East Harlem
East Harlem is the main imagery of the novel in terms of tactical, tangible imagery. This is redoubled by the fact that to the people who live their, the intimate relationship they feel between their life (perhaps their involvement in a gang) and their neighborhood is deeply felt. The neighborhood is a sublime spiritual experience for the people who feel they are protecting it by enforcing gang rule. Bourgois's aesthetic experience is juxtaposed against the ultimate appreciation that gang members feel for the Barrio.
The criminal element
The criminal element of East Harlem is on full display in the book, because Bourgois has to make his way through a community that is shaped by gang activity. The gangsters are out in the open, policing their hoods, watching to see who comes through, watching for suspicious activity, enforcing territorial borders. By the end, he has seen humans willing to end human life, and he has seen enough drug sales to make him abandon his cultural opinion of the hood.
Clout and respect
As the title suggests, the novel makes use of abstract imagery pointing the reader to the issue of clout or respect. Bourgois's opinion of respect is akin to coolness. He wants to be accepted and to be "cool" with the street, but to them, respect is way different. With the chronic warfare between enemy gangs, disrespect is often a quick path to the grave, because the community members are so disenfranchised from opportunity that they cannot afford to be taken advantage of. Respect means human rights to them, but to Bourgois, respect is about ego and pride.
Race and discrimination
The concrete imagery of race and racism pits Bourgois against his community instantly, because he looks undeniably suspicious. He comes into the town looking like an undercover cop, and he tries to fit in but stands out like a sore thumb. He thinks he is the victim of discrimination, but the reader knows that the picture depicted is the product of chronic neglect and abuse, not to mention systemic injustice and discrimination. By the end of the story, he sees the issues of discrimination in their nuance, instead of viewing racism in only one way.
