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Literature review on strain theory
Literature review on strain theory
Factors that contribute to the strain theory
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Strain Theory Bigger Thomas, a young African American male, Twenty years old; vicious, vile and mean; he hates himself and all human society, especially that part of society which he attributes to making him a monster. Bigger Thomas is in rebellion on what he views as the white caste system; his crime is targeted at white society and the people that he views as being his oppressors. Bigger has the choice of taking on three roles, he can take on the role passivity designed for him by the southern whites and resolve his personal conflicts through the emotional catharsis of religion; or he can strive for and establish his own middle class society and thereby consciously or unconsciously become the white man's accomplice in oppression; or he can reject the entire southern white ideology and assume the role of a criminal, which will inevitably erupt into physical violence. Bigger is filled with anger, shame, frustration, guilt, hatred, and resentment. He feels that he is in a society that promotes the ideas of economic stability but produces no means of accomplishing those goals, or at least not in his community. Bigger then becomes a man with nothing to lose, he has no pride, no religion, no family and friends, nothing to look forward to. The ending result is bigger feeling useless in society. Bigger feels trapped and in the book there were a number of symbolism's that replicated his feelings about society, first there was that of the trapped rat, This rat was suppose to represent bigger and how he was a rodent in society. He was lost and eventually he would explode and become a hardened criminal, he felt that he was not given the opportunities he deemed necessary to become affluent and prosperous in a society that didn... ... middle of paper ... ...ld no longer be governed by. His only retaliation was to go outside the sphere of humanity and reclaim the impunity that he thought was rightfully his, even if it meant murder. Murder was his expression of justice. Bigger like many others living in the urban ghettos was bound to be executed, by the privileged society. Although, Bigger's acts of murder were not excusable, society should have reevaluated he actions and viewed them as cries for help. He could have been used to help the problem instead of being executed like a animal, an animal that was trapped from the very beginning. Bigger went from, conformity, ritualism, retreatism, and finally rebellion. When society has a problem they always look at the individual rather than constructs of society. Like in Bigger's case execution was more hurtful than helpful, and the cycle that stems from strain continues.
The life of Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright's Native Son is not one with which most of us can relate. It is marked by excessive violence, oppression, and a lack of hope for the future. Despite this difference from my own life and the lives of my privileged classmates, I would argue that Bigger's experience is somewhat universal, His is not a unique, individual experience, but rather one that is representative of the world of a young black man. If Bigger were alive today, perhaps he would be a “Gangsta Rapper” and express his rage through music instead of violence.
Bigger is a young black man living in the Southside of Chicago with his mother and two younger siblings. His family lives in a one room apartment, leaving little space for privacy. After being awoken by the sudden clang of an alarm clock, the Thomas’s start their day like every other before it. As the family is getting dressed a large rat runs into the room, causing chaos. Bigger trapped the rat in a box, giving it no way to escape. Looking at Bigger “the rat’s belly pulsed with fear. Bigger advanced a step and the rat emitted a long thin song of defiance, its black beady eyes glittering” (Wright 6). The fear that pulses in the belly of the rat is the same fear that runs through Bigger. Bigger is trapped within the physical walls of his run-down apartment and the city lines that the white society has put around the Chicago Black Belt. Bigger and the black community have no choice or way to escape. The confinement of these areas causes Bigger to feel confusion and anger towards those who have put him
Richard Wright’s “Big Boy Leaves Home” addresses several issues through its main character and eventual (though reluctant) hero Big Boy. Through allusions to survival and primal instincts, Wright confronts everything from escaping racism and the transportation (both literal and figurative) Big Boy needs to do so, as well as the multiple sacrifices of Bobo. Big Boy’s escape symbolizes both his departure from his home life and his childhood. Big Boy, unlike his friends, does not have a true name. This namelessness drives his journey, and Big Boy is constantly singled out in one way or another. The moniker ‘Big Boy’ is a contradiction—is he a large boy or is he a grown man?—and drives all of Big Boy’s actions. Throughout the story he hinges between childhood and adulthood, and his actions vary depending on which side he falls on at that exact moment.
Bigger focuses on the question of "What would you have liked to do, if you were allowed to?" explaining to Max that nobody had ever asked him what he wanted to do, and so he had never spent serious time contemplating a future. Bigger shouts "How can I die?" His concern is not his own physical death, but the fact that he has lived his life around people who "didn't see him" and hated him, denying him an opportunity to reveal his potential for humanity.
...ed. He had to cover his eyes and his mother and sister dress out of respect. To understand Bigger is to understand his mindset, and I agree with the critic when he goes to explain there is nothing to do with the environment but the way that you react with being in that environment. Biggers hardship truly made it easier to understand the way that a black male thinks while not have a male role model or support from your mother in these times encouraging him to be the best man that he can but being hard on him to be the man that she believed that men of Biggers race she be, act and the thing that Bigger does. Everything has a reason but once you’re pushed to the edge there is nothing left to do but jump of move aside and let the other person fall. In this case Bigger fell because his mind wasn’t strong enough to understand that he could go about things differently.
