality disorder, her severe actions, unstable mood, and impulsive behavior blindfolds her from seeing the outcome of her actions. Jenks site’s a brief description of psychosis: “The psychotic, alone in his cosmos, discovers a world he does not understand and cannot control. He adopts animistic ‘theories’ as a measure of self-defense. The necessity of primitive thought becomes clearer in this context. The psychotic is identical with a world that threatens him with indescribable torments” (Ferguson 1990: 43) (Jenks 3). Consequently, Belle Starr commits multiple murders, yet does not realize that her actions are worse than the actions she strives to end. Throughout Bausch’s short story, Belle Starr celebrates her “achievements” and glorifies her alias, based off an historical outlaw from the Wild West time period. After Starr explains her various murders to McRae, she insists that he can boast about their paths crossing. She may even believe that her actions will one day be marked in history, as if she is a hero. “’Five and a half people,’ she said, turning a little in the seat, putting her knees up on the dash. ‘Have you ever met anybody like me? Tell the truth.’ ‘No,’ McRae said, ‘nobody.’
In the legendary period of American history known as the Old West, the law of the whole nation had yet to tame that frontier which was spottily settled. This resulted in lawlessness seen in the personage of those known as outlaws and lawbreakers whose notorious reputations often exceeded their very person to mythical proportions. Belle Starr was one such outlaw. From her association with outlaws such as Jesse James and the Younger brothers, she reached a level of fantastic infamy that today leaves the facts of her life not always distinguishable from the fiction. Belle's life is an odyssey of many marriage's and affairs with felons, petty criminals, and unsavory characters. Belle Starr’s legacy will live on forever reminding us of the past events that still connect with current societies events.
A distinct conscience is formed by the values and desires of one’s unique identity. However, common beliefs of societal standards can influence conscientious desires. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces a young girl named Scout, who learns about the difference between social conformity and human conscience. Through this, she notices the conflict it brings: choosing to conform or stand with your desire. Through Maycomb’s discriminatory principles, Atticus’ actions against common beliefs, and Scout’s comprehension of Boo, Lee reveals how society’s standards and conformity hinders personal desires for righteousness.
Adler, Patricia A., and Adler Peter. Constructions of Deviance: Social Power, Context, and Interaction. 6th ed. Belmont: Thomas/Wadsworth, 2009.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
In her book, Limerick describes the “idea of innocence” that permeated the American West (36). According to the author, the underlying motive for every action was pure (even when it really was not). According to Western American folklore, early settlers did intend to victimize Indians and trespass on their land, but instead came to America to pursue new opportunities and improve their lives (Limerick 36). The same ideological theory may be applied to the motivations of the sensationalized outlaws from the time. For example, in her book Limerick details the life of John Wesley Hardin, an outlaw, who began his violent life of crime at the age of fifteen (36). According to the story, Hardin shot and killed a black man (Limerick 36). However, idolized as the son of a preacher, Hardin hid his crimes behind the veils of “bravery” and “honor” (Limerick 36). He claimed that he actually shot the man --...
Goode, E. (2011). Constructionist Perspectives of Deviance. Deviant Behavior (Ninth Edition ed., ). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, Inc..
Before the 1950’s theorists focused on what the difference was between deviants and criminals from “normal” citizens. In the 1950’s researchers were more involved exploring meaning and reasons behind deviant acts. This led to the most dominant question in the field of deviance, “what is the structural and culture factors that lead to deviant behavior?” This question is important when studying deviance because there is no clear answer, everyone sees deviance in different ways, and how deviance is created. Short and Meier states that in the 1960’s there was another shift in focus on the subject of deviance. The focus was what causes deviance, the study of reactions to deviance, and the study of rule breaking and rule making. In the 1960’s society was starting to speak out on what they believed should be a rule and what should not; this movement create chaos in the streets. However, it gave us a glimpse into what makes people become deviant, in the case it was the Vietnam War and the government. Short and Meier also write about the three levels that might help us understand were deviance comes from and how people interact to deviance. The first is the micro level, which emphasizes individual characteristics by biological, psychological, and social sciences. The second level is macrosociological that explains culture and
Deviance is the term that s used for the type of behavior that does not comply or rather, goes against the norms of the society. Crime is an evident example of deviance and this has been used in a great way in this film. The film revolves around Derek who chooses to leave the path of deviance
In Flannery O’Connor’s short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, a family gets in a car accident on a deserted dirt road. Unluckily for them, they are found by a group of three escaped convicts, led by a man who calls himself The Misfit. These convicts systematically execute the family in twos as the Misfit talks with the grandmother. While the catalyst for this execution is the grandmother’s verbal recognition of The Misfit as an escaped criminal, it is clear that he commits his crimes for deeper reasons. The Misfit is angry on a fundamental level, and acting out on this anger is the closest he can come to feeling pleasure in this life.
This means that negative deviance either choose to ignore, or do not realize that they are rejecting social norms. An example of negative deviance could be seen in the workplace. Leaving early, being rude, taking excessive long breaks, stealing from the company or coworkers, and lying about hours you have worked are all examples of negative deviance. While society values persons who are honest, and hardworking, some institutions rely on employees that are misleading and dishonest in order to get what they want, to work their way to success. If an employee is around people, or a company who is maybe known for their poor work conduct, poor decision-making, and very high levels of employee anxiety and employee stress, all these could very well make the person act
Social deviance is when people who are faced with social norms either choose to conform or to rebel
There exists conflicting theories among sociologists in the area of determining why a person is considered to be a deviant, and the reasons behind why he or she has committed a deviant act. From a positivistic perspective, deviance is based on biological or social determinism. Alternatively, from a constructionist perspective, deviance is created and assigned by society. Both perspectives seek to give a theory for why a person may become known as deviant. Although they both view similar acts as deviant, the basic differences between positivists and constructionists theories are clear.
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.
While Scout and Jem discover a sick dog, they alerted their neighbors about it. Atticus took his rifle and shot the sick dog. Staying close to Miss Maudie, Scout listens to Miss Maudie’s story about Atticus. She tells him how he had a great shot and almost never missed. Scout wondered why he didn;t go hunting anymore. Miss Maudie explains to her by saying, “Maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things” (130). Miss Maudie means that because of the advantage he has on wild animals, he found it unacceptable to kill things that couldn’t fight back. This shows how Atticus is, that he is honest with himself and shooting for sport is not ok.Atticus showed an example of his integrity. Scout sees this and understands the lesson of being fair and sticking to your principles. Also, Atticus has a different opinion than the majority in Maycomb. Being a lawyer, he defends Tom Robinson. Scout talks to Atticus and talks how lots of people in Maycomb believe he is wrong, while Atticus believes he is right. Atticus the states, “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person conscience” (140). Sticking to what he believes, Atticus shows his person integrity. He doesn’t follow something because everyone else believes something, it is more because he sticks with and is strong with his principals.
Hayes, T. A. 2010. Labelling and the Adoption of a Deviant Status. Deviant Behaviour, 31 (3), pp. 282-297.