Sociological Analysis Of The Saints And The Roughnecks

The Saints and the Roughnecks William J. Chambliss explains at beginning that two different groups, the Saints and the Roughnecks, at Hanibal High School were treated differently because of the group they were in. While they both did wild activities, the Roughnecks were more likely to get into trouble doing them. Chambliss then shifts into discussing the stories of what he observed with the Saints. During school days, many of the Saints would find a way to get out of school as early as possible. So what they would do is come up with excuses to leave class early. While they were out of school they would finds to cause trouble whether it was at the pool hall or the cafe. On weekends, they would go to the Big Town and cause trouble there. Some …show more content…
In the textbook, it defines the conflict theory as “a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change and that emphasizes a materialist view on society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical changes.” In The Saints and the Roughnecks, there was a social inequality shown throughout the story. The Saints were the boys, who were well dressed, well mannered, and rich, that was treated differently. They were able to afford cars and go to nightclubs and that is what allowed them the power to hide for getting in trouble. However, when they did get in trouble they were able to use their manners they probably learned from the rich families to get out of trouble. While for the Roughnecks, they couldn’t hide from their trouble because of their lack of money. They had to hang around the “center of town” because they could afford to go outside the center. The Saints were able to get away with their criminal activities because they were well mannered, well dressed, and they were rich. The Roughneck was treated differently because they lack the sources the Saints had like cars. They couldn’t hide from the problems because they were in the “center of town” while the Saints used their cars to get to the edge of town and cause trouble there. The outcomes of the two groups were so different because of the way they were treated. The Saints were treated with respect and they got further in life while for the Roughnecks they were treated with disrespect and so they decided to go with what their community said. The issue discussed in the article is still relevant today. For an example, with police brutality the African Americans are treated different because of their historical background. They will often be beaten before the could respond to the police request. There is a social inequality between the