Personal Narrative On Rum Crooks

For my ethnographic research report, I chose to study Bootleggers and gangsters during the Prohibition Era. Prohibition was a time, from 1920 to 1933, during which the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol was illegal. Supporters of Prohibition were mostly religious middle class protestant woman who felt that the United States needed to be socially reformed; therefore, they were able to convince enough lawmakers to pass the 18th amendment that essentially outlawed alcohol beverages . Although it became illegal during this era to consume alcoholic beverages, demand remained high. People felt that alcohol provided them with a way to release the tension they felt after a long hard day at work. It was a form of entertainment. Others

A person’s character is defined by a distinctive set of traits and their behavioral patterns. One’s personality affects their attitudes, beliefs, and the way they perceive the world. People with healthy personalities easily form relationships and find coping methods to handle everyday stresses. Those who struggle with a personality disorder have difficulty interacting with others. They tend to have inflexible thoughts and behaviors in social situations (Noggle, Rylander, & Soltys, 2013). In The Neuropsychology of Psychopathology, the author states that “a personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations

Mama, a “big boned woman with rough, man-working hands,” awaits her daughter’s (Dee) return in the literary piece Everyday Use (70). When returning home, Dee’s only mission was to ask for two specific quilts with hopes of hanging her heritage on display. Ordinarily Maggie, Dee’s sister, was once a bright, generous, young girl with abundant potential. Explicitly, one day, Maggie was damaged significantly in a fire in which transformed her entire life. The fire turned a once intelligent, social undeveloped girl into a terrified, hopeless juvenile, along with the failed assistance of her family.

Organized crime during Prohibition skyrocketed for a multitude of different and varied reasons. Through the criminal experience and political connections gained in the early 1900’s, as a result of the gambling and prostitution rackets, many criminals were ready to take advantage of Prohibition. However, a result of the illegal consumption and distribution of alcohol is that there is not a fair way to settle disputes. Therefore, violent crimes increased due to it being the only way for gangsters to solve unsettled issues with one another. One of the most famous gangsters of the time arrived in Chicago just as Prohibition had began- Al Capone. Al Capone inherited the leadership of the Torrio Gang when he arrived in Chicago in 1920. Al Capone

The first time I noticed Mike Newton, I was at the campus dining hall completing my community service. Miss Porter’s School required all students to do ten hours of volunteer work each week. According to the program director, Mr. Banner, it gave us the opportunity not only to prepare for college but also, experience firsthand the joy and sense of purpose that comes from serving others.

One quote from the book that exemplifies this aspect of the book is “in the daytime instead of playing soccer in the village square, i took turns at the guarding post around the village, smoking marijuana and sniffing brown cocaine mixed with gunponder.(121)

First off Crooks is the character that is held back in his journey towards freedom by his race. There are many examples where Crooks is insulted by his race, but there is this specific incident where George is laying down his cards and hears someone calling : “Stable buck, oooh stable buck!” And then, “Where the hell is that goddamn nigger?” This proves that in the 1930’s people were still racist and used to call African Americans names like nigger. And Crooks can’t really do anything because if he does he would probably get tortured or starved, and he can’t quit because it wasent his job, he was a slave. And this quotation also tells us that Crooks, the stable buck, is restricted by his race.

Sometimes for some people all most falling to their death, or just pushing their limits maybe the way to show themselves what is most important in life. This is what happens to the main character in "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" by Jack Finney. In the story, Tom goes through ten minutes of pain, guilt, life changes and dangerous obstacles that he over faced about life.

During the 1920s studies reveal that there was more bootleggers sold by crime lords across America, some of the main bosses were Al Capone, Frankie Yale, Giovanni Torrio, and Big Jim Colosimo. These bosses while they crime bosses they did some good, like reembursing store owners robbed, and they were family men. They also did terrible things, while most of the bosses hired people to kill people, some of them did the killing themselves.

The First World War had ended in the 1920’s, but a new war was beginning on the American streets. This was known as the gang war. People were committing organized crime and there were people who were known as professional criminals. Organized crime was becoming a very big thing in Cleveland. In the 1920’s, prohibition was also going on . Alcohol was illegal. People like Al Capone and the Mafias were taking advantage of the prohibition era. These mafias were making more money as the days went by. People were willing to pay a lot of money just to get some alcohol. The mafias increased in size to the point where they had all the police out numbered. The police were having a tough time keeping up with all the crimes that were happening. Not only

The successful bootleggers at the time were able to capitalize on the high demand for alcohol. “Through the criminal experience gained and the political connections established in gambling and prostitution rackets in the early 1900s, gangsters had become well prepared for the exploitation of Prohibition.”

On April 6, 2006, 45 year old Thomas Lee raped, abuse, and murdered 15 year old Abby Halls. Abby attended Los Angeles, California High school. Abby was a straight A student and was never involved in any sort of trouble. Abby was a bit of a loner because she didn’t really talk to a lot of people. She only had 3 close friends she really trusted. After school around 4:00 p.m. Abby would usually go to the library and work on her homework every single day. Thomas Lee worked as a janitor at the same high school Abby was in. Thomas was known as a rapist due to his past for raping a couple of young girls a few years back and as will as a bipolar person.

Messenger boys sometimes never got paid,The Messenger boys would go to where the message was to be delivered and if the person was not found or declined the message the boys did not get paid. The owners did not really care or want to pay the messenger boys, they wanted the money for themselves. The text states “To them, it was not fair to lose payment on messages just because the person addressed could not be found or refused to accept the message.”( page 44) This symbolizes the unfair situation the Messenger boys had to work through. The owners did not want to pay the Messenger boys, the owners were probably really happy when the message was not delivered. At this time there were no labor laws, so the boys had no rights to protect them from unfair policies such as delivering a message and not getting paid. The messenger boys were not the only boys under unfair treatment. The Bootblacks and the Newsies were both in the same situation. The Bootblacks mainly hated the cash registers. The text states”the boys resented that their honesty was being questioned. They hated the cash register and its bell.” ( page 46-47 )The boys had to pay their boss sixty cents of each dollar the boys made. One Bootblack stated “The boss, he make all the money, and he want to make the men ring up the shine like the monkey rings the bell in the circus”.(page 47 )

The Prohibition has created a new type of crime, organized crime. Al Capone was a notorious criminal during the Prohibition. It is important to analyze what kind of effect the Prohibition had on America. It is also important to know why Al Capone became so notorious during the Prohibition. The articles, “ Moonshine and Speakeasies during Prohibition” and “ Capone, Al”, both show Prohibition was a horrible law that caused many negative effects to the country.

I still remember July 31, 2015 like it was yesterday. I was lying in bed at five in the morning, contemplating the day I had ahead of me on a warm summer morning. Hearing a knock on my bedroom door, my mom walked in and whispered that she was leaving for the hospital with my dad. All I could manage to do was hug her. My mom was scheduled to be induced to have my youngest brother, Andrew. Throughout her pregnancy, numerous concerns arose due to her age. Thankfully, Aunt Joy from Florida offered to help while Mom was in the hospital and after.