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Summary Of Age-Graded Life Course Theory

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Omar Little is a black homosexual male who is a character from “The Wire”, a television program that aired on HBO from 2002 – 2008. Omar is seen spending time with his boyfriend during the shows broadcast. Little does not act like the normal stereotypical gay person that displays kindness and affectionate passion toward things. It is shown in season 4 of “The Wire” that Little characteristics goes against the gay stereotypical behavior. He is not kind, sensitive, and is shown to be one of the most dangerous criminals in Baltimore. His characteristic displays that he is not afraid to pull the trigger of his gun, and he participates in robberies of dangerous drug lords as well as getting involved in inter-gang rivalries. To understand …show more content…

There are two theories that will help the audience understand Omar Little’s actions. The two theories are The Developmental Life Course theory and the Rational Choice Deterrent Theory. The Developmental Life Course Theory or Age-Graded Life-Course theory is possible explanation to answer why Omar is a criminal. The Age-Graded Life Course Theory is was created by Rob Sampson and John Laub. The two men created this theory after evaluating data collected by earlier criminologists (Sampson and …show more content…

The Rational Choice Deterrent Theory is another theory that helps to explain the character of Omar Little. Rational Choice Deterrent Theory is a theory developed from many other earlier versions of the rational choice theory model, which was mostly contributed to by Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham, and Thomas Hobbes (Dilullio). An understanding of personal choice is commonly based in a conception of rationality or rational choice. The crucial points of this theory are: (1) The human being is a rational actor, (2) Rationality involves an end/means calculation which that actor calculates themselves, (3) People freely choose their own behavior, non-deviant or deviant, based on the rational calculations that they make, (4) The central element of calculation involves a cost benefit analysis: Pleasure versus Pain, (5) Choice, with all other conditions equal, will be directed towards the maximization of individual pleasure, and (6) The Swiftness, Severity, and Certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law’s ability to control human behavior (Monroe and

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