In both Jack Kerouac’s, On the Road, and Thomas Pynchon’s Crying of Lot 49 the characters act in a deviant manner outside of social norms. This in turn leads to a deviant sub-cultural group which competes with the institutionalized authorities for power. Deviance in both novels is usually defined as a certain type of behaviour, such as an inebriated professor babbling on in a lecture hall filled with students or a group of teenagers frolicking naked in a city park on a hot and sunny afternoon. However, deviance can also encompass both ideas and attributes (Sagarin, 1975). The primary understanding of deviance rests in the reactions of observers, something becomes deviant because an individual, group or society takes offense and reacts negatively (Cohen, 1966, Lofland, 1969). These negative reactions occur because onlookers interpret what they see and hear as being bad, insane, strange, immoral, non-conforming, or wrong. Negative responses do more than define deviance; they serve as mechanisms of social control and power. In examining these novels from a sociological perspective, both Kerouac and Pynchon examine conflicts between mainstream society and sub-cultural groups. The deviant behaviour, thoughts, and attributes observed from the characters within the novels provide a strong argument for Austin Turk’s conflict theory of deviance, which examines power and cultural conflict as a basis for deviant behaviour.
To begin, Austin Turk’s conflict theory of crime divides society into two groups: those with power "the authorities" and those without power "the subjects". In Pynchon’s novel The Crying Of Lot 49, this is realized by contrasting Pierce Inverarity, a California real estate mogul to those of low social economic class...
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...sh-Catholic background, and his resemblance to a Fitzgerald hero, with a tragic death and foul dust floating in the wake of his dreams (153).
However, both of the novels express those subjects living by values beyond the social norms as having some power to change societal norms. By examining Turk’s theory of conflict between authorities and subjects, it becomes apparent the deviant behaviour observed from the characters in both novels is an influencing method of power to alter cultural and societal norms.
WORKS CITED
Dugdale, John. Thomas Pynchon: Allusive Parables of Power. New York: St.Martin, 1990
Gomme, Ian McDermid. The Shadow Line: Deviance and Crime in Canada. Toronto: HBJ 1993.
Kerouac, Jack. On The Road. New York: Penguin books, 1955
Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying Of Lot 49. New York: Harper & Row, 1966
Allen, Joan M. Candles and Carnival Lights: The Catholic Sensibility of F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York University Press: New York, 1978.
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
It is fitting to discuss the recollection of the past in an age advancing to an unknown futurity and whose memories are increasingly banished to the realm of the nostalgic or, even worse, obsolete. Thomas Pynchon and William Faulkner, in wildly contrasting ways, explore the means by which we, as individuals and communities, remember, recycle, and renovate the past. Retrospection is an inevitability in their works, for the past is inescapable and defines, if not dominates, the present.
Adler, Patricia A., and Adler Peter. Constructions of Deviance: Social Power, Context, and Interaction. 6th ed. Belmont: Thomas/Wadsworth, 2009.
Society has developed this standard way of leaving and when one is put out of this inner circle, they are left to look at life in a whole new perspective, challenging themselves against the norms in order to survive. No group of people knows this better than the “Mole people” introduced in Jennifer Toth’s book, The Mole people, where life is a constant struggle against others, police and what lurks in the abyss of the New York City tunnel system. The sociological concepts of accommodation, alienation, and culture play a key role in how we view and understand the lives of this counterculture based off of various sociological theories. These sociological tools will provide us with the ability to understand the lives of this group of people and
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
One of the most common diseases is alcoholism. According to the article “What is Alcoholism,” the definition of alcoholism is, “a chronic, progressive, and potentially fatal disease. It is characterized by tolerance and physical dependency or pathologic organ changes, or both--all the direct or indirect consequences of the alcohol ingested” (Flavin, 1991, p. 4). It is a severe form of alcohol abuse and is very dangerous because it can lead to many other problems. There are three levels of alcoholism: early, chronic and end-stage. Early alcohol abuse is usually prevalent in individuals who are high school students or young adults. They usually do not drink very often, but binge drinking can put them at risk of developing alcohol use disorder. They usually are getting an introduction to the different kinds of alcohol and they are experimenting with them. The next level of alcoholism is chronic, which is characterized by frequent consumption of alcohol. These people usually have an emotional or psychological attachment to drinking. Lastly, the end-stage level of alcoholism is the most severe. Usually when individuals get to this point, they cannot stop themselves from drinking. If they try to withdrawal from drinking, it can be very painful for the person (Flavin, 1991, p 4). There are five different subtypes of alcoholics, that are- young adult alcoholics, young antisocial
