Power Of Context Analysis

Human action and intentions are key components in making a person who they are. In his article “The Power of Context: Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime”, Malcolm Gladwell proves that “behavior is a function of social context” (156). Gladwell describes this as the Power of Context, this power is then involved in influencing every person’s life. The Power of Context especially shaped the GenMe generation as described by Jean Twenge in her article “An Army of One: Me”. Narcissism was created from the obsession with self-esteem, creating an epidemic of self obsession. Through this relationship between the GenMe generation and the Power of Context, a meaningful social change can be achieved by focusing on the problem at

The context can influence an entire generation, which will teach the future how not to learn. The City of New York was once a dark and scary place to live, a place filled with constant fear: “a city in the grip of one of the worst crime epidemics in its history” (Gladwell 151). When fearing a place, many people may associate a stereotypical picture of what a fearful city will appear to them. Dirt and grime everywhere, urine on walls, homeless people filling the streets, and broken windows from recent crime sprees. If a crime is associated with a broken window, and the window is not fixed then the crimes will continue. This created an entire theory called the ‘Broken Window Theory’. “Broken Windows was the brainchild of the criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. George and Kelling argues that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no cares and no one is in charge” (Gladwell 152). Since no one cares about the building due to the lack of repairs, people think that the building is a free invitation to come and worsen the problem, “anarchy will spread” (Gladwell 152). With the spread of anarchy a mentality of getting away with little crimes, like stealing from a place where a window is already broken. This will then build up to major crimes because the little crimes were left unbothered soon the bigger crimes will be left unbothered too: “If the neighborhood cannot keep a bothersome panhandler from annoying passerby, the thief may reason, it is even less likely to call the police to identify a potential mugger or to interfere if the mugging actually takes place. Sometimes though, it is a crime that builds up to something more, sometimes there is a good meaning behind something that then just builds and builds due to the lack of trying to stop the growth. The is the case of self-esteem in