Sociology Review: The Saints and the Roughnecks
The Saints and the Roughnecks is sociologist William J. Chambliss’ account of two teenage delinquent groups that lived in the same community but hailed from different strata of the society. The narrative deals with the society’s perception of the groups’ delinquent activities and its consequences on the well-being of the society and the teenagers’ future. Chambliss has obviously developed a broad social perspective of the manner in which teenagers studying at Hannibal High reacted to their surroundings. Teenage delinquency is indeed one of the most pressing social problems faced by the United States today (America’s Children in Brief, 2010).
In sociological parlance, “deviance” does not essentially refer to the act of social vandalism but an act that is viewed by the society in a negative point of view (Henslin, 2009). Similarly, through Chambliss’ observations it can be concluded that the teenagers’ deviant activities is completely based on the perceptions of the society. Unfortunately, it is shown that the “gatekeeping” of the professional doors of the society direly affects the teenagers’ adult lives. “Gatekeeping, or determining which people will enter what occupations, is another function of education functionalists look at education as a system that, to benefit society, sorts people according to their abilities and ambitions” (Henslin, 2009). In Chambliss’ observations, we realized that the ability to absorb education was often directly dependent on the social strata a teenager belonged to. Moreover, the society’s reflections regarding the image of person and thus, a person’s self-perception of his or her own image determines what the person would become (Chambliss, 1978). Thus, the gatekeepers apparently fail to take into account the disparity caused in the society by image projection when they select people for jobs based on abilities and ambitions, and this creates a bias in the manner in which jobs are allocated in the society—a bias that directly affects young peoples’ lives as adults. It is also a matter of concern that the image projection fails to realize the potentially criminal acts of the Saints as adults and chastises and punishes the Roughnecks because of its perception that the latter is a deviant group. Although it has not been a point of contention in Chambliss’ study, the fact that gender plays a role in the social attitudes of people is apparent. Females are less likely to indulge in the kind of social delinquency exhibited by males (Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Campaign, 2011). “The term gender stratification refers to unequal access to property, power, and prestige on the basis of sex. Each society establishes a structure that, on the basis of sex and gender, opens and closes doors to its privileges” (Henslin, 2009). In this case, perhaps the inequality between gender has resulted in a less aggressive and violent behavior of teenage girls.
It is evident that imminent measures must be taken to deal with the strata-based disparity in gauging teenage delinquency in the United States. Chambliss advocates minimum interference in minor juvenile’s crimes for the overall benefit of the society.
References
America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. (2010). Retrieved 12 December 2011, from Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics www.childstats.gov/pdf/ac2010/ac_10.pdf
Chambliss, W. J. (1978). Foreword to The Saints and the Roughnecks. Retrieved 12 December 2011 http://alpha.fdu.edu/~peabody/Lexicon/Chambliss,_The_Saints_and_the_Roughnecks.html
Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Campaign. (2011). Retrieved 12 December 2011, from Children's Defence Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/programs-campaigns/cradle-to-prison-pipeline/
Henslin, J. M. (2009). Deviance and Social Control. Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach (Ninth ed., pp. 141–169). Los Angeles: AbLongman.
Henslin, J. M. (2009). Gender and Age. Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach (Ninth ed., pp. 261–295). Los Angeles: AbLongman.
Henslin, J. M. (2009). Education and Religion. Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach (Ninth ed., pp. 359–391). Los Angeles: AbLongman.
