Summary Of Gang Leader By Sudhir Venkatesh

It is apparent that I will not be the first to delve into strain theory as my topic theory when discussing Gang Leader for a Day and the entwinement we see between this theory and the world depicted to us by Sudhir Venkatesh. When he began his journey to collect surveys it is obvious from his own perspective he could not perceive how much field research would become available to him due to J.T.; this entrance into a life that he had always literally circled around but did not delve into and how the “American Dream” may not be achievable as it would seem on the outside for every “American”. Within this paper I will address key points that were either noted on by Venkatesh or explained to him from the perspective of the residents of the Robert

It may seem that his back-story is, for the lack of a better word, trivial with the everyday story of immigrant parents who wanted the world for their child and had the vision of the American Dream that said child in turn achieves. Yet, as we will later see, this is the first component to depict the contrast of Venkatesh’s upbringing within his community and his personal goals when compared to those of J.T. Following that, we then learn the information of the survey that Venkatesh is assigned to conduct by his professor, Professor William Julius Wilson; which puts him in the heart of Chicago’s crack ring to gather information to determine “if the poor want to stay

However, he is intelligent and quick witted enough to swiftly get out of one building when it becomes apparent that he is not wanted. It leads him to the correct building where he meets J.T. and a few of his men. At first they believe him to be Mexican rather than an Indian and this causes them to jump to the conclusion that he is from the Latin Kings. Venkatesh is essentially hold hostage on their staircase until it is deemed by J.T. that he is not a threat. Shortly thereafter, Venkatesh decides to try his luck and give the survey to J.T. The man in turn finds the questionnaire hilarious as it does not address him very well, nor does it address the circumstances that everyone within that community is faced with. It is even pointed out that while so many outside of the community refer to the inhabitants as ‘black’ or ‘African American’ J.T. and the others dub themselves as n*****s due to the pressures that society has compartmentalized them in because, “African Americans live in the suburbs. N*****s can’t find no work” (Venkatesh 16). Despite the shortcomings of the survey, J.T. takes a liking to our young author and although he does not answer any of his questions he offers him the opportunity to come back. This is where both the actual fieldwork and roots of understanding begin to