Brothers and Keepers Essay

In the preface to the text, John Edgar Wideman says that, “no inmate in Pennsylvania convicted of a similar offense has served a longer sentence than my brother” (xi). In this case, the author considers Robert’s arrest and incarceration to portray malice against the black population. He says, “A brother behind bars, my own flesh and blood, raised in the same house by the same mother and father; a brother confined in prison has to be a mistake, a malfunctioning of the system. ” (Wideman, pg. 43, 1984) In the second part, “Our Time” Wideman introduces the reader to his personal growth journey. The author says”, By the time a dude gets out of here, most likely he's a stone criminal, or thinks he is.

They got professors and Ph. D. 's in crime giving crime lessons in here. You learn how to go for the big time. For instance, the author blames himself for the events that befell Robby because he moved to an upper middle class as a black intellectual while Robby is a convict. From a sociological perspective, Wideman shows that prison can rehabilitate someone as Robby gets a degree and promises to “forever pray” for Wideman, thus challenging the society’s treatment of misfits. The author attempts to challenge society to change the view that misfits are a nuisance but rather they are people requiring help. The social ecology theory is appropriate to describe the behavioral patterns of the two brothers (Sampson, 2017).

The theory studies the relationships between the brother having grown up in the ghetto and one emerges as a professor and the other a criminal. Although the book was written in 1984, it still applies to present day America. For instance, there is a high incarceration rate of black men as the author demonstrated that the detectives saw him as an accomplice to the crimes. The basis of their suspicion was that the author was black thus showing the prejudice directed towards black people. The author succeeds in showing that social pressure and social learning influences individual behaviors. In addition, it was eye opening for the author to highlight the rising incarceration rates among people of color. J. Family management and child development: Insights from social disorganization theory.