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Youth Gangs in Literature
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Claudia Durst Johnson
Book Code: GR2749
ISBN: 0-313-32749-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-32749-0
264 pages, n/a
Greenwood Press
Publication: 7/30/2004
List Price: $55.00 (UK Sterling Price: £31.95)
Discount Price: $38.50 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 30%. Ends 12/31/2008.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • In this fabulous resource for teachers and librarians, Johnson looks at twenty different examples from the world of literature, all of which explore the theme of youth gangs.
    —VOYA     February 2005
Description: Gang culture is one of the most volatile issues to have impacted young people throughout history and around the world. By focusing on the fictional representation of youth gangs, this work presents a unique perspective on an all-too-real phenomenon and its many manifestations. Organized chronologically and topically, the volume begins with a powerful essay tracing the origins and developments of youth gangs, from the early days of the Wild West to immigration gangs in 19th- and 20th-century America and the modern urban conflicts often associated with race and socioeconomic disadvantages. Twenty chapters, each introduced with a primary document, fully explore the different types of gangs, identifying their time, place, struggles, and demographic character. Included are the early gangs of New York City, prison gangs, Asian gangs, school gangs, African American gangs, and girl gangs. Each chapter analyzes one or more works of fiction in terms of its thematic message and the light it sheds on the nature of the depicted gang situation. The examined fiction will be of special interest to students and educators, and includes works often found on assigned reading lists, such as The Chocolate War, The Outsiders, and Lord of the Flies. Popular works, such as Gangs of New York, provide an historical perspective on early immigrant gangs, while presenting timeless themes of identity struggles that resonate for young people everywhere. In addition to the literary works and primary documents, suggestions for additional titles and sources for further information on the topics are offered.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Outlaw Gangs in an Outlaw Society: Borges' The Dread Redeemer Lazarus Morell and Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  • The Irish Immigrant: Asbury's Gangs of New York
  • The Draft Riots: Baker's Paradise Alley
  • Borges' Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities
  • A Heritage of Guns: McMurtry's Anything for Billy
  • The 1920s in Chicago: Farrell's Studs Lonigan
  • Jewish Gangs in Brownsville, 1944-45: Shulman's The Amboy Dukes
  • 1940s in Harlem: Wright's Rite of Passage
  • Nazis and Gangs: Goldings The Lord of the Flies
  • A Girl Gang in the 1950s: Oates' Foxfire
  • The 1960s: S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders
  • Vietnam and Civil Rights: Conroy's The Lords of Discipline
  • Prep Schools and Watergate: The Chocolate War
  • Family Disintegration in the 1980s: Meyers' Scorpions
  • 1960s Los Angeles: Bonham's Durango Street
  • South Central Los Angeles: Scott's Monster
  • Barrio Gangs of the 60s and 70s: Rodriguez' Always Running
  • Filipino Americans: Ascalon's American Son
  • Vietnamese Gangs and Skinheads: Garland's Shadow of the Dragon
  • Chinese Gangs: Mahoney's The Two Chinatowns
LC Card Number: 2004009406
LCC Class: PS374
Dewey Class: 810
PDF Catalogs:
Sale Catalog 2008.pdf
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