"Monster" By Sanyika Shakur formally known as Monster Kody
...s) were at the top. There was endless opportunities for advancement within the structure. They had benefits and unlimited access to resources (i.e. money, guns and drugs). Kody’s gang culture fell within 2 of the 3 basic gang types. The first being the criminal gang which submerged itself in criminal activities in order to obtain and maintain financial security. The second type was the conflict gang. Conflict was the basis for the gang life because territory and tribalism was so very important to the gang structure. Part of who your gang was, was based on how well you protected what you had and how aggressively you went after what you wanted. Through out the book Kody makes several references to new territories being obtained by his gang and various territories lost during conflicts with other gangs. The lose of territory was equivalent to losing a fight. It meant weakness within the gang’s structure. Conflict was also what enabled Kody to make a name for himself within and outside his environment. This opens the door for an analysis of the second theory, Differential Association. When Kody Scott was young he formed a mentor/ mentee relationship with Tray Ball and the other older members of Eight Tray. And because he saw these individuals in such a light it was not hard for him to take on the same deviant behavior as his mentors. Kody saw no other way of life because those he looked up too saw no other way. This is a prime example of how gang life transcends through generation after generation. As Kody grew older many young boys began to lookup to him especially his younger brother Kershaun who looked up to him just as he looked up to Tray Ball. His younger brother then went on to take on his older brother’s gang moniker “Lil’Monster”. As Kody became closer with Tray Ball and the other Eight Trays the next step for him was to officially become apart of the gang. This would bring about the start of his deviant acts. His gang initiation is where Kody entered into Primary Deviance with the stealing of a car being his initial act of deviance (aside from the drugs and alcohol he used when he hung out with the gang members). Once the first acts were committed it was no time at all before Kody entered into the stage of Secondary Deviance. It was during this stage where deviance and crime became so much a part of his life that he earns the gang title “Monster”. Once he had made a name for himself he had to do what it took to maintain his stature and title. He had to continue acting in the same deviant behavior that originally made him worthy of the Monster moniker. From there he quickly entered in Tertiary Deviance where he saw his crimes as no different then those committed by others. Which leads me to my final theory, Labeling which actually carries Monster Kody though the rest of the book. As Monster Kody established himself in the gang world and began moving up the organizational structure he became labeled as a deviant. This label was directly attributed to the criminal acts he committed in order to obtain and maintain his status within the gang culture. In the beginning Monster enjoyed the benefits that came with his label. Before he made it anywhere his reputation and his label made it there first. People knew him before he had even met them and he enjoyed that. Because even though society had labeled him as a delinquent, who was totally unreformable, his name in the gang cult...