Monster: An Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

The main character in the book Monster, Kody Scott talks about two large gangs. He talks about when he was initiated into the Crips at age eleven and he committed his first murder. This is the first day he realized he would be “banging” for the rest of his life. He had worked hard to build up his reputation and the Crips gang, by being loyal to his homeboys. It was evident that he had the potential to become a leader. The name Monster stuck with him during a police encounter when he had been called that. Monster had been a legacy, he was not only known by his own gang but others as well. Kody's early child hood and teenage years, both proceeding and during his life as a Crip, fit quite well with several theories that were discussed in our textbook.

With the Arousal Theory, this states that because peoples brain's work differently than others, things that stimulate, or interest one person may not be the same as someone else. People with lower arousals have a greater tendency to be criminally prone.

Throughout the book it is apparent that Kody is bored with his life and how nothing happens from day to day. In one part of the book he said that the excitement of the streets was “...the only thing in [his] life that had ever held [his] attention for any serious length of time.” Kody seems to be a pretty intelligent person, but has some problems focusing; his attention span isn’t very long. He did not finish school so it wasn’t really necessary because he didn’t use reading or writing in his everyday life. Kody felt that he would see and learn more exciting things on the streets instead.

The Self-Control Theory is self explanatory, for example people with little or no self-control are lazy, impulsive, lose their tempers ea...

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...thing else; he obviously didn’t believe he had a family outside of his gang life. Kody had no other activities besides his gang ones. He had no desire to be anything else, he knew in the beginning that what he was doing was wrong but in the end he was finding excuses to think that what he was doing was for the good. He had said that the bloods deserve what they had coming to them, till ultimately he believed in himself.

There are many theories that can be combined or stated to figure out why Kody Scott was the way he is. They can be used in many different aspects in this autobiography. The interpretations of the previous theories, the Arousal Theory, the Self-Control Theory, the Differential Association Theory, the Social Learning Theory, the Social-Control Theory. I hope these helped to understand Kody Scott as Monster and the delinquents in our society today.