Wayward Puritans Book Review Essay - 1064 Words

As a sociologist, Kai T. Erikson looks at history as a reflection of changes in societal norms and expectations. Erikson re-visits his look at historical happenings of the Puritans in his novel â€Å"Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance†. By examining several â€Å"crime waves† throughout history, Erikson points out several aspects of how we see deviance. After researching Puritan lifestyle and the corresponding influences of deviance, Erikson explores the Antinomian Controversy, the Quaker Invasion, and the Witches of Salem Village. In his first chapter, Erikson gives regard to a foremost leader in sociology; Emile Durkheim. As he notes, crime is really a natural kind of social activity. If crime is a natural part of†¦show more content†¦In some cases, as Erikson explains, labeling and isolating deviants together creates an even worse problem than the initial crime. Prison systems are notorious for a hierarchical system of criminals, wi th those on top teaching and grooming the amateurs for worse crimes. With this in mind, Erikson looks at a much lesser yet historically relevant form of deviance; the Puritans’ detachment from the Church. Erikson explains that to most English people of the 16th century, Puritans became an annoying sect of rebels. Overbearing and unrelenting, many detested the exaggeration of conventional values that the Puritans displayed. Feeling restricted by the formalities of the Church, Puritans quickly became deviant in the eyes of society. By moving to Massachusetts Bay, Puritans hoped to create their own ideas of what is â€Å"right† and â€Å"wrong†, much like any community attempting to set boundaries. However, problems arose when laws were to be mandated in a Biblical sense. God could not sit at a pulpit in a courtroom, so then how would a strictly religious group maintain itself? As Erikson states, â€Å"one of the surest ways to confirm an identity, for comm unities as well as individuals, is to find some way of measuring what one is not†. From this, they developed a keen sense of Devil distinction – that is, ways in which the Devil presented himself through the behaviors of individuals. Three separate yet similarly crisis provoking â€Å"crime waves† swept throughShow MoreRelatedPerspectives on Love in Reality Parenting Shows1194 Words   |  5 Pagesthose parents who are struggling with their wayward son or daughter because parents can get tips on how to approach their children. Teenagers of these generations nowadays are much more aggressive, librated and impatient compared to the past generations. They are so curious they want to try everything without second thoughts. From being a blessing, they suddenly became a burden to their parents and this is the reason behind why a lot of parenting shows, books and websites suddenly appears but stillRead MoreHistory of Social Work18530 Words   |  75 Pagesespecially because its members do not have a great deal of individual responsibility and because it still lacks a written body of knowledge and educationally communicable techniques. 1917 Mary Richmond publishes Social Diagnosis. Social workers use her book as a primary text and as an answer to Flexner. ï‚ · The first organization for social workers is established. The national Social Workers Exchange exists primarily to process applicants for social work jobs. 1919 The 17 schools of social work that existRead MoreA Streetcar Named Desire: the Importance of Being Earnest9437 Words   |  38 Pagesnotion of â€Å"Bunbury† or â€Å"Bunburying.† As defined by Algernon, Bunburying is the practice of creating an elaborate deception that allows one to misbehave while seeming to uphold the very highest standards of duty and responsibility. Jack’s imaginary, wayward brother Ernest is a device not only for escaping social and moral obligations but also one that allows Jack to appear far more moral and responsible than he actually is. Similarly, Algernon’s imaginary invalid friend Bunbury allows Algernon to escapeRead MoreSociological View on Deviance and Drug Use Essay8777 Words   |  36 Pageshow society views drug use. This literature review will use a selection of available documents on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed. {Chris Hart, Doing a Literature Review, 1998, p.13}. This paper will focus on the labeling