Strain Theory Essay - 995 Words

The book â€Å"Crime and the American Dream† is an example of the Strain Theory. Social class and living conditions are some of the factors that increases the vulnerability of a certain group to commit crimes. People are eager to be part of the ideology of the dream that the United States has to offer. The United States promise people that if they form part of the American society they will be successful and have the opportunities that they did not have in their home country. Most people believe that since the United States is the land of opportunity. Many people come to this country chasing the American dream while leaving behind the restrictions of their home land. People in their home country that have not yet experienced the living†¦show more content†¦Some people in society rather conform and take socially acceptable paths. Some of those paths include taking less derivable jobs if they cant get their dream job, get an education in less expensive schools if they cant get to harvard or take night classes and learn a trade (Hesling) Those will be the institutionalized way of reaching cultural goals.According to James Heslin there are four other way in which a person can be classified as a conformist or a non conformist (174). Innovators are those who accept the cultural goals but they do not accept the institutionalized means to get them. Some examples are drug dealer, robbers or con artist. The second path is ritualism and happens with those who at the beginning were accepting cultural goals but then they got discourage. At the same time they still do the responsibilities of their job because they want to help the future generation a nd help the world be a better place. The third one is Retreatism and they are those who reject both the institutionalized means and the cultural goals. They usually remove themselves from society and start doing drugs to cope with their lives. Some decide to join a convent. The fourth one is rebellion.They also reject the institutionalized means and cultural goals . However, the difference is that this path tries to change society and their goals and the wayShow MoreRelatedStrain Theory Essay1361 Words   |  6 PagesRobert Agnew is known for his general strain theory. The theory explains that the basis of people getting involved in criminal activity is because of strain. If someone becomes upset, frustrated, depressed, or mistreated they will turn to crime in order to deal with the feelings. Yet, not all people turn to crime in order to deal with strain or stressors. There are different ways to measure strain. Subjective strains are those strains that are disliked by particula r person or group. 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