ABSTRACT
Given that work determines one's social class, the perpetuation of class inequality requires that boys like the Hallway Hangers and the Brothers go on to jobs that are comparable in status to the occupations of their parents. Conventional, middle-class orientations toward employment are inadequate to describe the Hallway Hangers" approach to work. The notion of a career, a set of jobs that are connected to one another in a logical progression, has little relevance to these boys. They are hesitant when asked about their aspirations and expectations. The Clarendon Heights community, as a public housing development, is by definition made up of individuals who do not hold even modestly remunerative jobs. A large majority are on additional forms of public assistance; many are unemployed. The second and much more intimate contact these boys have with the job market is through their families, whose occupational histories can be viewed only as sad and disillusioning by the Hallway Hangers.
