Tally’s Corner (1967)
Elliott Liebow

 

Write a paragraph about Chapter Two: "Men and Jobs”:

  • Main Idea: Why is getting and keeping a job a low priority on the corner scale of real values? What conclusion is Liebow leading us towards? Is his evidence convincing?

 

 

Study Guide 3,4

Chapter III Fathers Without Children (71-102)

Main Idea: How can we inform our judgment of "deadbeat dads" by considering the influence of environment and culture?

  1. Describe the spectrum of father/child relationships that Liebow discovered in his study of this neighborhood. (Give examples.)

Low End

 

Acknowledgement

Separation w/ Contact

Daily Contact

 

 

 

 

2.      What is the typical father-child relationship like for streetcorner men?

  1. Explain this paradox: why do separated fathers in this neighborhood express more affection for their children than those fathers who actually live with their biological children?
  1. Why do adoptive fathers in this neighborhood express more affection for the children in their care than the biological fathers express for their own children? 
  1. Have you agreed with Liebow’s thesis in this chapter? How has he asked us to reassess our moral judgment of ‘dead-beat dads’ by considering the influence of environment and culture?
  2. When the child lives with his or her mother, how well does the father get along with the child?
  3. When forced into a role as provider, how do fathers start to regard their children?
  4. What is the attitude that fathers wind up taking towards discipline?
  5. How did these men get along with their own fathers? 
  6. Consider whether Liebow’s anecdotes provide convincing evidence to support his arguments? How would his ideological opponents counter his claims?
  7. What would the following people say?

Hilfiker

Lemann

Moynihan

Wright

 

Paragraph: How can we inform our judgment of "deadbeat dads" by considering the influence of environment and culture?

 

Chapter IV Husbands and Wives (103-135)

·        Main Idea: What impact does economic insecurity have on the relationships between man and woman in the corner culture?


  1. How do streetcorner men distinguish between marriage and consensual unions?
  2. How do streetcorner men value marriage?
  3. Why, then, does the fiction of coercion exercise such a powerful influence in corner culture?
  4. How does Liebow account for the discrepancy between public complaints about coercion and private desires to get married?
  5. How do streetcorner men compensate psychologically for their failures at marriage?
  6. What, according to Liebow, is the primary reason for the failure of marriage among streetcorner men?
  7. What value do the men associate with caring for their families? 
  8. What do the women expect of their men? 
  9. Does Liebow support his arguments with convincing anecdotes?
  10. What would the following people say:

Hilfiker

Lemann

Moynihan

Wright

 

Paragraph: What impact does economic insecurity have on the relationships between man and woman in the corner culture?