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However, many as he notes, are trying "to live 'better' lives within the framework of their own and society's weaknesses" (Duneier 158). Thus, just like other viable members of any society, these people are doing what they can to make ends meet and still live decent and fulfilled lives. They fill the definition of many growing and changing societies; they are just doing it in the microcosm of Greenwich Village, instead of in the boardrooms of high-powered firms. It is unmistakable that some of these vendors could certainly fit into that environment, but simply choose not to.
Third, this microcosm of society has formed its own hierarchy, which stretches from Hasan, who functions as a sort of unofficial leader, down through the ranks of magazine and book vendors and "support" people who help move, store, and place merchandise, and even hold desirable spots on the sidewalks for some of the vendors. Thus, there are levels in this functional society and some of the members' function effectively, while some are...
However, the society functions effectively for those who live in it or they would move on to other endeavors, and other street societies. Duneier is grudgingly accepted into the society, but never quite fits in. He is seen alternately as "a naive white man who could himself be exploited...; a Jew who was going to make a lot of money off the stories of people working the streets; a white writer who was trying to 'state the truth about what was going on'" (Duneier 12). These examples indicate that these vendors of Greenwich Village have created their own society, and it exists from a functional perspective, and will probably continue to exist in that perspective.
References
Duneier, Mitchell. Sidewalk. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.
O'Hehir, Andrew. "Sidewalk." Salon.com. 16 Dec. 1999. 1 Dec. 2004. http://www.salon.com/books/review/1999/12/16/duneier/
L. Bean and Lands' End, Victoria's Secret, Christie's and Sotheby's, as well as used books." (Duneier, 1991, p.30) According to the first chapter of Sociology: the Core by Michael Hughes and Carolyn J. Kroehler, symbolic interactionists like Duneier contend that society is possible because human beings have the ability to communicate with one another by means of symbols. They say that we act toward people, objects, and events on the basis
Socialization by the Book And the Bed Sociologists define socialization as "the process by which, through contact with other human beings, one becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable human being, skilled in the ways of a given culture and environment." (Giddens, Duneier, & Appelbaum) There are many ways in which we socialization occurs. Interaction with parents, family, neighbors and community members, teachers and fellow students, and religious leaders all contribute to socialization. Other
Mitchel Duneier. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. New York. 1999. The books and magazine vendors, the panhandlers, the second-hand merchants -- you see them every day on the corner of the street, praising their merchandise, chasing customers, jazzing up the street. You may regard them with curiosity, with feelings ranging from pity to blame, from disapproval to fear, but have you ever wonder how is it like to be in their shoes,
Within this sidewalk culture, patterns of interaction emerge. An example would be Hasan's role not only as a vendor, but also as a conversationalist for his customers, discussing topics that pertain to or about the merchandise that he sells, which are second-hand books. A second feature that reflects symbolic interactionism in sidewalk culture as determined by the author is the assignment of specific roles by its members, and this is