Deprived of opportunities for advancement in mainstream society, [black ghetto] teenagers elevate their personal style into a philosophy of life. Their exemplars are pimps and gangsters.... Gangs develop to bolster self-identity through psychological control of the streets; hip "threads" and "freaked out" cars also serve as outward signs of inner creativity. Both sexes consider coitus ("doin' the do") a natural and desirable part of adolescence; soft drugs, primarily marijuana ("tea"), also offer a temporary alternative to the harsh reality of ghetto existence. But embracing all of these is the vernacular itself - in its grace, flexibility, and strength it is a valuable tool for "gettin' down," for "blowin' fire," ultimately for staying alive...

(Anderson 1981:233-234).



Edith A Folb is a white woman who threw herself into the depths of one of America's most notorious ghettos for nearly nine years of fieldwork on the language and culture of African-American teenagers.......

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Title: Runnin' Down Some Lines: Book Review
Approximate Word Count: 2741
Approximate Pages: 11 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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