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Walter B. Miller's Five Tensions Concerning The Lower Class Culture

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Walter B. Miller had focal concerns concerning the lower class culture. The five focal concerns were trouble, toughness, smartness, fate, and autonomy. These focal concerns are said to be “areas or issues which command widespread and persistent attention and a high degree of emotional involvement.” Goode, E. (1996). Each focal concern explains a little bit of what each person has or should have and brings a person prestige. One great example of these focal concerns was the movie Carlito’s way. One of the five focal concerns is Trouble. The basic description for trouble is welcoming authorities by having any types of encounters with them. For people who get involved with trouble they have to do something and actually be able to get away with it. But if …show more content…

Toughness is when you have physical strength and you have skills in combat. A man has to have to have the ability to “take it and take it like a man”. Men have to project a hard shell and that they could fight and most men show that by having tattoos, being muscular, drink, and smoke. But if they are in the street and a fight breaks out, they have to join the fight no matter what. 90 percent of men were raised in female based homes but they could not show any type of a feminine side. No matter how much affection you might show behind closed doors, in public men view women as objects. Therefore, you have to have the quality and traits of toughness to actually be considered being tough. The third focal concern is smartness. Smartness is having the ability or capacity to outsmart or con others. You have to show that you are able to get money and survive by your wits alone. You have to be able to see the con coming and be able to go in the room and know when something is going to happen. You go into a room and know that something doesn’t feel right and you prepare yourself for whatever might happen or go on. Having smartness is being able to talk and engage in the street

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