The movie Street Wise takes place in Seattle where we first meat Duane. Duane is a sixteen-year-old male that lives on the street. Duane's daily activities include getting up at twelve, paying fifty cents to shower, begging for money, and ending the day by doing drugs. Duane's entire life is in conflict with what society considers the norm. We ask ourselves why is Duane living on the street, why is he paying money to shower, and finally why does he beg for money? The reason behind Duane's problem is the route of his non-existent family. Duane's family is hardly involved in his life. His mother is non-existent and his father is in jail for burglary, arson and many other charges. Even though Duane

talks to his dad in prison, this is no way for a boy of his age to live his life. Duane's father knows that Duane is leading a very unproductive life and tells Duane this. Duane's father asks him if he does drugs and smokes because he is concerned about his physical well being. Duane's dad hopes to get out of jail and try to turn both of their lives around. The reason behind Duane's unfulfilling life was because Duane didn't have anyone to teach him right and wrong. Duane was forced into doing what others did to make a life for themselves. Duane adapted to the principles of living on the street and never got the chance to socialize with kids that weren't in the same type of situations.

Erin is another main character in Street Wise; she is a fourteen-year-old girl who isn't in any better situation than Richard and Duane. Erin sleeps around, accepts money for sex and does whatever she wants. Unlike the family life of Richard and Duane, Erin has a mother that is involved in her life in a small way. Erin's mom says she loves her daughter and doesn't want anything to happen to her. Is this just a disguise? Does Erin's mother really care about her daughter? Erin's mom does not do what is necessary to help her daughter live a normal and productive life in the society. "I am afraid some day I will get a call and my daughter will be dead". If Erin's mom feels this way why doesn't she try to get her daughter from doing these bad acts? Why doesn't Erin's mother and step dad try to get Erin to go to school and teach her the ways to living a productive life?

Conflict Theory is a major problem in society of today, and we need to help people take the right paths to lead a successful life. There is no excuse for adolescents living on the streets with no cares in the world. In today's society many people give to charities and help others, but there will always be people that have live on the street. Situations like the ones in Street Wise happen all the time and we need to stop these things from happening. Over the last few years we have been faced with similar problems of adolescent abuse and we need to correct them. The Columbine shooting

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Approximate Word count = 1458
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)