In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio

Give examples of institutionalized racism in the legal economy. How do people like Primo and Caesar react to this racism? Provide details.

"Street culture" is an important theme in the narrative. What is it, and why is it so important to many in East Harlem?

Compare Primo, Caesar, and Ray. How are they similar in their wants and attitudes? How are they different?

Candy is viewed as a woman who upended gender roles. How did Candy do this, and why is it important? Provide details from the narrative.

Detail the roles of men and women in typical Puerto Rican households versus the households Bourgois studied. Is there any overlap, and why?

Respect plays a crucial role in how people present themselves in El Barrio. How do Bourgois’s East Harlem friends view respect? Why is it so important? Provide examples.

Violence is a major component of the underground economy, as evidenced in the narrative’s “culture of terror”(34). How do people like Primo and Caesar view violence? Who is affected by it? Explain the "culture of terror."

Compare the underground economy to the legal economy. What goods and services do each provide for the people in El Barrio? Are they mutually exclusive? Explain your answer.