Urban Underworld - 823 Words

The Urban Underworld in Late Nineteenth-Century New York: The Autobiography of George Appo In Timothy J. Gilfoyle’s book, The Urban Underworld in Late Nineteenth-Century New York: The Autobiography of George Appo, we learn that life was hard being a 19th century immigrant and choosing a life of crime was sometimes, but not always, the easy way out although it came with many consequences. George Appo was one who chose the life of crime. Prison was a common place for the pick pocketer George Appo. At the young age of three his father is convicted of murdering a woman and sent to Sing Sing after which his mother abandoned him. Appo learns to steal at a young age. He really had nothing else to turn to. New York in the†¦show more content†¦Left to fend for himself, what other choice did Appo have other than a life of crime? Prison at the time was a place where the penitentiary would use the criminals as basically slaves of the state. They would work them day in and day out. There were problems of overcrowding, sexual abuse, and disease. How was one supposed to learn from their mistakes and realize what they did was wrong when they were just worked to death at the prisons? How is that supposed to help reform a person into being better? In the end, George Appo fulfilled his idea of being a â€Å"good fellow† yet suffered the consequences of many years in prison and the loss of an eye. Every time Appo would leave prison he would go back to his same ways and continued pick pocketing. In the 19th century prison did the least to reform anyShow MoreRelatedCities in US History: 20th century We all come across with the term globalization. The developing1300 Words   |  6 PagesThe effect of prohibition on moral tone make it possible in the past days toward the growth of the nation, but in the case of America it is going adversely. In the city of NewYork instead of expansion prohibition results in the expansion of sexual underworld and some other crimes as well. 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