Saints and the Roughnecks: An Term Paper

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In his concluding questions, Chambliss notes these reactions, questioning how the meanings that were assigned to both groups by the townspeople, school officials, and police affected their futures. For this reason, Symbolic Interaction theory can be applied to the case of the Saints and the Roughnecks. In assigning values to both groups, members outside of these groups most likely impacted the groups' futures, according to Chambliss.

The decisions of the Saints and the Roughnecks to engage in delinquent behavior can also be explained in part by Symbolic Interaction Theory. In her book Violent Criminal Acts and Actors Revisited, author Lonnie Athens describes a situation in which a troubled, young man is riding in a taxi, listening to the taxi driver describe how much trouble has come his way. The young man begins to consider his own troubles, which he believes are worse than the driver's, and threatens the driver with his knife. The young man acted violently because of his "physically defensive interpretation" of the situation (44). Just as Symbolic Interaction theory is applied to this situation, it can be applied to the Saints and the Roughnecks' reactions to police. While the Saints formed a non-threatening interpretation of interactions with police, the Roughnecks assigned a threatening meaning to the same situation, which may have resulted in the Saints' constant avoidance of arrest, while the Roughnecks were not so lucky.

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Finally, Conflict Theory may be the theory that can be best applied to Chambliss' observations of the Saints and the Roughnecks. In Hannibal, the Conflict Theory can be applied to the obvious struggle that existed between the Saints and the Roughnecks. A conflict between the two groups was the motivation behind the different ways in which the groups were treated. According to Chambliss, if the police were to treat the Saints and the Roughnecks in a similar manner they would be "asking for trouble from the people in power." Although the police did not make a conscious decision to discriminate on the basis of class, according to Chambliss, the social struggle was such a prominent theme in the town that the police did not recognize their discrimination.

Chambliss' study of the Saints and the Roughnecks, and the subsequent questions it raises, have many important sociological connotations. By applying the Social Exchange Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and the Conflict Theory to this study, one can begin to grasp some of these implications.

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