Within this sidewalk culture, patterns of interaction emerge. An example would be Hasan's role not only as a vendor, but also as a conversationalist for his customers, discussing topics that pertain to or about the merchandise that he sells, which are second-hand books.

A second feature that reflects symbolic interactionism in sidewalk culture as determined by the author is the assignment of specific roles by its members, and this is illustrated in the story of Alice, the tradebooks and popular pocketbooks vendor, and Hasan, the "black books" seller. Both are book vendors, yet, in the sidewalk culture, Hasan maintains a more personal relationship with his customers, letting their business transaction go beyond the purchase of books to discussing issues that his customers may deem important for them to discuss with him (Hasan).

Sidewalk" assumes a symbolic interactionist perspective through its third feature, which is the temporariness of the sidewalk culture...
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