Preview

What A Thug's Life Looked Like In 19th Century India Summary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
487 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What A Thug's Life Looked Like In 19th Century India Summary
In “What A Thug's Life Looked Like In 19th Century India”, Lakshmi Gandhi shows a great fascination and history of the word thug; displaying the roots (origin) and background to further and new understandings of the word thug. The word thug has been used by many people in the world countless times. To call someone thug has a lot of different connotations to it that have been altered many times. Some of these connotations would be a thief, a murderer, and other strongly negative words. Looking hard at the word Thugs/Thuggees, it is evident that such a word with such a negative background cannot be turned into something more pure even if it is used more modernized.

The author acknowledges all aspects of the word thug and really demonstrates a highly and leveled version of what a true thug is. A vicious murderer/strangler that enacts in cults to further and greater the number of kills be eliminating or even assassinating the innocent. It becomes clear from the very start of the article that the word thug is derived from a very violent past. The author claims various details/facts of cults that displayed the very meaning of a true born criminal. Looking at these facts, it is easy to see how and why the word thug would be brought up into present time and used more modernly and harmlessly.
…show more content…
The author acknowledges that the word thug has been used by many rappers and that the word thug is almost idolized by them. The true question is why has a word with such a bad history gained so much fame and popularity? The author goes further by showing the reader a passage of what Mark Twain had written in the book “Following the Equator”

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this cartoon, Mike Luckovich is referring to the controversial use of the word “nigger” within Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Luckovich wants his audience to note the changes in the meaning of the “n-word” over time. In the early 19th century, the “n-word” was a common term used to identify an African American. In today’s society, this word can often be heard throughout pop culture and rap lyrics, which is why the young boy has mistakenly referred to Mark Twain as one of the great “gangsta rappers.” However, Luckovich uses this scenario to indirectly explain that since the “n-word” is considered an acceptable identification of an African American in modern music, why should it not be allowed within Twain’s work?…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even the gang’s leader described himself as a ni**er. These men operate from a very dark and desperate place. They operate from the decrepit condemned ruins of public housing projects deep within Chicago’s poorest black neighborhoods. These young men describe life in their community as a war to survive. The gang offers them opportunities that no other organization in their world does, and serves as an extra support system for them and their families. With 56% of the neighborhood’s children living below the poverty line, abysmal drop out rates and barely a third of its men able to land any legitimate job at all- gang life is worth its dues in large part because they already live at risk and without the added…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nowadays, many racist and corrupt words are being used in hip-hop and rap music. Unfortunately, this genre of music is always played on the radio which is the main reason to why kids, in our time, know and use a lot of these inconvenient words. The only sensational conclusion people came up with to stop the use of such lyrics is the banning of corrupt terms from hip-hop and rap music and the prohibition of these inappropriate words is what John H. McWhorter discusses in “Banning Words from Hip-Hop and Rap Music Would Be Beneficial” (2008). McWhorter’s an African American man and the author of many books on languages and on race relations. His previous works show us that he has the capability of writing about the use of language-related topic.…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though many have protested that “gangsta rap” is to blame for its influence in the violence, female discrimination and violent behavior that take place throughout America, others argue that it is simply the other way around, implying that the artist is influenced by his own personal experience of being a part of and/or bearing witness to violence, drugs and crime that have taken place around him thus influencing him to express himself through lyric and rhyme becoming “gangsta rap”. This leaves us to question does gangsta rap music encourage violence or does violence influence what the artist raps about?…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hip Hop as a musical genre has gone through much change not only in the content of the music, but the message conveyed and how many would say it has in some ways defined black culture in the last 20 years. A significant amount of hip hop music nowadays is geared towards painting this unrealistic image of hyper-materialism, sexism, and violence that ultimately assists in dragging black culture down, and the people as a whole. You look at hip hop artists like 50 Cent and Lil Wayne who is reinforcing this thuggish persona, making music revolved around money and drugs and it paints a bleak picture for young blacks. These young impressionable youth view this way of life as the “norm”, and the ghetto pathology seen as an authentic part of black culture, even though it does nothing more than demean a multitude of black people.…

    • 1331 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gangs In The 1800's

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In fact the word “gang” actually originated from the word “gonge”, which meant a journey and then referred to a group of sailors during the fifteenth century. The term came to be used to label outlaws during Shakespeare’s era (source cited 1). Gangs also were not always racially profiled.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chettleburgh, M.C. (2007). Innocence Lost. In Harper Collin Publishers (Eds.), Young Thugs: Inside the Dangerious World of Street Gangs (pp. 15-52). Toronto.…

    • 1568 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word thug dates back to the year 1200 AD and refers to a gang of criminals in India named the Thugz. They wandered through the country robbing towns on their way while using hand signs, rituals, slang and their own symbols. In the late 1800s, the new generation of gangs were created out of the new immigrants. Some of those gangs were the Whyos, Dead Rabbits and Pug Uglies. The Jewish gang the Monk Eastman, terrorized New York City as well as other gangs but the most evident…

