Tribes, by Catherine MacPhail, portrays teenage gang culture in many forms.

MacPhail, in her novel, has built a convincing picture of the rising number of gang incidents in a tamed manner.

Tribes explores the root cause of gangs. Parents not instilling discipline is probably the most common cause of gangs. Throughout the novel there is no intervention from parents when it is clear some parents know their child is not going to school or causing trouble around town. For example, in chapter 19, Kevin is invited to Salom’s house. His mum is very nice but Salom totally disrespects his mother, even slamming the door in her face when she was offering them drinks and food. At home Salom feels he can do anything he wants and this continues into the outside world.

Parents not disciplining their kids leads to unsupervised play in the streets, another root cause of gangs. The novel has many examples of the Tribe on the rampage. Just after Kevin joins the Tribe, he is introduced to their type of fun, not playing football, but disrupting people’s lives,

‘There were new games to be learned,

exciting games, dangerous games.’

Kevin doesn’t seem to want to believe that causing disorder with the Tribe is intolerable. He thinks it’s just simple fun, ‘exciting’ and ‘dangerous’ suggests Kevin knows he is doing wrong but he is enjoying the new found ecstasy from the gang’s ‘sport’. he believes that the gangs escapades aren’t insolent.

With children being unsupervised, gangs can influence individuals more and more to the extent where their life starts to depend on the gang.

Many people who are involved in

street gang culture are threatened with death if they even consider quitting. Gangs can manipulate their member’s behaviour into something, entirely different from their normal actions. Kevin would like to join the Tribe, but is put off by the initiation trial, walking a suspended plank of old wood, perilously positioned over a hundred foot drop still he convinces himself to do the Walk of Death,

‘‘He was going to attempt the Walk of Death’’

Kevin, if he was thinking rationally, would never dream of walking this plank. Yet the gang has taken control of his life ad he will do anything for the gang. Usually the Walk of Death’s name alone would put, any normal, uninfluenced thinking person, of the idea

Many people are attracted to gangs; One major attraction is possibly for personal security because of the threat of violence. Before Kevin joins the Tribe, he is always looking over his shoulder for gangs, but after he joins the Tribe he feels secure. After Kevinhas treaded the Walk of Death, to finally join the Tribe, he must sign a contract with his own blood,

‘‘You’re one of us now: one of the Tribe and if anyone hurts

one of the Tribe, they hurt us all. Remember the oath? We stick together no matter what’’

In this quote there is a feeling of protection as if someone hurts any member of the Tribe, they hurt all the members. By joining a gang Kevin is protected as if he got hurt there are five or six Tribe members to avenge him and back him up. In London, a former gang leader said some young people became gang members in order to feel protected.

“They feel safe within a gang because you have got older people in the gang who are always going to look after you,” he said.

“You are always moving as a pack. It’s as you fight in a war.

“If you are fighting in a war you are not going to send just one soldier out. It’s definitely a war out there.”

Being part of the Tribe gives Kevin a sense of belonging as he is part of an infamous gang. It makes him feel special as only Kevin, Salom, Doc and the others had walked the Walk of Death. Being the select few, the chosen ones, makes Kevin feel really amazing, He seems to think that only the best can join the Tribe.

Another major attraction of gang culture is the street cred or reputation(rep for short), gained. Throughout the novel there are several statements of either ‘Salom is the best’ or ‘The Tribe is the best’. Salom knows that the Tribe is known to be the best and tells Kevin that the other gangs conspire to beat the Tribe and become the best,

‘‘They want to be the best and of course to beat us’’

The Tribe is known to be the best and if anyone beat them, all their hard-earned rep would be diminished, Salom would never be able to handle losing his No.1 rep.

Gang behaviour can be interpreted differently: to the members, it is harmless fun; to the victims, it is destructive and gangs usually carry on being disorderly until gang behaviour can reach terrifying heights of disruption. Gangs can start at petty crimes and if allowed to continue, they might feel invincible and continue on to worse crimes like assault and maybe even murder. All through Tribes there are several cases of Kevin and the Tribe doing what they like, and they don’t care who’s life they’re upsetting,

‘‘What was so wrong with playing football on the bowling

green? Or riding their bikes at night over the local gold

course? Fun, that was all it was.’’

With the use of the repeated rhetorical questions, it seems Kevin is in denial of how destructive the tribe is being. He has been brainwashed into believing that the Tribe’s activities are harmless.

Gangs being out of control, with no imposing factors, might start to believe they can get away with anything, even murder. The Tribe particularity Salom, at one point tries to push MacAfee , leader of a rival gang, the Rebels, into the river when he knows MacAfee can’t swim. Salom believes he will be able to get away with murder, and he doesn’t seem that concerned about committing the crime.

Maybe murder is not that common an occurrence, but gang culture certainly is never pretty. Throughout the novel the Tribe and the other gangs commit many an ugly act. One example, is when the Tribe lock MacAfee in a disused and unclean toilet. MacAfee and his gang had disrupted Kevin’s parents line dancing performance, Salom remembering the Tribe promise, ‘You’re one of us now: one of the Tribe and if anyone hurts one of the Tribe, they hurt us all’ decides to ambush MacAfee to avenge Kevin’s parents,

‘‘Yes, in with the other turds, MacAfee’’

The word choice of ‘turd’ is suggesting that all Salom thinks of MacAfee is that, he is a disgusting object that you just turn your nose up at, which certainly isn’t pretty.

Tribes has several examples of all aspects of gang culture if somewhat tame at times. It explores the root cause, the attraction and the behaviour of gangs, but in a less violent, and less vulgar than real life. Consequently Tribes is a near-realistic way of portraying gang culture.