Strain Theory Applied to All Gods Children - Essay Example

American Dream that promises success for all is not true for Blacks as they are not successful but as a community and with unity, they can succeed. He wishes for Black survival and power but not through armaments but through unity.

Merton’s strain theory states that the actions of individuals are influenced by the structure of society. Butch and Willie, the characters of All God’s Children: The Bosket Family and the American Tradition of Violence, both are the victims of a society that drags them towards criminal doings as they are deprived of their basic rights due to which, they are made to do violent acts. Societal inequality pushes people to do wrong. According to Agnew, people become criminals because they are stressed or strained in their lives because of mistreatment of their family or society or because of the scarcity of monetary means. In their lives, they become upset due to which, they show negative emotions such as hopelessness, resentment, and aggravation. Willie also goes through such occurrences and is brought up in an environment that pushes him towards wrongdoing.

According to Merton, American society promises material success to all but is unable to provide equal opportunities to its dwellers due to which, people are strained and motivated to adopt illegal measures to get closer to their goals such as Willie adopts. He uses violence to get what he requires, which is a crime. He is stressed because of his family’s ill-treatment along with society. He is unable to gain equal rights due to which, he is pushed towards using violence towards getting his goals.