He first went there to look at the entire (untaxed) underground economy, from baby sitting, off-track betting, to drug dealing, as these were the means which most of the families living in El Barrio were able to survive. By the end of the first year of living there, Philippe realized in one way or another, that crack had infiltrated everyone's life in "El Barrio". Crack had consumed the underground economy of East Harlem and changed it, and therefore he changed the focus of his book. He was now going to look at how crack played apart in everyone's lives. With this new variable running rampant in their community, he now wanted to look at "their daily struggles for subsistence and dignity at the poverty line," (intro pg. 2) with in this new context.

He asks, in studying the street culture, how does growing up in an environment like that affect o

The only jobs that provided enough money for the Harlemites to survive on, with out having to engage in some other illegal activity, are high risk construction jobs, which were ran by racist mafia backed unions (ch. 4 pg. 162), or entry level jobs in the F.I.R.E. (finance, insurance, or real estate) sector (ch. 4 pg.142), where the impoverished Puerto Ricans did not have enough cultural capital or the proper ethnic background to survive in the positions being offered.

Although the world of the underground economy is very chaotic, it all seems to revolve around one thing, crack. Everyone's daily life, that is anyone who is not a member of the poor legal working class, is organized around crack, whether one is fighting rival crews for a spot to sell, or just hanging out at the local crackhouse waiting for a handout. It is prevalent on both the violent and non-violent spectrums of the culture. Obviously, the dealers had the most respect of everyone, and were looked up at by youngsters.

To survive financially outside of mainstream society, one must manipulate all of ones available resources to make a livable income. So, in the underground economy this can mean any thing, from taking advantage of the welfare office, to selling drugs, or robbing people, all of which were employed by most of the subjects in this book.

The only act that stood out to me, as being a ritual was the act of getting high. While getting high served two fold, it served as a method to deal with the reality of not being able to be in control of any part of one's life, and it severed as a way of opening up the lines for communication, as most of all the testimonials occurred over liquor and some sort of drug.

What caught the eye of the youngsters were their nice shoes and the respect everyone had for the dealer. So at the earliest time possible, the young kids would try and emulate what they have seen as an acceptable, and viable way to get money and respect. Selling drugs, being violent, and robbing people, all were skills that they learned at school (ch.4pg.194). This is jus

Some common words found in the essay are:
Puerto Ricans, El Barrio, East Harlem, Barrio Bourgois, Puerto Rican, el barrio, York City, underground economy, Barrio Crack, mainstream society, Philippe Bourgois, ch 4, selling drugs, street culture, east harlem, Search Respect, selling drugs robbing, crackhouse waiting, 4 pg, drugs robbing, ch 4 pg, crackhouse waiting handout, ch 4 pg142,
Approximate Word count = 1390
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)