Alienation in Modern America: A Sociological Inquiry into the Impact of Self-Estrangement on the American Character in the Twentieth Century and Its Specific Effects on Boys of the Lower Urban Classes

Abstract

It is my intent in this thesis to present a description in depth of the term "alienation," showing the reasons I feel it has become one of the most significant problems in present day America and pointing out its impact on youth of the lower urban classes. It will not be an exhaustive treatment, for an undertaking such as this does not allow time enough to cover the term fully, which would indeed take volumes. It is my hope in this paper to arrive at a true understanding of the concept -- as both a result of social phenomena and as an individual psychological state -- and to show how it can lead to deviation from society's values and norms, especially among those underpriveleged adolescents undergoing an identity crisis. Although I will occasionally refer to alienation among other groups, it is the poor youth of the slums and ghettos, who be come delinquent, that I am most concerned with in this thesis. [From Preface]