Code Of The Street Chapter Summary

Elijah Anderson’s Code of the Street book depicts two opposite communities within Philadelphia, the poor inner city black community and the residential middle class community. The majority of the book revolves around describing how the inner city functions on a ‘code of the street’ mentality, respect and toughness. Crime, violence and poverty run high in the inner city and following the code is a way to survive. Having a decent family or a street family greatly influences the path an adolescent will take involving delinquency. Anderson divides the book up into different themes and explores each one my not only giving factual information, but he also incorporates real life stories of various people who survived the inner city life style. Some of the themes include territory, survival by any means necessary, toughness, separate set of norms, campaign of respect and the mating game. Some criminological theories are also noticeable that take place in the inner city community.

The street code is a very important concept when talking about the world of the inner city. In Anderson’s words, the code of the

street “amounts to a set of informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior, particularly violence” (1999: 33). The code is something that takes the place of police officers. Residents of the inner cities don’t have faith or trust in local authorities to provide safety/protection in the community, so members of the area take it upon themselves to set up their own rules to take care of themselves. The code is deeply rooted around the theory of respect. If someone is “dissing” or not providing the “deserved” respect then it is not taken lightly and retaliation/violence is followed. Following this code is how many of the community members get involved with committing crimes. Juveniles are very influential and they take on these street codes. Quickly learning from social environments, starting fights and getting a reputation is the key for youth to gain respect from their peers. Another way for a boy to receive respect is to wear expensive and new clothing, and if they cannot get these possessions legally, they resort to stealing.
The concept of respect channels its way to the idea of maintaining an image of toughness. Anderson addresses how toughness is a way of survival on the streets and the exposes the different ways this is carried out. One way to demonstrate toughness is by cursing, and showing aggression or violent behavior. When Anderson talks about “The Violent Death”, he explains how youth tend to portray what they see on TV and in the movies, especially when it comes to the violent things. While trying to mimic the toughness and actions of the characters they see, youth also try to mimic “living fast and large mentality” (Anderson 1999: 136). But not all of the residents portray a tough or street image. Some follow the societal norms and rules, and Anderson calls them the decent family.
Elijah Anderson introduces is the fact that there are two types of “families” living in the inner city and they respond different to the code. The decent family tends to accept the mainstream values set in society and they have a strong family bond, and ultimately don’t commit crime. In contrast, the street family is like the criminal element. It is when the parents don’t exhibit a strong concern for family values and they allow their kids to adopt the street oriented ways and mindset of going about living. Code switching is very prominent within the inner city. This is when a person acts one way in one social situation and acts another way in other situations. Many inner city black youths adapt to this type of switching between their decent family and street family depending on the situation. The social environment is key when deciding what code to follow.
Another theme in the book is that there are a separate set of norms that the inner city Blacks follow in order to survive. Deindustrialization is one of the key historical factors in how our society is formed today. Post industrialization era, much of the lower class was greatly effected and jobs became more scarce, especially for the non-whites. Even to this day, Blacks face discrimination when it comes to being hired. The desperate times for money resulted in “the underground economy of drugs and crime” in order to pick up the slack (Anderson 1999: 108). For African Americans the way of drugs and crime was a way to survive, and in a sense succeed, in society. African American youth brought up in the inner city tends to follow in the trend that has gone on before them because that is all they know.
The “Mating Game” is a section that looks at how sexual behavior is shaped by the ‘code of the street’. Females have “suffered decreased authority” in these drug infested neighborhoods. Many young teens fall pregnant they have to grow up quick in order to take care of the child, many times as a single parent. Anderson describes that even though the sexual codes may be the same as by the inner city youth and everywhere else, “the social, economic, and personal consequences of adolescents sexual conduct vary profoundly for different social classes” (1999: 149). While any teenage pregnancy is hard, it seems especially hard on the inner city youth because they don’t have any hope for a good future. Anderson really hits on the mindsets of both the male and female youth in the inner city and how they expect different things out of the relationship. If the girl has a strong decent family than it is easier to build a family force and defense around protecting the girl from teen pregnancy, drugs, crimes and street violence (Anderson 1999: 161). It is the absence of this family bond that girls go out to form their own families with other kids also enduring the street values. For the most part, these inner city girls have a different set of norms and values than what other girls face in society. Anderson comments that everyone in the inner city wants the same things as everyone else in the world- to find love and be happy- but people in the inner city become “neutralized” because of all of the pressures of the social factors with trying to find jobs and get work (Anderson 1999: 178).
Contrast to how some of the men in the inner city were mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is such thing as “decent daddy”. A decent daddy is someone who takes responsibility and supports his family. While there are not many in the inner city communities, they are highly regarded and seen as a blessed man (Anderson 1999: 182). The author incorporates a particularly uplifting story of a taxi driver named Don Moses. Don Moses was seen as a decent man and father figure in the inner city because he would create positive relationships and bonds with the local kids. One girl in particular mentioned that she wished he were her father because he was not a drunk and was always nice (Anderson 1999: 184). Being in that community allowed for the children to have a positive role model that they never would have had. The “decent daddies” are critical to the inner city communities and their moral integrity, but it can easily be diminished by not having any education support or job opportunities in the area. The book also explains how along with the “decent daddies”, the grandmothers in these communities are crucial in the flow and everyday life. They too are greatly respected and seen as the ones who is in charge of the family and also play a critical part in helping raise their grandchildren when the parents need assistance, which seems more often than not. These two categories of people help provide some hope for the people living in the inner city.
In addition to the themes mentioned, the Code of the Street also exhibits some criminological theories.

The inner city described in the story mimics social disorganization theory. This theory suggests that the consequences of urban decay are due to the lack of social stability and cohesion, which results in a higher rate of delinquency and crimes. In this Philadelphia inner city, it is obviously socially disorganized and has led to many members of the community to have no community connection, resulting in taking part in deviant/violent acts. Another theory that emerges from this book is routine activity theory. Routine activity theory is based on the premise that your lifestyle determines whether or not you will commit a crime. This theory conveys that the people you interact with are not your choice, it depends on where you are raised and the community you are

in.
In conclusion, this book thoroughly discusses what the code of the street is and how this intertwines with the themes of territory, survival by any means necessary, toughness, separate set of norms, campaign of respect and the mating game. The street code formed and has stayed present because of all the social and economic disadvantages that African American inner city communities have faced, and still face today. One aspect of the book that I enjoyed reading was the real life stories that Anderson included in the various chapters. It really helped to have these real life personal stories because it brought a better understanding to the issues Anderson was trying to bring across. One critique of the book would have to be that it only focuses on one particular area, Philadelphia. While it is very thoroughly researched and written, it would be interesting to read about different inner cities across America that are facing the same type of things, or possibly different issues. Can the same issues in this book be applied to all inner city neighborhoods? Another concern is that it is obvious that Elijah Anderson got close to some of the people he interviewed. One question would be, did he accurately portray all aspects of the stories, or did he crop them to make them fit into what he was the point he was trying to get across? Overall, the book was very informative and interesting.
This book has also helped my understanding of juvenile delinquents and the reasons why they may take part in crime or violent behavior. Juvenile delinquency heavily depends on the family structure and bonds they create, also it depends on the number of positive influences they have in their lives. It is very easy for youth in the inner city to follow and be devoted to the codes of the street and it is very hard for them to get out or find valid reasons for them to not follow the street codes.