Menace II Society, a film about a young Black man who has lived the “hustler” lifestyle and is struggling to leave it, is a perfect example of deviance as the main character, Caine Lawson, and the characters around him violate many of society’s norms. Throughout the film, the characters swear incessantly, carry around guns and drugs as most people would carry around cell phones, commit street crimes, especially burglary and mugging, on a regular basis, and beat and kill people unscrupulously. The following quote captures just how deviant Caine and the other characters in this film were, “[Caine] went into the store just to get a beer. Came out an accessory to murder and armed robbery. It's funny like that in the hood sometimes. You never knew what was gonna happen, or when” (Albert Hughes). Why would Caine consider these crimes “funny”, or rather, so insignificant? What caused Caine to become so deviant? The answers to such questions were woven into the plot of the film and will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
The loss that she describes in the fourth stanza is an actual personal item that she recollects; we feel the emotion starting to come out here. Her mother’s watch was the only thing that Bishop had left of her deceased mother, and although it is a small object, it had sentimental value to her. In this stanza she starts to pause more, which is her sadness for this loss coming out in her writing. “The art of losing isn’t hard to master” is repeated again, which is Elizabeth’s way of trying to shake off her emotions, and put on this tough act as if to say, even though this meant something to me, it still didn’t hurt to lose it.
The first to advocate alcoholism as a disease was Benjamin Rush (1785-1843), and he even proposed that hospitals should be established to aid in the treatment of this disease (Cox, 1987). Since Rush, there have been many more definitions of alcoholism including the Statistical Abstracts (1979) account that an alcoholic is defined as ?one who is unable consistently to choose whether he shall drink or not, and if he drinks, is unable consistently to choose whether he shall stop or not. ?Alcoholics with complications? are those who have developed bodily or mental disorders through prolonged excessive drinking? (O?Brien & Chafetz, 1982, p.26). Further, Mark Keller of Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcoholism in March of 1960 stated that alcoholism is a ?chronic disease manifested by repeat implicative drinking so as to ca...
To understand alcoholism, it must first be understood what this affliction is dependent on. Alcohol is a substance that is made by the fermentation of fruits, grains, or miscellaneous other organic materials. The chemical, alcohol, is a depressant and acts on every cell in the human body. Due to this, the central nervous system, along with the pleasure centers of the brain, are affected resulting in a feeling of euphoria and a sense of well being. After repeated exposure, the brain becomes dependent on this drug to unburden itself whenever it feels the compulsion. Several factors that contribute to alcoholism are the individual’s psychology, genetics, culture, and the individual’s response to physical pain.
...orruption inside of police forces ought not to be motivation to deny trafficking victims the authorization of laws intended to secure them.
In fact, it may be proven that the risk for alcoholism is likely to be inherited if a family member has struggled with alcoholism, “Research shows that the risk for developing alcoholism does indeed run in families.” (Mitchell, par. 4), genetics ultimately explain the high risk of alcoholism in families. It is important to note that it may be a risk for alcoholism to be passed on in families, “genetics make up 50% of the risk for alcohol and drug dependence, not all people who use alcohol and drugs will become addicted” (Wilcox, par. 6), addiction is impacted by many different factors. In addition, lifestyle can play a major role in the inheritance of alcoholism. For example, the amount of stress that may occur in an addict’s life may raise an alcoholic to start drinking, “the amount of stress in your life- may increase your risk for alcoholism” (‘Alcoholism Is”, par. 7), risk is an important risk factor that can be managed. Considering that lifestyle plays a role, it is urgent that families pay attention to what they do around their children because it may affect what their children’s future actions. Genetics may be one of the greatest influential factors of alcoholism, the inheritance of alcoholism is quite complex, but it is clear that alcoholism runs in
“Deviant behavior is behavior that violates the normative rules, understandings, or expectations of social systems” (“Deviant Behavior,” 1968). Sociologists that study crime and deviant behavior look at a variety of different things. First, they look at cultural norms and in what ways these cultural norms change. Second, they look at how these cultural norms are enforced. They also look at what would happen to individuals when they break these cultural norms (Crossman, 2015b). Through these observations, sociologists have come up with numerous theories as to what causes deviant behavior.