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Section a theories
Social disorganization theory claims that delinquency results from the inability of a community to realize shared values and solve resident problems, leading to a breakdown in social control. Strain theory suggests that social structures can pressure individuals into crime by creating goals they cannot legally achieve. For example, the gang in City of God forces Steak to kill a child through threats of violence, and the poverty and instability of the city provide an environment of frustration that strains residents and may lead them to criminal decisions in hopes of escaping their situation.
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Section a theories
- 1. THEORIES •Social disorganization (Shawand McKay 1942) - the consequence of a community's inability to realize common values and to solve the problems of its residents, resulting in the breakdown of effective social control within that community. The theory claims that delinquency is not caused at the individual level, but is considered to be the normal response of normal individuals to abnormal social conditions. Steak makes the delinquent decision to kill one of the children - yet his common goal may be power or a way out of this dystopian City of God. •Strain theory (Robert King Merton 1957) - Social structures within society that pressure individuals to commit crime. For example: 1.Steak is forced by the gang to kill, it ultimately is the environment and the fact that Lil’ Ze’ has now become the social structure (metaphorically) that causes this rational choice. The City of God is cursed with poverty and ruin. A sense of escapism is felt by Steak and those that want to be free from this politically unstable city. Alternatively, Steak’s fulfilled aspirations in spite of frustration or failure could also further catalyse these decisions for a misguided youth. 2.Toto is forced to betray Maria 3.Tsotsi and his gang rob the man on the train Student work – Callum Dawson