Venkatesh from the beginning of his research to the very end came across

many interesting observations. One of these observations was the very complex
relationship between gang leadership, the police, and the government. All though
these groups dont necessarily have much common on the outside, when you get a
more in depth look like Venkatesh does, you can observe the interactions between
the three. After understanding these relationships and finishing the book, I noticed
how the system benefited the residents and it made me change my perspective on
people in situations such as the ones in the Robert Taylor projects.
Traditionally, when viewing these three relationships it would be common for
someone to just think that the police and government would be working together to
remove the gangs from the streets. Based on the examples from the book, you can
see that this is however not true. The residents in the projects actually are able to
benefit from the police and government powers in their area. Police are the ones in
cities who should be removing gangs and the other negative groups. However, for
this book the police are very corrupted and oppositely they actually encourage and
allow the gangs to proceed as they do. This can best be seen Venkatesh is recalling
on his story of Officer Jerry when he first meets him in the projects. Instead of
arresting the car thief like how the law typically suggests, Officer Jerry beats down
the thief for his protection money. Even though this may be hard to consider as
something necessarily positive for the residents, the protection is very important.
Stealing cars for that man is his job and if the police did not have a corrupt
relationship with the residents instead of just getting beat up at the beginning of the
month, he would be rotting in a jail cell. All though the relationships between
residents and groups in power arent always a role-model relationship, it is an
effective one.
After reading this book, I really have a different view on people in similar
situations as the one seen in the book. I have grown up just thinking that people in
these situations are lazy and if they really wanted a positive change in their lives,
they simply just need to do that. All though this may be true in some cases, I learned
that is not always that simple. For T-Bone to obtain his goal and turn his life back
around in a positive direction he needs money. Unfortunately for him money is
something that he lacks in his life. I will not disagree that there are more honorable
ways to get an income, but for his situation it made the most sense for him to do

what he is doing based on his resources. Being in the gang is the best option for
him to achieve his personal goals and that determination is something I choose not
to criticize. Personal situations like T-Bones are the reasons why I have became
much more understanding for people in not ideal situations like him.
Venkateshs research was really one of a kind, and thats why he was able to
obtain so interesting observations. These interesting observations and experiences all
were very educational for me. I was able to notice just how important the
relationships between residents and groups in power such as the police benefited
the people in the projects. Also, after reading this book I really changed my
perspective on people in less fortunate situations as myself. Venkateshs book is
something that will hopefully continue to educate for years to come.

2 Sociology and social change: Venkatesh began his research in the hopes of
understanding the reality of being black and poor. His goal was to discover
sociological facts that might help individuals in unfortunate circumstances. This is
consistent with C. Wright Mills promise of sociology that in understanding, we
can create change. How did Venkatesh feel about his own work once it was finished?
This book clearly illustrates a dilemma faced by most researchers in the field:

personal involvement. In what ways did personal involvement hamper Venkateshs

research? In what ways did it help? Eventually, the projects were torn down and the
gangs hold on the city was greatly weakened. Did sociology contribute in any way to
this process? Although Venkatesh says that his work did little to help J.T., Mrs. Bailey,
or any of the others in the projects, might it have a larger or more general impact?
What is the promise of this type of research? How does this book make you feel
about sociology?
HOW I WILL GRADE THIS: I want to see a well-organized, logically flowing essay, not
a series of brief answers to the above questions. Remember this is your personal
response. There are no right or wrong answers. You do not have to answer every
single question asked, but using at least some of them will help focus your essay and
relate it to the course material. (I would rather see detailed explanations of fewer
topics than brief answers to many topics without any details). When you make a
point, I will look for supporting examples or quotes from the book. If you use a
direct quote, be sure to state in your own words how that quote supports your point.
Basically, I am looking for evidence that you have 1) completed the reading
assignment and 2) thought about how it relates to this class.

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