Sociological Theories: Analyzing Griswold's Amity and Prosperity

This essay provides an analysis of sociological theories, specifically focusing on functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism, and their application to Eliza Griswold's book, "Amity and Prosperity." The essay begins by defining and explaining each of these core sociological perspectives. Functionalism is presented as a framework that views society as a system of interconnected parts, each contributing to overall stability. Conflict theory is described as a perspective that emphasizes power struggles and inequalities within society. Interactionism, the third theory discussed, is explained as a micro-sociological approach that focuses on how individuals create meaning through their interactions. The essay then applies these theories to the context of "Amity and Prosperity," illustrating how Griswold's work highlights the societal impacts of resource exploitation, community divisions, and human interactions. The analysis demonstrates how these sociological lenses provide valuable insights into the social dynamics presented in the book, enriching the reader's understanding of the complexities of social life.

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Sociological Theories
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SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES 2
Sociological Theories
Sociological theories are different perspectives developed by sociologists to explain the
different phenomena in the social interactions and analyze them (Allan, 2006). To get the society
going, it is important to understand the impact of social behaviors and relationships in the
society. In the book Amity and prosperity, Eliza Griswold the prizewinning poet and journalist,
incorporates some of these sociological theories like: functionalism, conflict and interactionism.
Eliza Griswold highlights these theories vividly in her works which I am going to discuss how
they apply accordingly.
Functionalism
This school of thought is based on the works of Herbert Spencer, Émile Durkheim,
Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton. It focuses on viewing society as a system of single units in
which every unit contributes independently to the stability of the society as a whole (Money,
Knox, and snatch, 2007). Societal elements have to conform to the required standards to bring
stability hence the birth of functional and dysfunctional in sociology circles. In the beginning of
Amity and prosperity, Eliza Griswold refers to a note that states the problem the Appalachia
problem face is greed. People in fuel-rich Appalachia area used the discovered fuels in unusual
ways for centuries, Eliza goes ahead and states the natives of the Pennsylvania collected
petroleum in the pits they had dug to treat venereal diseases (Griswold pg,13). 600years back.
Despite coal powering the then country’s economic growth and the high costs of harnessing
natural gas, tremendous advances in technology like fracking were discovered to extract oil from
gas leaking pits of the shale region.
Conflict

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This theory based on the works of Karlmax holds the perspective that the society is
composed of different forces with different motives scrambling over economic and social
resources and powers. It specifically relates crime to economic conditions (Akers, 2017). It is
evident in amity and prosperity how exploiting energy translates to exploiting people. It has
brought marginalization whereby the energy companies and the urban dwellers play with lights
looking down on the miners who put their lives at risk to power the lights. Eliza also points out
how fracking has divided the community as gap between the moneyed and the poor whose water
air and health are threatened (Griswold, 2019).
Interactionism
Inspired by the works of George Herbert Mead and Max Webber, falls under the branch
of micro-sociology (Money et al. 2007). Interactionism tends to explain how behavioral
characters are determined by interactions between humans. Interactionism is highlighted in the
book Amity and Prosperity. Stacy’s family and the voyles coexisted together as they were close
neighbors and shared a love for animals in Southwest Pittsburg. Stacy owned an animal salon
which she would use to style her children’s goat with a blow-dryer and on the other hand Beth
voyles treated her boxers to sumptuous delicacy.
Conclusion
Griswold (2019), has applied interactionism, conflict and functionalism as the key
sociological theories to help build the plot and themes of the literal work. They also develop on
the plot of the work.

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References
Allan, K, (2006). Contemporary Social and Sociological Theory. Visualizing Social Worlds
Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge press
Money, K., Knox, M. & Schacht, T., (2007).Understanding social Problems,5th edition.
Akers, R .L. (2017). Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation (2nd ed).
Los Angeles:Roxbury.
Griswold, E., (2019). Amity and Prosperity., Retrieved 9.27. 2019.