Summary Of Crooked Ladder Organized Crime

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Crime is an everyday issue in society today. In Malcolm Gladwell’s Crooked ladder organized crime was still prevalent in the 1900s. On the streets of New York, the life of Italian mafia members is a one-way ticket to success. With the use of his diction, Gladwell is able to explain his stance on how the American Dream can be achieved. According to Gladwell, it is the usual selling drugs, extortion, and learning how to get around law enforcement. As such, I do agree with the majority of Gladwell’s stance on why crime is so important in American society to achieve the “American Dream”. In the passage, Gladwell mentions that “innovation” is one of the ways Americans can get ahead in society. In urban neighborhoods, “they were among the poorest …show more content…

The children yelled, “I’m going to lock you up! I’m going to lock you up, and you ain’t never coming home!” I once saw a six-year-old pull another child’s pants down to do a “cavity search.” (pg105)
The author’s use of tone illustrates that instances like this are an everyday thing. It’s like the kids are desensitized to watching locals in the neighborhood go to jail or get searched for drugs. If Gladwell used a more shocked tone towards what he had seen with the children, then the audience would not have fully been able to get the full effect of how “normal” these type of arrests are.
Imagery is another rhetoric element in The Crooked Ladder. During all the criminal events that take place, imagery exemplifies the scene. In the case of Ianni, she is vividly able to detail the life of criminals Mike and Chuck. She talks about how the police would “break down doors, chase people through houses, chock, kick stomp, and beat young men with their nightsticks while helicopters circling overhead.” (pg 104) Gladwell’s use of imagery helps the audience capture the life of the criminals and the law enforcement. On top of that, Ianni is also able to recall the number of times this occurs creating more emphasis of the depiction so readers can further imagine how it’s like to