In this blog post I want to focus on the theme of the “law” in relation to “The Squatter and the Don” and “Down These Mean Streets”.  While the law is evident in both texts, it certainly is highlighted in different ways in each.  If we think about the law, we think about rules, regulations and their enforcement; yet we also think about it as something that citizens respect, value and use to guide their behaviour, because if the rules are not abided by, there are consequences. In “The Squatter and the Don”, the law as a theme is very evident, especially in terms of land possession, but also in the form of unwritten social rules. Interestingly, in “Down These Mean Streets”, the law isn’t necessarily as big as a theme as it is in “The Squatter and the Don”.  Of course when Piri goes to prison, he goes because he was finally caught disobeying the law, but even before this, Piri engages in activity that is also seen as disobeying the law.  Piri tends to get himself in a lot of trouble, both at school and in his neighbourhood; however, the law or the fear of breaking rules doesn’t necessarily stop Piri from engaging in “risky” behaviour, until he goes to prison.  In fact, he chooses whether or not to fight people based on their level of heart.  After Piri gets released from prison, the law stays close with him, but it is invisible.  It’s as if he has taken what he has learned and experienced in prison, and held it in his heart.  The “Squatter and the Don” was set long before “Down These Mean Streets”, and it’s interesting to compare the role of the law in the two texts.  In the “Squatter and the Don”, the law does not protect and doesn’t even work the way the law is supposed to; in fact, it reproduces and upholds systemic inequalities.  There is lots of bribery and corruption; for example with the Monopolists and judge Lawlack, who will do whatever he is told.  The following two quotes are simple examples from the text that expose the the “kinks” of the law: “When they go sticking their noses into people’s business, they do so casually” (225) and “If San Diego had been permitted to grow, to have a population, her administration of laws would have been in other hands, and outrages like breaking into the Mechlin house could not have occurred” (337).  The most interesting part about how the law works in “The Squatter and the Don” is that even if the system of justice was working, it would still be bad for the population, even the entire United States.  There are numerous lawyers and endless appeals, yet no progress is ever made.  Something like the law, that should be straightforward, strict and essentially set in stone, is the exact opposite in this novel.  The law is supposed to work, but doesn’t, and because of this, we see the law not being able to protect against monopoly capitalism, as the main culprit in this novel.  There is a kind of feud between the Squatters and the Don, because of the very one thing that should have prevented a feud like this in the first place: the law.