Page 116 - Essencials of Sociology

Resocialization 89

day-to-day lives of the residents. Eating, sleeping, showering, recreation—all are stan-
dardized. Inmates learn that their previous statuses—student, worker, spouse, parent—
mean nothing. The only thing that counts is their current status.
No one leaves a total institution unscathed: The experience brands an indelible
mark on the individual’s self and colors the way he or she sees the world. Boot camp,
as described in the Down-to-Earth Sociology box below, is brutal but swift. Prison, in
contrast, is brutal and prolonged. Neither recruit nor prisoner, however, has difficulty in
knowing that the institution has had profound effects on attitudes and orientations to life.

Down-to-Earth Sociology

Boot Camp as a Total Institution

he bus arrives at Parris Island, South Carolina, at 3 A.M. Each day begins before dawn with close-order formations.
The early hour is no accident. The recruits are groggy, The rest of the day is filled with training in hand-to-hand
Tconfused. Up to a few hours ago, the young men were combat, marching, running, calisthenics, Marine history, and—
ordinary civilians. Now, as a sergeant sneeringly calls them always—following orders.
“maggots,” their heads are buzzed (25 seconds per recruit), “An M-16 can blow someone’s head off at 500 meters,”
and they are quickly thrust into the harsh world of Marine Sergeant Norman says. “That’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
boot camp. “Yes, sir!” shout the platoon’s fifty-nine voices.
Buzzing the boys’ hair is just the first step in stripping “Pick your nose!” Simultaneously fifty-nine index fingers
away their identity so that the Marines can stamp a new one shoot into nostrils.
in its place. The uniform serves the same purpose. There is The pressure to conform is intense. Those who are sent pack-
a ban on using the first person “I.” Even a simple request ing for insubordination or suicidal tendencies are mocked in
must be made in precise cadence during drills. (“Hope
Marine style or it will not you like the sights you see/
be acknowledged. (“Sir, Parris Island casualty.”) As
Recruit Jones requests lights go out at 9 P.M., the
permission to make a exhausted recruits perform
head call, Sir.”) the day’s last task: The
Every intense moment entire platoon, in unison,
of the next eleven weeks chants the virtues of the
reminds the recruits, men Marines.
and women, that they Recruits are constantly
are joining a subculture scrutinized. Subpar per-
of self-discipline. Here, formance is not accepted,
pleasure is suspect and whether a dirty rifle or a
sacrifice is good. As they loose thread on a uniform.
learn the Marine way The underperformer is
of talking, walking, and shouted at, derided, humil-
thinking, they are de- iated. The group suffers for
nied the diversions they the individual. If one recruit
once took for granted: A recruit with a drill instructor. is slow, the entire platoon
television, cigarettes, cars, is punished.
candy, soft drinks, video games, music, alcohol, drugs, The system works.
and sex. One of the new Marines (until graduation, they are recruits, not
Lessons are taught with fierce intensity. When Sergeant Marines) says, “I feel like I’ve joined a new society or religion.”
Carey checks brass belt buckles, Recruit Robert Shelton He has.
nervously blurts, “I don’t have one.” Sergeant Carey’s face
grows red as his neck cords bulge. “I?” he says, his face just For Your Consideration
inches from the recruit. With spittle flying from his mouth, he ↑ Of what significance is the recruits’ degradation ceremony?
screams, “‘I’ is gone!” Why are recruits not allowed video games, cigarettes, or calls
“Nobody’s an individual” is the lesson that is driven home home? Why are the Marines so unfair as to punish an entire
again and again. “You are a team, a Marine. Not a civilian. Not platoon for the failure of an individual? Use concepts in this
black or white, not Hispanic or Indian or some hyphenated chapter to explain why the system works.
American—but a Marine. You will live like a Marine, fight like a
Marine, and, if necessary, die like a Marine.” Sources: Based on Garfinkel 1956; Goffman 1961; Ricks 1995; Dyer 2007.