Gang Life In Two Cities Summary

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Pages: 4

Gang Life in Two Cities was written by a former gangbanger named Robert Duran and published in 2013. Duran opens the book with facts about his life in the Denver gang environment and his reasons for leaving the gang life. He writes that his daughter was the main reason for his exit out of the gang life, becoming a doctoral student, and retuning to Ogden where he spent a large portion of his time working with gangs and conducting research. Duran speaks about experiences he endured while he was an active gang member and shares his research methods, which include interviews and participant observations. He also shares stories of certain parts of his life in the beginning of every chapter. These stories help the reader understand what Duran went through as a young man and some of the bad choices he made that influenced consequences he endured.
While reading Duran’s book, you will learn that the media mirrors gangs in a way that only shows the negative side, the dangerous side of which the public should be afraid. He argues that the public needs to take a different approach when trying to understand gangs, besides the current negative orthodox perspectives already conceived. Duran speaks about different ways to focus on gang improvement instead of always
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He also explains his research on gang and non-gang families, suggesting that there can be pro and anti pro-gang pressures that might exist within the same home. Duran does a good job explaining how negative treatment by school authorities can push young Latino youth towards gang life. School authorities set up limitations, which causes frustration in the youth and indirectly contributes to the creation of gangs. Duran also mentions that Latino students are more likely to join gangs because they want to defy school leadership and because gangs provide opportunities of power and