An Analysis of In Search of Respect
In his book, In Search of Respect, Philippe Bourgois discussed his experiences living in El Barrio (East Harlem). An interesting new insight into the street culture found in New York was captured in this book. The amount of poverty in this portion of our country is much higher than that in most other areas. Bourgois argues that this neighborhood, which is well known for high rates of violence, does not have widespread violence occurring amongst all of it's members. The higher crime rate, argues Bourgois, occurs for the most part within the factions of the underground economy. Some insight into this economy would explain the reasons for higher rates of violence.This book is a summary of the events that occurred during Bourgois' stay in El Barrio. The original purpose of the book was to write a first-hand account of poverty and ethnic segregation in the heart of one of the world's largest cities. Bourgois was swept into the area drug economy because of the abundance of information from the dealers and their families who all lived within the immediate area. The problem was so prevalent that the focus of th
Bourgois argues that, to reduce the violence within the drug community, we should consider the decriminalization of drugs. The current availability of jobs within the inner-city is mostly within the service sector. Bourgois states that there is a strong feeling of community among the people living in El Barrio. Bourgois states that, during the day, children are safely left to play in the streets unattended by their parents. The jobs pay little and aren't generally respected. 1995Bibliography Bourgois, Philippe. Cambridge University Press, New York. The result is a high risk of harm to those who participate in the drug economy. Bourgois states that many of the unemployed in the inner-city are not successful in finding work because they lack the skills of working efficiently with people that they don't already have an every day relationship with, something that factory jobs provided. The amount of drug dealers or crack houses is an indirect result of the lost jobs in Harlem. The group of crack dealers filtered through Bourgois present a compelling argument that reform within the economy needs to take place in order to reduce the amount of violence within the inner-cities of the United States. This would also provide employment to those within the community that are having difficulty finding work within the mainstream economy. Most of the accounts given in the book come from a single crack house near Bourgois' tenement.
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Acceptance Essays
