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  • Essay / An ethnographic study of poor Chicago neighborhood in No Way Out, a book by Waverly Duck

    No Way Out by Waverly Duck incorporated the ideas of many renowned sociologists, including Durkheim, Garfinkel, Goffman, and Rawls, which increased the credibility of Duck's claims. As an author, Duck acquired information for his book by spending extended periods of time observing the subjects of his book and getting to know them personally. According to Duck, the evidence for his book came from ethnographic studies of people in black and poor neighborhoods. This allowed him to write a fascinating and powerful book that told and analyzed personal narratives rather than relying solely on statistics to form conclusions about the people he was studying. Although an ethnographic experiment provides Duck with in-depth insight into the lives of his subjects, the data he collects is primarily qualitative rather than quantitative. This means that his data is subject to bias or varying interpretations, allowing critics to suggest that Duck's claims have no concrete evidence to support them. However, by understanding the social context of the neighborhood where Duck conducted his study, we can better interpret Duck's qualitative data. Duck studied a poor neighborhood in Chicago, which he named Bristol Hill (to preserve the anonymity of the largely African-American community he studied). Duck first became intrigued by Bristol Hill when he was asked to testify in a federal death penalty case involving a defendant from that neighborhood. In order to testify accurately, Duck conducted an ethnographic study to help him develop a sociological point of view for his testimony. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay There is a common belief that many of these civilians have no way to improve their situation. This belief is partially true. Poor civilians have limited opportunities to leave the Bristol Hill community due to the lack of a social safety net, the presence of a flawed criminal justice system as well as laws that impose excessive regulations on the poor population without providing the necessary assistance. Isolated from mainstream society and struggling with poverty, the residents of Bristol Hill create their own community, with drug dealers at the top of the hierarchy. Strangely, these drug dealers promote order by creating unwritten rules, which Duck calls "interaction order," that govern safety in their neighborhoods. These unwritten social regulations are often misunderstood by society in general. To survive in Bristol Hill, you must understand these informal laws. These regulations exist to help residents adapt to poverty and avoid imprisonment, especially as the strengthening war on drugs has led to the mass incarceration of drug traffickers. Bristol Hill essentially has its own culture, a concept that was fascinating. Duck Even in an area with few economic opportunities, poor educational offerings, and gang violence, this culture attracts many Bristol Hill residents, causing them to happily spend their entire lives in this “ghetto” neighborhood. The people of Bristol Hill arise from the role each civilian plays in this society. There is therefore a certain level of mutual respect between members of the neighborhood. Each resident is like an actor in a play with roles they must fulfill to ensure the safe operation of the Bristol Hill neighborhood. This situation resembles dramaturgical theory, especially since the role of each in thecommunity does not necessarily coincide with one's personal beliefs. For example, there is a tension between obtaining the money necessary for survival through dangerous means such as drug dealing and protecting one's family. While the average individual can rely on law enforcement to keep them safe, negative stereotypes of the Bristol Hill community influence police views of Bristol Hill residents, often incarcerating these poor citizens rather than to protect them. This is why residents of Bristol Hill rarely call the police. Interestingly, drug dealers in this neighborhood are respected, even revered. Coinciding with Merton’s typology of deviance, drug dealers fall into the category of “innovators.” Rather than being labeled criminals by their neighbors, they are seen as entrepreneurs, making money even though they live in situations that make survival difficult. They are also considered protectors. , ensuring that gangs and authority figures do not harm their loved ones. In Bristol Hill, drug dealers fill the role that law enforcement and government usually fill for other Bristol Hill neighborhoods. It is difficult to catch these drug dealers red-handed with drugs or weapons in their homes, because they hide drugs and weapons under "trash piles" in the neighborhood, although a passerby might think that the residents of Bristol Hill cannot clean up. After them, drug traffickers depend on these piles of garbage to keep their businesses thriving. These trash piles are a survival mechanism for drug dealers who want to avoid incarceration and provide money for their families. In order to avoid incarceration, drug dealers lure young black teenagers into their drug dealing lifestyle, including using minors as "robbers", forcing them to hold drugs if law enforcement the order pursues them. The logic behind the use of "heists" is that juveniles will receive relatively lenient prison sentences for drug offenses compared to adults. This rite of passage for teenagers also allows drug dealers to determine which young members of the community can be trusted to keep the secrets of their industry. In order to infiltrate this community, Duck also had to contribute to the community in some way. He ultimately took on the role of a mentor or teacher at Bristol Hill. By becoming a mentor to the residents, Duck could learn more about their personal stories. Although statistics cannot inform mainstream society about why Bristol Hill residents decide to stay in the neighborhood even if they can afford to move, Duck's research has allowed him to do a good job of explaining this phenomenon. These residents chose to stay in an area where they knew the unspoken rules rather than move to an unfamiliar neighborhood to improve their lives. This book seeks to answer a fundamental question that mainstream society often asks: If conditions in poor African-American suburban communities such as Bristol Hill are as horrible as they seem, then why are civilians so reluctant to leave the neighborhood? Is there really no way out? This book focuses primarily on the African American population since the majority of Bristol Hill residents are people of color who live in poverty, receive little education, and face violence. However, white people also live in the neighborhood,.