Saints And Roughnecks example essay topic

With the social perspective of the wealthy and poor described in The Saints and Roughnecks written William Chambliss, there are several theories that are identified with the two groups of boys. These boys are both in the same grade and at the same high school. There is the one group called the Saints and the other group that are known as the Roughnecks. The Saints came from affluent families, wore nice clothes, and drove nice cars whereas the Roughnecks came from lower class backgrounds, did not have nice clothes and hardly ever had use of a car. With the use of Macrosociology and Microsociology we can understand the social structure and the social interaction of these boys. With the Labeling theory we can recognize the power of labels that we are given.

The Conflict theory can also be looked at with the two groups of boys and there situations. With the use of Macrosociology and Microsociology we can look at the groups of boys social structure and social interaction to see why they differ. Using macrosociology we can look at these boys social class. In school everybody thought of the saints as good kids. Their teachers often gave them the benefit of the doubt on tests, regularly giving them higher grades than they deserved. This opened up many opportunities for their future by being able to achieve their goals.

The roughnecks on the other hand were thought of as bad kids who had no direction in life, making it harder to achieve the few goals that they had. By using microsociology we can see that the saints were given the benefit of the doubt most of the time because of their high-income backgrounds. The roughnecks on the other hand were never given a chance because they were from low economic backgrounds. They were monitored closely by the faculty at the school and were in trouble more because of this. The Labeling theory shows how important the labels that society gives us are. It sets paths in where we want to go in life and what we want to accomplish.

With the roughnecks hanging out on street corners and the saints of somewhere else, the roughnecks were ore visible to the community. The Saints had access to cars and were often able to get away from the sights of the community to do there partying, whereas the roughnecks, who did not have access to cars, could in turn not remove themselves from the sight of the community. The community responded to the roughnecks as boys in trouble, and the group of boys accepted that perception and the Saints were still thought of as exactly that, saints. The roughnecks lived up to the labels that the community had given them. The disrespect and hostility that the roughnecks constantly portrayed increased the community's negativism towards them, making the entire situation worse. Applying the Conflict theory we see the class struggle is the key to the human society.

Also, according to conflict theory, the law is an instrument of repression, a tool designed to maintain the powerful in privileged positions and keep the powerless from rebelling and overthrowing the social order. Where Marx believed that social class is the most basic division in any society, Max Weber saw conflict as having many possible bases-including social class, but also religion, race, ethnicity, and more. Where Marx believed that class inequalities would ultimately be ended by revolution, Weber saw conflict as eternal, although it could take new forms. Group conflict theory derives from Weber's vision.

That is why the roughnecks were perceived as troublesome boys and the saints were looked at as boys that were going somewhere.