Durkheims Theory

My first paper mainly focused on Durkheim’s social theory, which states that people prefer to live in places they have ties to. While this theory appeared within most of my interviews, I also noticed a greater and more apparent link between each interviewee which was marriage. I became fascinated with figuring out why there was actually a much deeper connection between all of these interviews. They are each connected and bound together by one word; marriage. Although two thirds of my interviewees wanted to live in the same place they grew up in, since it held a sense of belonging, all of them moved because their spouse was now part of the picture.

This left me wondering how marriage played a role in why my parents decided to move away from their beloved childhood neighborhood. The last question I asked during my first interview process was, “If you moved away from your ‘best place’, what were the reasons?” Every single interviewee stated somewhere in their response that their reasoning was because of marriage. “Durkheim believed that the unmarried lack the ties and responsibilities that come with marriage” (Henslin p. 12). My parents moved away from their beloved childhood home after marrying to make new ties together elsewhere. When a couple gets married and moves away together it is a new stage in each of their lives. They are starting a new chapter together and want to make new memories and have new experiences together as well as when they finally decide to expand their family. This could mean developing a relationship with neighbors close by, becoming active in their neighborhood church, having their children attend the school just down the street, or taking place in the neighborhood garage sale weekend. These factors are easily the exact same factors which have helped them develop the deep love they have for their home growing up. “Durkheim concluded that people who have weaker social ties are more likely to commit suicide” (Henslin p. 12). This shows how...