Ain't No Making It by
Jay MacLeod 1987
A sociological
account of two groups of teenage boys.
In Ain’t No
Making It Jay MacLeod compares two groups of
teenage boys in a
low-income housing project, the “Hallway
Hangers,” a group of mainly
white boys, and the “
Brothers,” a group of mostly
black boys. In his interviewing and research, MacLeod studied the different aspirations and outlooks between the two groups, what aspects made these
differences, and the long-term implications of the differences. The
answers and explanations that MacLeod puts forth are somewhat surprising but are rational considering the
different level of
education and family
backgrounds between the two groups.
At first look, it would seem that the group of white boys, the “Hallway Hangers” would have higher
aspirations in life as they would have come from typically a more
wealthier background and one that would put more stress on going to college and striving for a good job and
well-off life. This reasoning also goes for the group of black
boys, the “
Brothers” who’s background would tend not to put stress on a higher
education and would not have as many assets of which to draw off from for a well-off life and would accordingly have lower aspirations in life. However, MacLeod describes that these seemingly
logical generalizations were not the case in these two groups that in fact, the “Brothers” had higher aspirations in life than did the “Hangers.” His
sociological explanations make rational sense of these
observations.
MacLeod’s
argument is that black group, who must
overcome both class and racial barriers will view opportunities in
education and occupation as more open whereas the white group their opportunities as
closed. Therefore, the “Brothers” whose chances in life seen much lower than those of the “Hangers,” nonetheless hold optimistic attitudes toward the future and the “Hangers” hold feelings of bitterness and
hopelessness.
The “Hangers” reject and mock the
American Dream of
social mobility, seeing their parents in poorly paid and unwanted jobs. They question the American Dream since it goes against the experiences that they are exposed to, their family,
neighbors, and their own experiences. They therefore create a
counterculture, going against the culture of their parents and the
middle class. On the other side, the “Brothers”
internalize the success philosophy believing that if they work hard
enough, they can make the middle class.
Racial differences have a
key effect in the two group’s views. The “Hangers,” for example, believe that
affirmative action has worked to create black favoritism in school and occupation opportunities creating a reverse discrimination. They therefore argue that they do not have equal access to
achievement, affecting their
outlook on their life.
These ideas are very similar to
Bourdieu’s idea of
habitus, a class-based outlook on life.
MacLeod shows rationally through the example of the different groups of boys that the class and group that a person belongs to is extremely important in determining the person’s outlook on life and subsequent opportunities and achievements. The choices made by the “Hangers,” for example, to be
underachievers may not be rational but they are reasonable considering their background and
exposure to society
reiterating Bourdieu’s habitus.