Term Paper on "Sociological Perspective on Breaking Night"

Term Paper 5 pages (1619 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sociological Perspective on Breaking Night

The Day After: Conflict Theory in Breaking Night

In many ways, the life and chronology of Liz Murray, whose autobiography, Breaking Night, became a swift bestseller throughout the United States, can be considered a verifiable case study for conflict theory, according to both its classic, Marxist origins, as well as its more modern applications. The very cause of the significant turbulence which Murray encountered from an early age can be analyzed as stemming from conflict theory. And a large portion of the criteria that has labeled her autobiographical tale a success is the fact that she was able to emerge from such a troubled background to triumph in many of the same, capitalistic terms, which are at the root of many of the aspects of conflict theory with which Breaking Night can be deconstructed. In order to evaluate her manuscript in these terms, then, it first becomes necessary to define conflict theory from its initial inception, before citing the numerous instances in which both its causes and effects played substantial roles in the events which took place in Murray's autobiography.

Traditionally, conflict theory has been regarded as a means of looking at social sciences that emphasizes the certain inherent inequalities in social structures, before determining how those inequities affect those living in such societies. Differences in power are frequently analyzed in conflict theory, from an overarching perspective that attempts to determine where those differences originate and what effects they have on those who are influenced the most by them. Karl Marx was one of the primary founders of this theory, and typically associated its presence with the worldwide class struggle he viewed between the working class and the owning class, or what he termed the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. This means of analyzing society in terms of a class struggle, particularly in a capitalist society in which the 'haves' create an existence by feeding off of the 'have nots', is integral to Murray's story, as it helps to explain the extremely suspect beginnings of her life, which were in turn affected by the dubious origins of the lives of her parents and of her grandparent, to a certain extent.

Poverty played a devastating role in the life of Murray from the time she was born until she was able to take control of her financial needs and means some twenty odd years later. In much the same way that certain people inherit wealth, Murray inherited a good deal of a lack of wealth, which would go on to influence several ensuing events in her life such as her becoming homeless, dropping out of school, and scavenging her way through her early teenage years. This lifestyle was not chosen by her, however, and merely reflects a long history of financial difficulty which was demonstrated even during the time in which her father was a teenager, as the following quotation about the author's father explains. "His mother took on a demanding full-time job to make ends meet and she worked long hours to while Daddy was mostly alone, searching for an outlet, someone or something to connect with. Most nights he spent evenings by himself, or in the homes of friends, where he became a fixture in other people's families."

The degree of conflict with which financial circumstances (or a lack of them) caused Murray's father is fairly evident in the preceding quotation. The author's father spent a large part of his formative years alone and lonely, due to the fact that his single mother (after her child's father abandoned them) was forced to cope with an uncaring capitalist society that demanded her labor. Although Murray's grandmother may be considered fortunate in the fact that she was able to obtain a "demanding full-time job," the effects of the lack of time and care with which her son, Murray's father endured, as directly related to her schedule, may have contributed to his own delinquency and degeneration into drugs, which would only further his own poverty, and eventually create drastic living conditions for Murray.

Marx illustrates his conflict theory of a capitalist society most concisely in the following quotation from the Communist Manifesto, which alludes to the long struggle of classicism which Murray's parents eventually fell victim to, and which she very nearly did as well. "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another…(p. 35)." This quotation illustrates that classicism has a lengthy history of contributing to conflict theory. It explains that conflict between those who are able to reap the benefits of the rewards of others has actually been at the root of most of the social problems affecting mankind. When one reads Murray's autobiography, in which she chronicles living in unsanitary conditions with roaches, or eating toothpaste with her sister because they were starving and her parents were too poor and too preoccupied with illicit drugs to adequately feed and clothe her, this distinction between the classes is very apparent. Murray's intense poverty was one of the leading contributors to her own delinquency, which she was somehow able to overcome.

Interestingly enough, the root of Murray's own resilience and fortitude which she used to overcome many of her problems can also be linked to conflict theory, albeit in a different form that that initially provided by Marx. David Durkheim believed that one of the primary forms of social crime affecting population sets was crime, and that criminal activity produced a number of effects, not all of which were necessarily negative. In fact, the sociologist actually saw crime as being beneficial in the sense that it was responsible for the production and evolution of both moral and legal issues, which the following quote sufficiently expresses. "[it] implies not only that the way remains open to necessary changes but that in certain cases it directly prepares these changes (p.81)." The "it" referred to in the preceding quotation is of course crime. This quote applies to the life of Murray because part of the result of the conflict of her parents abusing illegal drugs (which is a criminal activity) was that it made her resolve to not use such drugs herself. In that respect, although she was impoverished and homeless and starving in certain parts of Breaking Night, she never fully gave into such afflictions by abandoning herself to drugs. The conflict produced by her parents abusing drugs (frequently in front of her) compelled Murray to not make the same mistake, and was partly responsible for her transformation to a successful person.

Furthermore, it can be convincingly argued that as a result of her constant conflict with poverty and all of its manifestations -- such as hunger and filth -- that Murray was then empowered to overcome such afflictions. The fact that she was so used to not having money and essential things which it provides helped spur her to eventually return to school and get her high school degrees, and pursue a college education so that she could eventually becoming financially stable. The following quotation from Marx's A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy shows that this level of social consciousness of the effects of capitalism is related to conflict theory. "…men inevitably enter into definite relations.. In the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness." Although Marx is writing about men, this quote applies to everyone and shows that due to the conflict theory of classicism which is exemplified in Murray's story by capitalism,… READ MORE

How to Reference "Sociological Perspective on Breaking Night" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Legalization and Regulation of Prostitution From a Criminological Perspective Term Paper

Criminological Perspective: Legalization of Prostitution Ecdriesbaugh

Legalization of Prostitution: Criminological Perspective

Existing laws jeopardize the lives of sex workers. Prostitutes go into darker and deeper corners to avoid criminal prosecution,… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (1978 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA Topic: Sexuality / Gender

---

Scott 2003 Thesis

Hall 2003

Scott (2003) offers definitions associated with three perspectives: a rational system definition (which focuses on normative structures), a natural system definition (which focuses on behavioral structure) and an… read more

Thesis 2 pages (607 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Government / Politics

---

Use of Force in Law Enforcement Thesis

Force in Law Enforcement

The controversy swirling about Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a respected Cambridge professor who happens to be an African-American, and Sgt. James M. Crowley, a police… read more

Thesis 30 pages (9298 words) Sources: 10 Style: APA Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Media Violence and Social Deviance Term Paper

Media Violence/Social Deviance

Media Violence and Social Deviance

For decades, there has been concern over media violence and its influence or potential influence on public behavior, and while there have… read more

Term Paper 15 pages (4683 words) Sources: 15 Style: MLA Topic: Film / Movies / Television

---

Immigration and the American Dream in Junot Diaz's Drown Term Paper

Junot Diaz's Drown is a collection of stories that tell of the contemporary misery and urban despair that can grow from poverty and "uprootedness" from one's own cultural setting. Diaz's… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1500 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Family / Dating / Marriage

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>