Robert Merton's Strain Theory

Robert Merton came up with concepts based off Emile Durkheim's work, that supposedly were meant to produce anomic conditions in society: culturally defined goals and socially approved means for obtaining them. What these concepts basically involve are whether you have succeeded in life, being wealthy, getting a degree, or whether you were unable to obtain such goals are proceeded to achieve the "American dream" in another unique or deviant way. Merton's variety of social adaptions are as followed:

• Conformity: Individuals obtain cultural goals and individualized means by obtaining society's social goals, such graduating from college, or getting a decent paying job. These individuals also have the resources to reach these goals without rebelling and exercising criminal actions.

• Innovation: Individuals achieve cultural goals but not by individualized means. These individuals know what they have to do to achieve in life and how to do it without breaking laws, but can't always achieve them. Those who cannot achieve such a simple goal as going to college, believe they are not smart enough or live in poverty. So to get what they need and want in life, they typically resort to criminal behavior such as stealing or selling drugs. 

• Ritualism: Ritualists are those individuals in life who are very much law-abiding citizens, but have given up and accepted that they will never live the "American Dream". These are the people that you usually see working a full time job that requires no degree and living in a house that's not ideal to most people, but it works. They live a less than average lifestyle, but do not exercise criminal behaviors. 

• Retreatism: Reatreatists are completely against both the goals and means of society. These are individuals who know they will never go anywhere in life and have completely given up hope. They often withdrawal themselves from society after acknowledging this. They resort to drugs because they know nothing else and drugs make them feel better about themselves for a little while. An example of retreatists could be people who are in and out of prison.

• Rebellion: Individuals who rebel are in completely different categories than the ones listed above. These are people who are all about doing their own thing and making their life meaningful in their own way. They rebel from social norms and goals create their own. 

Out of all these concepts, rebellious individuals are the ones that I find the most fascinating. They are either completely against the government or they just don't believe in living a "normal" life and doing anything they can to show how unique they are to the world. In some ways, I believe that more people should be like this.