Deviant Behavior In Roses Are Red

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Andrew Hahn ⅞ Mrs. Ellsworth 12/11/15 Roses Are Red - Mid-Term Novel Assignment Roses Are Red by James Patterson is a novel about Detective Alex Cross and his team as they try and catch the most brilliant and intricate killer he has ever faced, a man who calls himself Mastermind. As this story pans out, concepts of sociology such as material cultural traits; values; mores and laws; deviant behavior; sanctions; ascribed and achieved statuses; role conflict; and primary and secondary relationships are all evident. Material cultural traits are single items made or used by a group of people. In Roses Are Red, one of the material traits was a gun used by Mastermind. When Mastermind would go and kill each of his victims during a bank robbery, …show more content…

There were many forms of deviant behavior committed in the book; most of it was by Mastermind. But why? There are five causes for deviant behavior: improper socialization, alienation, anomie, labeling, and association with deviant subculture. We do not know anything about the way Mastermind was raised, so we can not assume it was improper socialization or alienation. Labeling could be a part of why he is so deviant; he calls himself Mastermind and is referred to it by others, too. Even if the name started not being serious, he could have started to believe it later because of the way everyone talks about him and refers to him as intelligent. Association with a deviant subculture could be another reason for his behavior. Maybe if he did the crimes himself and did not have his workers, he would realize that what he was doing on the book was wrong. Mastermind is a very deviant person, and these are just some of the reasons why he is this …show more content…

There are a few role conflicts in the book, but one main one that pops out is the the role of Alex Cross as a detective versus the role of Alex Cross as a dad. His daughter Jennie is boxing with her brother and passes out and has a seizure. When she is taken to the hospital, the doctors find out she has a tumor. Jennie has to stay in the hospital for a while to get treatment and because of his job, Alex is not always able to be there. He misses many appointments and is not there for a major one where she gets her tumor removed. It's easy to see that he puts his work in front of his daughter most times because if he gets a call while he is with her, he is not too hesitant to leave. His job also gets in the way of his family. Because of his intelligence and experience, he is always one of the first people to get called into work. His job and family get in the way of each other and are major role