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West side story somethings coming analysis
West side story summary sparknotes
West side story somethings coming analysis
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West Side Story Essay In the book/play West Side Story, there are two gangs. The Jets and The Sharks. They didn’t like each other because they were fighting over land. I think that the two gangs could've gotten along better. My reasons I think that is that they could have just split the land in half. Also, The Sharks could’ve just gone and found a new, better piece of land or the two gangs could’ve had a competition to see who gets the land. My first mentioned point is that The Jets and The Sharks could’ve just shared the land. Maybe after getting to know each other, The Jets would like The Sharks and vice versa. They also could take their land and make a middle ground so The Jets get one-half of the land and The Sharks get the other. An argument I can think of is if there was a ‘better side’ of the land. There are ways to get around this. You could do alternate days, or three on three off and then one day for neither. This wouldn’t necessarily work because the gangs may not want to cooperate with each other, so we come to my second option. …show more content…
Maybe in Bronx, NY, there were other places that were better, and nicer looking. The Sharks could even go to a different city or state so they wouldn’t even have to see The Jets at all. They might even be able to find a better place in the Bronx and then brag about it to The Jets, although I don’t feel like The Sharks are those kinds of
First, both books have two opposing gangs. In West Side Story, the Puerto Ricans make up the Sharks, and the Americans make up the Jets. In The Outsiders, the wealthy teenagers make up the Socs, and the low class youths make up the Greasers. Both gangs are rivals, constantly fighting to try and prove themselves superior to one another. One gang from each book, the Greasers and the Sharks, are typically the ones that are looked down upon by others. They are poor and usually cannot afford many things. On the other side, the Socs and the Jets are the superior gangs. They control most of the town, and normally beat up other gangs.
The documentary, “Crips and Bloods: Made in America” talks about many social concerns. In the documentary, both discrimination and economics are the main factors for the problems in Southern California. The gangs started because of discrimination. By denying people because of their skin color to join social activities such as the boy/girl scouts is what led to the formation of groups that later turned into gangs. Apart from that, hatred and threats escalated the situations that then turned the gangs into what they are today. According to the documentary, because of the gang rivalry there exists an invisible line that separates the territories of both the Crips and the Bloods. Not only is that the only factor, but also
(N.L.R.'s)" and the other is, "their rival gang of anti-racist skinheads, the Sharps" (1998, p.88). One major quality the two gangs share is their lack of education. Most, if not all, of the teens Finnegan interviewed, dropped out of school, even though later some used other means of getting a high school diploma or acquiring a higher education. Also it appears both gangs tend to resolve their issues with violence.
Schmidt, L. M., & O'Reilly, J. T. (2007). Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing with Gang-Related Violence. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
In order to fully understand the plot of West Side Story, one must have an understanding of the nature of gangs in the 1950’s and know the reasons for their actions. Between 1941 and 1956, more than 500,000 Puerto Ricans moved to major cities in the U.S. such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cleveland. The majority of them lived in poor areas of their city. Puerto Rican gangs formed so that they could protect themselves from prejudiced Americans. Many people took advantage of the immigrants’ poor social status. For example, Bernardo says, "And Chino makes half what the Polack makes - the Polack is American!" (Laurents 165) Youth agencies and youth boards concluded that most gangs formed because of the poverty, disease, and racism present in the ghetto. Gangs, which were usually made up of teenagers, fought over girls, territory (otherwise known as "turf"), and racial matters. Italian, Jewish, and Irish gangs were worried that the Puerto Ricans were taking over their "turf". "Turf" could range...
The presence of gang violence has been a long lasting problem in Philadelphia. Since the American Revolution, gangs have been overpopulating the streets of Philadelphia (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). Most gangs in history have been of lower class members of society, and they often are immigrants into the U.S (Teen Gangs, 1996). Gangs provided lower class teens to have an opportunity to bond with other lower class teens. However over time, the original motive of being in a gang has changed. In the past, gangs used to provide an escape for teens to express themselves, let out aggression, and to socialize with their peers. It was also an opportunity for teens to control their territory and fit in (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). In the past, authorities would only focus on symptoms of gang violence and not the root. They would focus on arresting crime members instead of preventing gang violence. Gangs are beginning to expand from inner-city blo...
In West Side Story, the premise is quite similar. The two rival gangs are the Jets- the Americans, and the Sharks- the Puerto Ricans. The Jets hate the sharks because they feel as if they are encroaching on their territory when they walk the streets of New York as easily as the Jets. The Jets and the Sharks have been in a constant state of uproar since the Puerto Ricans first started moving to America and the gangs were formed.... ...
A main theme in West Side Story is racism. The Jets' sole reason for not liking the Sharks is simply based on the fact that they are Puerto Rican. Even as little kids, we have this natural instinct to fear things we don’t understand. The Jets were intimidated by the Sharks mostly because they didn’t act like them, look the same, or have the same beliefs as them. The same can be said for the Sharks, and it’s because of these differences that these two groups of people were willing to physically hurt each other, even to the point of death. These types of things still happen all the time. People still don’t know how to put aside their differences to find the things they
With wallets bursting from bootlegging profits, gangs outfitted themselves with “Tommy” guns and operated with impunity by paying off politicians and police alike. Rival gangs led by the powerful Al “Scarface” Capone and the hot-headed George “Bugs” Moran turned the city streets into a virtual war zone with their gangland clashes. By 1926, more than 12,000 murders were taking place every year across America (“The FBI and the American Gangster, 1924-1938”,
Growing up in the city we experience more than those who did not. We are accustomed to seeing things other people would not be used to. One thing we are accustomed to be violence, more specifically gang violence. Gangs are a group of people who join together because of a common interest. Gangs are that have been around for ages. Dating back to the mafia in the roaring 20s all the way to present day gangs like the Bloods and Crips. It’s hard to imagine if gangs will ever cease to exist. They are too big and too strong for all of them to disappear one day.
Gangs are responsible for ten to twenty percent of the criminal activity in the United States, which estimates to an approximate thirty to sixty billion dollars of taxpayers' money a year. Gangs are often associated with the use of drugs, including heroine and marijuana. Gangs also are connected to the illegal use of many weapons and as a result, many bloody murders. So, it is...
In recent years, the state of California has spent a lot of money to rid their streets of gangs and gang-related violence. The money that is being spent is just recently starting to pay off as the city of Salinas California which sees a population of 150,000 people and 3,500 gang members had 131 shootings and 15 homicides in 2010. Now even t...
Gangs originated in the mid 1800’s in the cardinal direction using it as a method to defend themselves against outsiders.The idea of gangs became populous, powerful, and a broad influence. But like all powers, they tend to corrupt and recognizes violence as a way of getting what they want faster than other methods.They turn violence into fun, profit, and control.Creating a situation that affects youth in today’s society.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]
The first ever gang-group was created just after the American Revolution ended around 1783. This group consisted of White European immigrants, mainly English, German, and Irish. However, the first serious gang originated around 1820 in New York City. At many times gangs were made informally, in 1826, in the back room of Rosanna Peer’s greengrocery, the first well-organized gang was formed. Through the 1860 to 1980’s period, many more gangs produced in New York City. Asian and European descent, the Chinese, Italians, Austrians, and many more began to create even worse slum conditions for the City. The criminal activity had started to shift around New York, from Manhattan to East Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. Many fighting gangs soon began to emerge from the African descent, and a little ways after, black gangs appeared around 1950. Later in the 1950’s, a “slum clearance” project in the City began where several thousan...