Righteous Dopefiend free essay sample

Homelessness is a social crisis that has stayed with us throughout our history. There was an increase in the number of homeless people in the 1980s due to housing and social service cuts increasing. In Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg’s, â€Å"Righteous Dopefiend,† being homeless is just one of the many problems that encompass their day to day reality. The two anthropologists assimilate themselves in the homeless community and observe the hardships that come from living on the streets and drug addiction. A better understanding is attained through their ethnographic research and details of the homeless’ lives can be used to further our knowledge and help in solving society’s problems. This ethnography shows that through of a community of addicts, the structure of society often produces and reproduces this advantage. Bourgois and Schonberg followed the daily routines of a community of people referred to as the Edgewater homeless for over 10 years. We will write a custom essay sample on Righteous Dopefiend or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The community consists of individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and different histories, but built their community on their shared lifestyle and addiction to drugs. Everything revolves around their main objective of getting a â€Å"fix† before the withdrawal symptoms come in. In the first three chapters, ethnic, gender, and hierarchal relationships within the community are discussed. Chapter one establishes the racial divisions that exist in their community, as well as their mutual dependence that connects them. Chapter two analyzes gender relations and the difference between sex, work, and love. Chapter three establishes the hierarchal relationship between the homeless. In chapters four through six, past memories and experiences are explored, resulting in grouping them as youths growing up in the era of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The transition between their teen and adulthood is examined in chapter four and chapters five and six asserts that their present situation are influenced by their past, being shaped by their traumas and abuse. It is reflected in their present lives and influenced their relationship between themselves and their children. Chapters seven through nine returns to the issue of gender relations and sexuality and illustrates the commonplace obstacles that burden the community. The start of seven is centralized on the difference between homophobia and homosocial relationships. Towards the end of the chapter, it displays how the medical system affects the homeless. Eight is about daily routines in the shoes of an addict and what they experience. The concluding chapter is about the mental and physical torture of the process of giving up heroin. Heroin causes the user to have dependence to the drug and withdrawal symptoms may come within hours of being off it. â€Å"Carter: throwing up and fartin’ and shittin’ at the same time. It’s like you don’t have no control over your ol’ muscles in your rectum whatsoever†, â€Å"A million ants crawling through your skin and you just want to peel it right off† (B S, 81). In 2011, it’s estimated that about one fourth of people who have used heroin becomes dependent on it (â€Å"DrugFacts†, n. d. ). In addition to dependence, substance abuse and homelessness are associated with difference medical aspects. Communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS or hepatitis), from sharing needles are possible. In the 1980s, injection drug users were one of the main reasons of the HIV outbreak (B S, 106) which is correlated to the rise of the homeless population during that time period. Our society is structured in a way that makes it exceedingly difficult for the ones to ascend from poverty. In Wright and Rogers’ American Society, there are three explanations for the persisting poverty: blaming the victim, blaming society, and social conditions. Blaming the victim is rationalized by literally blaming the victim. The individual is poor for a reason so there must be some sort of flaw within the poor people. On the other side, society is blamed because an individual who is poor will remain poor regardless of how hard they work or their ambition, though there are people who are poor because of their personal attributes. Lastly, third explanation is a comprised of ideas from the former two and suggests that the American school system is at fault because they do not provide adequate education for the poor. Social and living conditions make it hard for people in poverty to get out and largely affect children. Such as when Persia gave the okay for Tina to sell her body when she was young; it contributed to who she is in the present. â€Å"Sexuality has an extremely complex relationship to gender relations in general and gender inequality in particular† (W R, 316). The sexual abuse that Tina suffered from when she was young was also another contributing factor. She became numb to the act and treats it as a source of currency to obtain favors; exercising her femininity when it became advantageous to her. She resents people who think low of her because of her sex, as shown in her fight with Frank (B S, 66). Often times the homeless people were sent to jail for possession, public urination and/or intoxication, or sleeping outside (B S, 112-113). Society has criminalized those who needed to be treated and while they’re in jail they experience withdrawal symptoms. Once they’re released, many of them do not have anywhere or any jobs to go. Relapsing is a high probability because some do not have a social network or support to help them. In the 1990s and 2000s the only form of post aid was the Narcotics Anonymous, which caused Tina to fall back into the addiction after the program ended (B S, 281). The correlation between social forces and their role in producing addicts is described in the life of the homeless. The book gives us better insight to the homeless culture and it does not hold back in showing the hardships of addiction. It further educates the public in hopes of decreasing skepticism and raising awareness. Ethnicity, gender, and childhoods are some of the themes that shape a person into what they will be in the future. It is evident that one must be put in someone else’s shoes to be able to gain a better understanding of them as shown in Bourgois and Schonberg’s field work; different approaches and solutions for society’s problems can be theorized and applied from that knowledge.