Youth Gangs in Literature

by Claudia Durst Johnson

Overview

Gang culture is one of the most volatile issues to have impacted young people throughout history and around the world. By focusing on the fictional representation of youth gangs, this work presents a unique perspective on an all-too-real phenomenon and its many manifestations. Organized chronologically and topically, the volume begins with a powerful essay tracing the origins and developments of youth gangs, from the early days of the Wild West to immigration gangs in 19th- and 20th-century America and the

Twenty chapters, each introduced with a primary document, fully explore the different types of gangs, identifying their time, place, struggles, and demographic character. Included are the early gangs of New York City, prison gangs, Asian gangs, school gangs, African American gangs, and girl gangs. Each chapter analyzes one or more works of fiction in terms of its thematic message and the light it sheds on the nature of the depicted gang situation. The examined fiction will be of special interest to students and educators, and includes works often found on assigned reading lists, such as The Chocolate War, The Outsiders, and Lord of the Flies. Popular works, such as Gangs of New York, provide an historical perspective on early immigrant gangs, while presenting timeless themes of identity struggles that resonate for young people everywhere. In addition to the literary works and primary documents, suggestions for additional titles and sources for further information on the topics are offered.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313327490
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/30/2004
Series:	Exploring Social Issues through Literature
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	817,621
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

CLAUDIA DURST JOHNSON, now an independent scholar, was a Professor Emeritus at University of Alabama, where she served as Chair of the English Department for over ten years. She is the series editor for this series as well as Greenwood's Literature in Context series for which she wrote more than 12 casebooks. She is also the co-author of The Social Impact of the Novel (Greenwood, 2002).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Outlaw Gangs in an Outlaw Society: Borges' The Dread Redeemer Lazarus Morell and Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Irish Immigrant: Asbury's Gangs of New York
The Draft Riots: Baker's Paradise Alley
Borges' Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities
A Heritage of Guns: McMurtry's Anything for Billy
The 1920s in Chicago: Farrell's Studs Lonigan
Jewish Gangs in Brownsville, 1944-45: Shulman's The Amboy Dukes
1940s in Harlem: Wright's Rite of Passage
Nazis and Gangs: Goldings The Lord of the Flies
A Girl Gang in the 1950s: Oates' Foxfire
The 1960s: S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders
Vietnam and Civil Rights: Conroy's The Lords of Discipline
Prep Schools and Watergate: The Chocolate War
Family Disintegration in the 1980s: Meyers' Scorpions
1960s Los Angeles: Bonham's Durango Street
South Central Los Angeles: Scott's Monster
Barrio Gangs of the 60s and 70s: Rodriguez' Always Running
Filipino Americans: Ascalon's American Son
Vietnamese Gangs and Skinheads: Garland's Shadow of the Dragon
Chinese Gangs: Mahoney's The Two Chinatowns