Peer pressure in Sag Harbor is rather just Dag

 Peer Pressure in Sag Harbor 


Benji is part of a group of friends in Sag Harbor. Peer pressure (PP), falling victim to other people’s influences, is shown throughout “The Gangsters” and shows how Benji is part of it. Ultimately, there are consequences to his actions. This chapter shows the mechanisms behind PP.

Benji sees how his friends are shooting with their guns. At first, he shows he does not want to participate in shooting. However, his friend calls him a pussy wussy, and eventually he partakes in this activity. 

Then, he decides to join in group activities using guns. The group plays a game where they shoot each other. Benji knows that this activity is dangerous (No duh). This is shown when he brings up a time his brother is not available, so he won’t get injured. However, this does not stop Benji from participating. Benji suggests they use goggles to prevent any injuries to the face, despite the rule of no shooting to the face. However, they end up not using any googles because it was rather dag. Benji is shot in the eye socket. Benji wants to go to the hospital to remove the bullet. However, the others are worried that there will be consequences after going to the hospital. Therefore, Benji decides to try to get the bullet out by himself. 

They are the definition of the saying “boys will be boys.” They are young and reckless. Benji thinks about the consequences, but he still participates. This shows how much influence friends have on their friends. PP tries to convince other people to do the things they want. The methods can include shaming, as shown in this case. This shows the impact of words as well. As my brother said while reviewing this blog, “This is just Benji being stupid,” and I couldn’t agree more.

Comments

  1. Kaylee ZhengMay 18, 2026 at 10:10 PM

    Hi Elda! I agree that the pressure to look tough in front of his peers instead of being seen as a “pussy wussy” pushes Benji into making reckless decisions. His need to belong outweighs his instinct for safety. Realizing the seriousness of the moment contributes to Benji’s coming of age. Great blog post!

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  2. ShriyaMay 19, 2026 at 9:55 AM

    Hi Elda, I agree peer-pressure does play a big role in Benji's actions. This also a common theme I saw across several off the books we read in class and in daily life. Peer-pressure makes people do a lot of things they would not do normally, good or bad. I do think Benji made many reckless decisons from peer pressure which he eventually learned from.

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  3. Renee WangMay 19, 2026 at 11:33 AM

    Hi Elda, great blog! I really like how you were articulated how much peer pressure played a part in Benji's actions. In this aspect, I think he is a bit like Jason Taylor from Black Swan Green, because (at least initially) they both folded under what other people told them to do. I also really agree with you and your brother's point that Benji was being a little dumb, but throughout the novel he learns to not fold under other people's expectations (case in point, stealing Nick's girl).

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  4. Adrian SchneiderMay 20, 2026 at 10:40 AM

    Hi Elda! I feel like the usage of "pussy" is definitely a very dated 80's term that Benji and his friends use to emasculate and pressure each other into doing things they don't want to do. That scene of him trying to dissect his face to get the BB gun out freaked me out to no end, and it was definitely a consequence of peer pressure. Great Blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MitchellMay 21, 2026 at 10:13 AM

    It's interesting that Ben depicts his younger self in this chapter as somewhat less susceptible to peer pressure--he is at least more skeptical of his friends' stupid behavior around the guns, and he constantly depicts them as giant babies playing with toys, wondering aloud whether they are "too old" for stuff like this. But you're right that he ends up succumbing, and as a result he's carrying around this BB in his eye. The moment when Clive--the one genuinely cool guy in the group, according to Benji--compliments his shooting clearly changes Benji's attitude. He still has doubts, and he wants to wear safety goggles, and he's concerned about his younger brother--but when his friends laugh off the idea of goggles in gendered terms (using the gendered insult you refer to here), Benji succumbs. If he hadn't been so susceptible to peer pressure, his eye would have been protected.

    But then again, he wouldn't have this great story to tell at cocktail parties.

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