Comparing The American Dream: The Strain Theory And Labeling Theory
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America is seen as the land of opportunity. The American dream was started because unlike other countries here everyone was seen as an equal part of society. That meant that you were able to have a good, financially stable life with your hard work and dedication. However the race to the American dream has become very competitive and not everyone is able to reach it. Most say that the American dream is dead to any people any people in the lower class. With todays economy it is a financial burden in order to support yourself and a family. According to a poll in order to reach the American dream would come with a price tag of $130,000 a year[5]. Not many can afford this, so what is happening to the people that are having trouble staying afloat…show more content… The strain theory is when you are trying all that you can to stay alive but cannot without doing something big. This may cause a person to try and achieve it by committing a crime. They may chose this route become it seems like a faster, easier way to accomplish their goal; it may also seem like the only option that they have. The labeling theory is when the person is labeled as a criminal. It is to help regulate people and any crimes they’ve committed. Once you’ve committed a crime you carry around a label for either the rest of your life or a certain amount of time. Since you have this on your record some jobs can refuse to hire you. Now that you have this on your record it may become harder for you to obtain a job in certain well- paying jobs. The jobs that would usually hire you are minimum wage jobs that have no benefits. When Rickie Gardner injured his leg he was unable to care for himself and feared he would soon lose his job. With the threat of being unable to support himself and becoming homeless Gardner believed the best option would be to “rob” a bank and receive food, shelter, and medical care in jail. After taking money from the bank teller he waited patiently outside the doors of the bank for cops to arrest him, not resisting at