Today, half of state prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes. Over half of federal prisoners are serving time for drug crimes. Mass incarceration seems to be extremely expensive and a waste of money. It is believed to be a massive failure. Increased punishments and jailing have been declining in effectiveness for more than thirty years. Violent crime rates fell by more than fifty percent between 1991 and 2013, while property crime declined by forty-six percent, according to FBI statistics. Yet between 1990 and 2009, the prison population in the U.S. more than doubled, jumping from 771,243 to over 1.6 million (Nadia Prupis, 2015). While jailing may have at first had a positive result on the crime rate, it has reached a point of being less and less worth all the effort. Income growth and an aging population each had a greater effect on the decline in national crime rates than jailing. Mass incarceration and tough-on-crime policies have had huge social and money-related consequences--from its eighty billion dollars per-year price tag to its many societal costs, including an increased risk of recidivism due to barbarous conditions in prison and a lack of after-release reintegration opportunities. The government needs to rethink their strategy and their policies that are bad
The narrator whose name is unknown finds out that his brother Sonny was incarcerated for the use of and dealing heroin, raised in a society where being afraid of fear is constantly affecting both of their life’s in turmoil. “He was frightening me a little” (Baldwin 19). Fear shaped the older brother in becoming an Algebra teacher, endeavoring to save his younger brother from a lifestyle of street habits, influence specifically on drug abuse. According to the narrator, he expects Sonny to follow his footsteps in finishing an education because “If you don’t finish school now, you’re going to be sorry later that you didn’t” (Baldwin 20), in addition the narrator describes the life of Sonny “weird and disordered” (Baldwin 21). The narrator uses his fear to form a communication with his brother, however Sonny’s decision of freedom in becoming a professional musician, and escaping misfortunate moments is not in communion. Thus, Sonny feels neglected by his older brother’s expectations and judgments based on his own future. “I think people ...
Fight Club is not about winning or losing. Paul Palahniuk’s Fight Club is about the issues of masculinity in our modern capitalist society. It is a novel about men who resist conforming to what society defines as masculine. In our present day culture, men are presented with the ideal form of masculinity that they are expected to achieve such as being successful in the work place, going to the gym, and grooming yourself to look attractive. The unnamed narrator of the story undergoes an identity crisis, which is a result of capitalism; he struggles to find himself by going through various support groups before finally attending Fight Club. The consumer driven society has replaced the traditional values of masculinity, which creates conflicts and becomes the catalyst for Fight club: a place to re-masculinize through physical combat.
For the fighting scenes, the stylistic features parallel LaMotta’s own life at the time of the fight, and thus serves to emphasize particular qualities of it. For example, 31 minutes into the film is the 1943 fight against Sugar Ray Robinson, at this point, LaMotta’s life is at its greatest point, in the previous scene, LaMotta has successfully courted his second wife Vikki. The stylistic features of this scene emphasizes LaMotta’s boxing skill and control over the ring, the mastery of the sport he displays paralleling the quality of life that LaMotta has been able to achieve for himself at that moment. The establishing long shot shows an expanse of white space in the ring as LaMotta in a boxing stance lunges aggressively towards Robinson,
To begin, Mandatory minimum sentences result in prison overcrowding, and based on several studies, it does not alleviate crime, for example crimes such as shoplifting or solicitation. These sentencing guidelines do not allow a judge to take into consideration the first time offender, differentiate the deviance level of the offender, and it does not allow for the judge to alter a punishment or judgment to each individual case. When mandatory sentencing came into effect, the drug lords they were trying to stop are not the ones being affected by the sentences. It is the nonviolent, low-level drug users who are overcrowding the prisons as a result of these sentences. Both the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Department of Justice have determined that mandatory sentencing is not an effective way to deter crime. Studies show that mandatory minimums have gone downhill due to racial a...
After seven years in college, Tommy Callahan, who isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, finally graduates with a BA. He moves back to Ohio, where his dad owns an Auto Parts company. Despite his ineptitude, because his father owns the company, Tommy gets shot straight to the top of his father’s company. Not long after returning home, Tommy finds out his father is getting remarried. The excitement of having a new family is cut short when Tommy’s father dies of a stroke on his wedding day. Though the death of his Dad is troubling, there is little time to mourn. The family Auto Parts company relied heavily on the salesmanship of Tommy’s father, and without his drive and guidance, the company is in danger of getting bought out by a bigger corporation. With no experience to back him, and an academic past that does more to damage his credibility that establish it, Tommy volunteers to fill his father shoes, “ I know I’m probably not the answer you guys are looking for but I feel like I oughta do something.” (Tommy Boy). The board has little confidence in Tommy, but they don’t have a better alternative, so Tommy sets out with the best of intentions, to save his fathers legacy, and the livelihood of his home town. Eventually Tommy succeeds in saving the business, exposing corruption in the process.
