Street Corner Society, William Foote Whyte Meghan Holland

Part II. Racketeers and Politicians

Through interviewing and participant oservation, the second part o! Whyte"s
ook e#amines politics and racketeering in $ornerville. In e#amining these two societal
structures, Whyte !ocuses on the details o! group !ormation and association. His study
reveals the historical conte#t o! $ornerville"s group !ormation, the de!inition and
perpetuation o! norms, and the individual e#periences which comprise a community
story.
In studying racketeering and politics as key systems in $ornerville, Whyte
identi!ies the !low o! money as one way to understand comple# relationships and
activities. Money and the pursuit to increase personal wealth or the clu"s treasury are
common motivators !or group !ormation and continuance. Furthermore, he oserves that
all $ornerville associations, especially political ones, are de!ined y reciprocal personal
oligations %p. &'(). *s evidenced y interview and action, $ornerville residents value
loyalty, trust, personal connections, and hierarchy. Racketeering and politics are systems
which resulted !rom and rely on these values.
In oth positive and negative ways, this ook includes much detail on $ornerville
associations. +ecause Whyte strives to present an e#amination !ree o! ,udgment, he
includes what seems like all in!ormation he oserves and hears. -till, it is interesting to
note Whyte"s perspective on his .ualitative methodology/
0* man"s attitudes cannot e oserved ut instead must e in!erred !rom his
ehavior. -ince actions are directly su,ect to oservation and may e recorded
like other scienti!ic data, it seems wise to try to understand man through studying
his actions. This approach not only provides in!ormation upon the nature o!
in!ormal group relations ut it also o!!ers a !ramework !or the understanding o!
the individual"s ad,ustment to his society.1 %p. &23)
In addition to the many e#cerpts o! Whyte"s interviews, my !avorite part o! the
ook was the appendi#, where Whyte e#plains how he ecame interested in .ualitative
social research and how he developed his plan o! study. *lso interesting is the story o!
how Whyte came to meet 4oc, Tony, and other prominent characters in the ook, as well
as anecdotes o! his own education on how est to conduct .ualitative research o! this
nature.
Related readings/
0The 5ven +ird"s -ong/ Insiders, 5utsiders, and Personal In,uries in an *merican
$ommunity,1 4avid 6ngel
Up in the Old Hotel, 7oseph Mitchell
Random Family, *drian 8e+lanc