Essay Sample Dedicated to The Saints and The Roughnecks

Segregation is one of the issues that comes into one's mind when one reads the issues that have been explored in the story. The fact that the Saints were able to get away with the very things that the roughnecks were castigated for serves to affirm the belief on the impact of social status in influencing status. Consider, for instance, the fact that the teachers had had a preconceived notion that because of the high-end cars and their type of dressing, they could not be delinquent. Their actions, however, dispute the societal perception since there are involved in delinquent activities as much as the Roughnecks did. Some of the reasons that one would come up with the difference in the perceptions was the fact that it was important that one understood the social status and the outward appearance would subconsciously affect the way the people are treated in the society. Social status and the ingrained habit of the humans to judge people based on their economic value are some of the reasons that would drive the community to have different reactions for the two delinquent high school gangs.

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The difference in the treatment of the two gangs only meant that the community was actively determining the fate of the two people. The Saints, for instance, were predisposed to the privilege of having high grades and hence had a chance at college. The fact that neither of the Saints gangs had a criminal record also meant that they stood a chance of having a permanent and well-paying job. The societal perception of their activities was hence predetermining the gangs' future life. It is also important to note that the Roughnecks future was being limited by their actions and stood the chance of being unemployed or having lowly paying jobs.

In micro-sociology, the social status and the background that the people held were a determining factor in how they were perceived and judged by the society. The society in the microsociology chose to focus on the individual gangs and their backgrounds and hence resulted in a flawed judgment of the Saints. On the other hand, the roughnecks despite being delinquents were heavily judged although they all stood and advocated for the same things in their teenage lives. In macro-sociology, the system especially the police and the teachers, were also biased as they used the social status to determine who between the two groups was the delinquent one. Hence, while looking at macro sociology one will delve into analyzing the social systems and the public at a large scale. Most people considered the roughnecks as boys destined for failure, which is set to happen.

The case study has exposed the fact that sociological research is an insight and a thought-provoking venture that leaves one questioning their subconscious mind. The people are reminded of the need to remain objective as the researcher did. The fact that he let the students do some of the things one would be compelled to stop, exposes the fact that for one to get the accurate information, it is vital that one let the objects of study in a naturalistic environment. By being an abstract part of the students' lives, the students soon let go of the abnormal behaviors and hence enable the sociological research to be one that would be perceived as being realistic. Sociological research, therefore, demands that one needs to be in a naturalistic environment of the objects of study to get an accurate view of the impact of societal perceptions on different classes of people.