Deviance is a natural part of and necessary for stability and social order in society, this according to functionalist theorist Emile Durkheim (MindEdge, Inc., 2016). Traditionally, society is generally successful in providing motivation for individuals to aspire for goals of some sort, whether through wealth, prestige or perceived power (Henslin, 2011). However, from a functional perspective, theories have been developed in identifying when lawful and equal access is not afforded to certain individuals in the process of obtaining such goals. This restriction and inequality to opportunity for access in the quest to achieve success is what is now referred to as structural strain theory, which was developed by sociologist Robert Merton (Henslin,
There are many theories to choose from and I decided to choose and focus on general strain theory. I chose general strain theory because I believe this particular theory applies to a lot of people across the United States, especially those people who are in the middle class and below. First I am going to explain what general strain theory is and what Agnew finds most important about it. Secondly, what micro level components are used in this theory and how they affect people. Lastly, I am going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of general strain theory. Not everyone falls victim to general strain theory because not everyone is in the same social and economical predicament. A lot of people are unfortunate to go through these strains/stressors of life and it all comes down to how one chooses to deal with the hand life dealt them.
Bigger embodies one of humankind’s greatest tragedies of how mass oppression permeates all aspects of the lives of the oppressed and the oppressor, creating a world of misunderstanding, ignorance, and suffering. The novel is loaded with a plethora of images of a hostile white world. Wright shows how white racism affects the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of Bigger. “Everytime I think about it, I feel like somebody’s poking a red-hot iron down my throat. We live here and they live there.
People being prejudice and racist have been a major issue in society. This causes people to commit crimes in order to receive justice. In Native Son by Richard Wright there is a lot of prejudice against the black community. In Book Two: Flight; we get a closer look at Bigger Thomas’s actions and thoughts after murdering Mary. With the amount of racism and stereotypes made against the black community it has forced Bigger to feel that the people around him are blind, making him feel powerful and him murdering Mary is justified.
In the heated trial that determines whether Bigger Thomas will live or die, his supportive defense attorney exclaims, “You cannot kill this man, your Honor, for we have made it plain that we do not recognize that he lives!” Living in the Chicago slums as a poor, uneducated young black man whose only confidence can come from acts of violence, Bigger Thomas of Richard Wright’s novel Native Son is destined to meet a poor fate. Anger and hopelessness are a daily reality for him as he realizes that his life has no real meaning. When he accidentally murders a young, rich, white woman, however, his actions begin to have meaning as he accepts the crime as his own, even while he lies to the authorities. Bigger is, of course, taken down by a society who takes offense at the remarks of his supporters and seeks to justify itself. Bigger himself is doomed, but his emotions, his actions, and his motivations all help to give the reader a window into the mind of a criminal and a repressed inner city African American.
The theory I choose that I feel best represents the story would have to be the strain theory. I feel this theory best fits because I believe that society does put a lot of pressure into individuals, especially in the black community. Most of the high crime rates come from the black individuals due to the pressure that is put into them from trying to survive in the cruel world we live in. There is more pressure in the black community for reasons that racism still exists and stereotyping is still an issue in society. When certain people from society see a black person they automatically start assuming they are all criminals, drug addicts, uneducated, problematic and have no good future ahead of them. The strain theory comes from Robert K.
The lack of role models and people to look up to pushes them to doing things that they later regret. Fear is a common characteristic of many youths as they believe that they will not be given an opportunity to defend themselves hence try to cover their actions to avoid the consequences. From the book, most of Bigger’s actions were as a result of fear. He feared to lose his job, so he accidentally killed Mary while trying to silence her to prevent her mother from noticing his presence in Mary’s bedroom. He feared to go to prison, so he burns her body and tries to implicate Jan. He fears Bessie might tell on him, so he killed her. From the example, it is evident that the black man lacked the power to defend himself. They still feel enslaved to the whites. It can be supported by that fact that it was Jan who offered him the help of a lawyer called Max. The death of Bessie can help a reader understand how importance is drawn to any issues affecting the white while the blacks have no one to fight for them, and this is a clear indication of racial discrimination.
Due to the way Bigger views whites, his motivation for killing Mary is that it serves him a higher purpose. The fact that Mary is white, is mainly what triggers Bigger to feel shame and fear. You’ve got to remember, Bigger views whites people as a great big natural white force. Considering that Bigger killed Mary and gets away with it, gives him gives him a sense of pride because he can act one way while still doing what he pleases. He believes that killing Mary accounts for all things that the white force has done to him and that is his key to motivation.
Throughout the story, the boy went through a variety of changes that will pose as different themes of the story including alienation, transformation, and the meaning of religion. The themes of this story are important to show the growth of the young boy into a man. Without alienation, he wouldn't have understand the complexity of his feelings and learned to accept faults. With transformation, he would have continued his boyish games and wouldn't be able to grow as a person and adolescence. And finally, without understanding the religious aspects of his life, he would go on pretending he is somebody that he's not. He wouldn't understand that there is inconsistency between the real and ideal life (Brooks et al.).
...event that leads Bigger’s destiny to failure. Because Bigger knows if he gets discovered in her room he will be accused of trying to rape her and will jailed and very likely executed just because he is black. His only other choice was to do what he did, but unluckily he unintentionally kills Mary making his path to failure even greater. All of this happens because Bigger is afraid. Bigger faces fear all throughout the story and his fear comes from him feeling that white people are out to oppress him and he can not doing anything about it. Richard Wright uses Bigger in his story to show how society of that time period put fear into black society. Bigger’s fear is what takes him down the path of the dooms which eventually causes him to harm, his friends, other black people, and kill to young girls one being his girlfriend and the other the daughter of his employer.