When Gil Pete says, “little beats big, when little smart,” he means that the point of boxing is to outsmart the opponent. You have to strategize to win. One must not just think with his fists, one must think with their head.
Tommy scuffles through the front door, drops his book bag on the floor and plops down on the couch with a scowl across his face. As his PlayStation fires to life, he replays scenes from the day in his head of being shoved into the lockers by Billy, unable to form the words to impress Sussie, and sitting alone at lunch listening to the popular kids laugh and joke, ignoring him as if he did not exist. No one understands him. No one cares about him, because he is not strong, charming, or popular. All that is soon avoided as Tommy dives into a world where he controls everything and everyone either fears or loves him. If he fails, all he must do is reset. Here he can be anything he wants, and he can do and have it all.
With or without knowing, every single person in this world is born into a specific society. That person has no say in which society they are born into, or the beliefs, language or customs that they are taught from this society. And without knowing the long term effects, a society will shape a person’s personality and their actions. Society is a hard term to define but it does impact someone very much. Society is a theme that is constantly dissected in novels because they make a good platform to look into society and its effects on people. In the novels, Only in London by Hanan Al Shayek, NW by Zadie Smith, the women in the storylines are often stuck with a decision between two societies. Some of them are pulled one way because of their culture
Mass incarceration has caused the prison’s populations to increase dramatically. The reason for this increase in population is because of the sentencing policies that put a lot of men and women in prison for an unjust amount of time. The prison population has be caused by periods of high crime rates, by the medias assembly line approach to the production of news stories that bend the truth of the crimes, and by political figures preying on citizens fear. For example, this fear can be seen in “Richard Nixon’s famous campaign call for “law and order” spoke to those fears, hostilities, and racist underpinnings” (Mauer pg. 52). This causes law enforcement to focus on crimes that involve violent crimes/offenders. Such as, gang members, drive by shootings, drug dealers, and serial killers. Instead of our law agencies focusing their attention on the fundamental causes of crime. Such as, why these crimes are committed, the family, and preventive services. These agencies choose to fight crime by establishing a “War On Drugs” and with “Get Tough” sentencing policies. These policies include “three strikes laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and juvenile waives laws which allows kids to be trialed as adults.
P.K. meets Geel Piet, an inmate, who teaches him to box. “Little beats big when little is smart, first with the head, then with the heart.” Geel Piet says this to P.K after P.K. tells him about the bullies at school. After P.
At this point, the sheriff understands that Tom is not a coward and that Tom intends to shoot him. The sheriff pleads; “you would not kill the man to whom you owe your own life. Tom’s response is telling: You speak more truly than you know. I indeed owe my life to you”. And this takes the reader to a turning point in the story. Tom reveals angrily,” I am Cicely’s son Cicely whom you sold, with her child, to the speculator on his way to Alabama”. Sheriff Campbell finally grasps the enormity of his situation. Campbell exclaims, Good God you would not murder your own father. Tom replies wrathfully, what father duty has you performed for me. At this point, Tom catechizes the father’s duty such as protection and giving a name but Sheriff Campbell
It was Alfred’s first match with a kid named Rivera. After the match it was clear that Alfred was the winner. "But he won, Mr. Donatelli," said Henry. "Alfred won." "That's not enough” (Lipsyte,177). At the end of chapter 14, Alfred wins his first fight. even though Alfred wins, the crowd boos the action. Mr. Donatelli immediately zeroes in on the fact that winning is not the most important thing about this match and also that Alfred does not have a killer instinct. Donatelli knows that while Alfred fought his best, Alfred fought because he had to, not because he wanted to. Mr. Donatelli first realizes that Alfred is not cut out to be a boxer at the end of his first fight because Alfred did not enjoy the actual sport of boxing, nor did he enjoy winning. This tells Mr. Donatelli something crucial about Alfred, something that limits his boxing potential, but makes Mr. Donatelli appreciate him more. This relates to the theme because the fact that it’s not enough means he did not work as hard as he should have to beat him. In addition to Alfred’s victory, it means that he has reached his destination because he has done everything
In the story "Amigo Brothers" the conflict is the boxing match the two friends Antonio and Felix
The film begins with Cassius Clay Jr. before his championship debut against then heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Cassius Clay goes into the fight as the underdog and is able to dominate the early rounds of the match, but halfway through the fight Clay complains of a burning feeling in his eyes due to Sonny Liston attempting to blind Cassius with a substance on his glove. Cassius regains his eyesight and easily dom...