The last theory strain theory was introduced by Emile Durkheim. The fundamental assumptions made were that people are naturally moral, we need motivations to engage in delinquency, and variations in delinquency is a result of different reactions to different types and levels of strains that individuals/ groups experience. The basic proposition is that we would not engage in delinquency unless pressured by motivations and that social conditions can force delinquency on to people. Robert Merton eventually applied Durkheim’s approach to the condition of modern industrial societies. For a society to be functional, there must be a balance between the goals and the means to achieve these goals.…
Now after a few days, things have settled and Walter has his game plan in mind. However, with the life that Walter chose, he has to live with all the problems that come with it. So while cooking meth, Jesse and Walter got held up at gun point by some drug dealers, Emilio and Krazy-8. Walter, thinking quickly, offers to show them his recipe for meth, as a way to buy time. Secretly he is making a gas to hopefully incapacitate them.…
Whereas, strain theory is more fixated on the burden put on the individual, which is the reason they are lead to crime.…
Strain theory provides an explanation of why people decide to commit crime. Agnew believes that when people experience a form of stress or strain, they are more likely to commit a crime to cope with that negative stressors. For example, a person who is going through a financial hardship may be inclined to steal to compensate for the burden. This does not apply to the dealers mentioned in the book.…
General strain theory has three parts to it 1) when a person fails to achieve positive goals, 2) when they have someone or something positive in their life taken away, and 3) when the person is surrounded by negative stimuli. For the first part of strain theory once Tracy Bost had grown up, it was hard for him to find jobs do to his past criminal history. Tracy had been in trouble since he was a teen and all of the trouble started to catch up with him. Because it was hard for Tracy to find work it was hard for him to find money. “Rob somebody.…
To begin, the main character Walter White is shown struggling financially with a baby on the way, a family to care for, and the looming diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. His family’s precarious socio-economic position is reinforced by the fact that Walt has inadequate health insurance and cannot afford the medical treatment necessary to treat his lung cancer. At the beginning of the series: working a second job at a car wash, begging an ambulance driver not to take him to the ER because he "doesn't have the greatest insurance", fretting over the debt he'll leave behind for his family when he dies (Breaking Bad). Walter is framed through middle class values in that he is a devoted middle class teacher who makes up the “backbone of the nation,” and is simply trying to provide for his family (429). Although, when his life is complicated with medical issues his life takes a turn, and he is forced to try other avenues for income.…
This theory combines elements of the first two theories. People living in disorganized neighborhoods under the stress of frustration and anger, create a subculture where people can form to lower class values and traditions with a unique set of rules and values. This behavior includes acting tough, taking risks, being fearless, expecting immediate gratification, and learning street-smarts. It may also included criminal behavior as a form of expression that is opposite of the conventional values of a middle-class society. These crimes may include burglary, robbery, sexual assault, weapons violence, shootings, gang wars, illegal drug trade, murder, and violence in…
Walter White is a huge meth dealer in the TV show Breaking Bad and the Miss America Pageant is filled with women who only represent the good, legal, and professional aspect of everything. This analogy is also successfully portrayed as it shows how the Miss America Pageant is trying to cover up a huge lie about as good as a hugely sought out meth dealer tries to hide a multi-million dollar meth lab (AMC, 2014; Nelson, Titsworth, & Pearson, 2014; Oliver, John Oliver Miss America Pageant Script,…
Elements of deviant and abnormal behavior associated with white-collar crime Deviant behavior is defined as any human activity that violates social norms. Social norms are the basic framework that help to keep our society organized and functioning. People that don’t or can’t abide by those norms are present in every aspect of humanity. Normally people will identify these outsiders and keep their distance. Mostly these individuals end up on the fringes of our civilized world, though there are certainly exceptions to this rule.…
Strain theory has been define in varies ways, Robert K. Merton describes it as social structures/societal goals that are presented to people as what they should strive towards in order to be successful in life, but at the same time society does not provide any effective legitimate means to reach that goals (Merton, 1938, Pg.675). Those who are in the lower brackets of society, and do to the pressure that society puts on the individual it leads to those individual finding other illegitimate means of reaching that goal, which Merton defines as being in the middle/ upper class (Merton, 1938, Pg.679). In the other hand Robert Agnew argues that strain theory is more complex than such societal structure, and pressure to achieve what society…
The novel “The other Wes Moore,” written by Wes Moore, is a story involving two men with the same name, who grow up to live two totally opposite lives. Both boys grew up fatherless, in poverty, and living in bad neighborhoods. For the most part, their upbringings were extremely similar with minor differences, but at a point in their lives they went on to live on opposite sides of the spectrum. Wes, the author, grew up most of his life without a father because he died, but he lived with his mother and older sister. After his father’s passing, Wes’ mother, Joy, decided to move their family to the Bronx with his grandparents.…
Strain Theory, by Robert Merton can be seen as something which forces an individual to work within the structure society has produced, or become members of a deviant subculture in an attempt to reach those goals. Merton proposed a typology of deviant behavior that showed the possible differences between cultural goals and the means to achieve these goals. Merton was proposing a typology of deviance based upon the following: an individual's drives or his devotion to cultural goals and a person's belief in how to attain his goals. He came up with 5 types of deviance. • Conformity: cultural goals and how to attain those goals.…
Sociologists and criminologists have studied trends amongst individuals and their familes, as well as their environments, to determine what can be attributed to causing people to commit crime. These theories differ vastly, from assuming an entire environmental cause, to a genetic disposition, to a a desire to achieve more than is realistically plausible. The causes of crime are difficult to narrow down and say with complete confidence that this is the reason, but the studies have many times spanned much more than a glances worth of time in order to investigate the causes. I chose to look into two specific theories which I find to be the most interesting as well as the most realistic; culture conflict theory and strain theory – two theories…
They both deal with the causation aspect of criminology. Both theories note that there are several contributing factors that lead to individuals committing crime, yet each theorist believes his reasoning reigns king. Many theories are formed based upon the effects of criminal behavior and activities, yet these two attempt to spear the root cause of such occurrences. Another similarity exhibited by these two theories is that they were replaced by either derived theories or psychological theories. In regards to the strain theory, several derived theories such as the General Strain theory and the Institutional Anomie Theory trace their roots back to the strain theory.…
Society has made bounds of progress over the past century developing criminological theories to help explain criminality, deviance, and conformity. A good theory provides a foundational lens for one to interpret and understand why a crime is committed. These theories seek to uncover more than what researchers have discovered in the past in order to understand every aspect of why a crime occurs. This research paper will evaluate five different theories; social disorganization, anomie, general strain, cultural deviance and labeling theory, presenting the theorist(s), theory premise, strengths and weaknesses and an analysis of how each theory has played a part in making me the person I am today. Ancient Roman Philosopher, Marcus Aurelius…