On The Run Fugitive Life In Chapter 3

In the book, “On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City” written by Alice Goffman, social deviance, discrimination against race/social class and poverty are illustrated during Goffman’s six-year research in a deprived neighborhood in Philadelphia. Goffman highlights that “the sheer scope of policing and imprisonment in poor Black neighborhoods is transforming community life in ways that are deep and enduring, not only for the young men who are their targets but for their family members, partners, and neighbors” (Goffman). Goffman’s research focuses on a side of the story that society is not accustomed to witnessing which makes her book intriguing and devastating to read. In chapter three of Goffman’s book, “On the Run: Fugitive Life in …show more content…
Chapter three evaluates how police officers callously implement schemes that destroy relationships and friendships while touching on those who are able to withstand it. Because of these tactics, as further told in the book, wanted men often lie to those close to them while seeking help from strangers who are willing to house and feed them. By lying, these men allow these family members, friends and partners to remain in the illusion that they are able to “ride” for them without their pride getting …show more content…
In this chapter, the men in 6th street are mostly social deviants who are accepting the goals of society however they are using crime as a way to obtain these unrealistic goals. Goffman underlines that everyone in the neighborhood is already accustomed to the stigma associated with the men and would not refer to them as deviants but rather brothers, sons and friends. Discrimination against race and social class is present within chapter three. The police officers are intent on arresting these wanted young men within this underprivileged city of Philadelphia due to their race and social class. The police would find that these wanted men are easier to capture and prosecute than white upperclassmen who would be able to afford lawyer and post bail. The police are trying to rise their acclaim within their own subculture which is their profession by arresting the easier uneducated African-American males who would not be able to fight therefore discriminating against them. Lastly, poverty is demonstrated in this chapter of the book. Poverty is “the income level at which a family may be in straitened circumstances because it has to spend a greater proportion of its income on necessities than the average family of a similar size” (Canada). The women and men in this chapter are