All Souls by Michael MacDonald is a harrowing tale of growing up in Old Country residential neighborhoods located in South Boston, also known as Southie by locals. The memoir takes the reader deep into Southie's world through MacDonald's eyes. MacDonald was one of 11 children to grow up and face the many tribulations of Southie, Boston. Southie is characterized by high levels of crime, racism and violence; all things that fall into the category of social problem. Social problems can be defined as “society-induced conditions that harm any segment of the population. Social problems are also linked to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values ​​present in society” (Long). The social problems present in Southie are the very reason why living conditions are so poor and why Southie is considered one of the poorest cities in Boston. Macdonald's and his family must overcome the presence of crime, racism and violence to survive in the city they consider the best place in the world. Crime can be defined as "an act or the commission of a prohibited act or the omission of a duty imposed by a public law and which makes the offender punishable by that law; in particular: a serious violation of the law" (Merriam Webster ) In simpler terms, any act of breaking the law commits a crime. Southie, Boston is full of crime as crime is the most prevalent social problem in the city most crimes committed a Southie are in the form of drugs. The leader of the Southie drug trade during this period was a man named James Whitey Bulger The... middle of paper... of a family who grew up in a city where crime, racism and violence. The social problems present in Southie, Boston, could have been minimized if only parents had led their children on the right path. Parents could have warned their children of the horrors associated with any drug trafficking association, discouraged them from discriminating against people of different races, and reported violence in their neighborhood instead of remaining silent in hopes of supporting some kind of Southie . loyalty code/"Southie's Code of Silence" (MacDonald 8). Instead, parents did not teach their children the dangers of drug trafficking; they encouraged racial discrimination and remained silent in the face of violence. All of these things contributed to the poor living conditions and bad reputation of South “Southie” Boston.