Saints And The Saints Summary

In the article written by William J. Chambliss, “The Saints and the Roughnecks” the Saints are a social group that everyone has very high expectations for. This group in particular has an expected bright future ahead of them with money and success and are treated with respect from authority and from peers. Although the Saints do not act as though their reputation is at bay with frequent partying, drinking, and dangerous pranks, they are still treated like responsible students. Unlike the Saints, the Roughnecks have a different future in the minds of adults in authority. The Roughnecks are a clique that have less money and opportunities than the Saints. The Roughnecks have mediocre grades and perform minor crimes. Yet the crimes are about the same severity as the Saints, the Roughnecks are most likely to be punished by authority than the other clique. This is simply an observation of the behavior of both teenage groups, and how the adults discipline both.
Although the social clique of the Saints could easily relate to the …show more content…
The labeling theory is basically when society labeling a group or person as a certain category so much, the deviant group or person becomes what society labels them as. The Roughnecks developed a reputation in school for only maintaining close to a “C” average. The teachers did not usually push them to reach their full potential so they did not push them. The Roughnecks also had tendencies to talk back and not trust authority figures. They disrespected them. The police and the Roughnecks had also had a bad relationship because the police had labeled them. The police labeled the Roughnecks just as the did the saints. The Roughnecks had no money for bail, disrespectful, and deviant to the way society defines a “good teenager or