    • 3872 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article I chose to read was titled “The Gang Culture Continues to Grow”. This article explained aspects of the gang culture in America, and how it has grown over the years to be bigger and more violent then ever. Gangs have been around for centuries. The earliest recording of a gang was a gang named rebellious children, which was mentioned in 2 Kings 2:23-25 of the Bible. Gangs have continued to grow over the years, and now are present in almost every bigger sized city in America, and around the world. In the 1980’s, gangs were usually found only on the east and west coasts of America. Now, they are spreading in land to more rural areas to set up shop. This means more violence, more criminal activity, and more problems for the police and the surrounding communities with its law biting citizens. Very rarely will anything good come from gangs, so controlling them and prosecuting its members for crimes committed is a very important aspect of police forces of bigger cities.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hip-hop can destroy other citizens. For instance, violence in some songs cause the youth to starts fights and also kill themselves. On the other hand, gangs and street thugs are a few examples. However, teenagers are starting to kills, steals, vandalize. Therefore, hip-hop culture and movement has an negative impact on contemporary African American identities based on how they represent themselves. This is due to the fact it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle towards attitudes and behaviors of American Youth. In addition, it teaches African American youth to use profanity. Furthermore, American youth do not have a role model when listening to hip-hop.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gang Leader

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Social imagination, “individual problems are to social problems, what is happening outside of one’s personal control. This relationship between individual experiences and public issues is the sociological imagination” (Our Social World Pg9). The book that we read “Gang Leader for a Day” by Sudhir Vankatesh clearly illustrates the sociological imagination. In the early part of the book we see Vankatesh trying to give surveys to a gang to try to understand how they feel about their lives in poverty. The rest of society sees Gang Members as a problem because of the drug trafficking and other illegal activities. When Vankatesh continues to interact with the gang we start to see things from the outside looking in. These…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music Lyrics being NON-VIOLENT Rap music can be considered a style of art, and a way for the artists to express feelings through their words on paper. However, there are quite a few rap artists that get criticized for their lyrics. In my essay, I want to discuss why rappers use certain lyrics in their music and why people shouldn’t believe that it causes violence among the younger generations. People shouldn’t censor the music just because of violent, vulgar and abusive messages it promotes to the world. I believe in my own mind, that there is a reason for these types of lyrics that rap artists use and I will simply explain those reasons in this essay. Rap has been called one of the most important music forces to emerge in two decades. It’s pounding beats and staccato rhymes exploded on the streets of the urban America in the early 1980s and since have become the theme music and lyrical heart of the vibrant youth culture called hip-hop ( SIRS 1993). There are many different types of rap artist. There are some that talk about money, some talk about righteousness, and the list goes on and on. Every rap artist had their own way of expressing themselves. There are those that talk about sex, drugs, and violence who receive the negative attention( SIRS 1993). People, think this so- called gangster rap is a bad influence on children in the world and that it promotes violence and that it also is abusive to women. Delores Tucker, head of national congress of black women has been among those pressuring different record companies to stop distributing gangster rap music. There were other significant names that participated in this action. Names like Senate Majority leader Bob dole, and former education Secretary William J. Bennett(Surveys, pg. 1). There are some rap artists that have been openly criticized for their lyrics. Rappers like Lil Kim, Too Short, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and a member from “Too Live Crew,” named Luke Skywalker. These rap artists in the past have been…

    • 1708 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Gang Violence

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Street gangs are an amalgam of racism, or urban underclass poverty, of minority youth culture, of fatalism in the face of rampant deprivation, or political insensitivity, and the gross ignorance of inner-city (and inner-town) America on the part of most of us who don’t have to survive there.…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gangsta Rap: Crime

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gangsta Rap: Crime The cultural majority in America is up in arms over the rising levels of violence and horrific images that have seeped into popular entertainment. Movies, television, and music have always been controversial, but even they can cross the line between poor taste and immorality. Entertainment corporations and record labels don't even blink, when told of the excessive torture or satanic lyrics found in material. Producers and directors continue to push the envelop on what is "done in good taste."…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gangsta Rap Thesis

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the 1980s, we saw many different genres of music emerge, genres such as Pop, Rock, and R&B. But a new genre emerged that sparked a lot of controversy: “Gangsta Rap” otherwise known as Hip Hop. Rappers/Rap groups such as NWA, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, and more changed the industry with catchy tunes and lyrics that talked about hard topics like slavery, violence, and police brutality. These lyrics sometimes caused major conflict, whether between races or with civilians and police. Hip Hop was very controversial in the 80s. “Gangsta rap” has caused a lot of controversy, many people protested this music in the late 80s and 90s due to the message within its lyrics and what those lyrics conveyed. Many accused “Gangsta Rap” for promoting things such as crime, killings, profanity, drugs, sex, racism, and more. But Gangsta rap doesn’t influence this type of lifestyle; it’s telling a story/conveying a message of the individuals who wrote the lyrics.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays