Constant Conflicts with the Upper and Lower Class in Literature

For millennia, there have been constant conflicts between the upper class and the lower class, characterized by the upper class’s sense of superiority towards those less economically prosperous. Mansfield, Gordimer, and Orwell describe these conflicts between the upper and lower classes to propose that completely transcending class prejudices is impossible and suggest that societal values have greater impact than individual values as they degrade both a person’s behavior and morality.

Inherent prejudices, values, and ways of thinking are strong because they are instilled during one’s childhood and therefore unavoidable for the rest of one’s life. In contrast, individual values are gradually learned with age and therefore compromisable. In “July’s People,” Bam, Maureen, and their children harbor inherent prejudices learned from years of believing in their superiority over the lower-class African Americans. Although the children quickly adapt to village life, they retain a strong sense of inherent supremacy towards the villagers, as seen when they take an orange bag from a man. They fiercely defend their actions when accused of theft: “he musn’t say I stole. I just took stuff that gets thrown away, nobody wants.” (86 Gordimer). Their commanding, self-righteous tone indicates the sense of superiority and disregard of village life that society has already taught them. The inescapabilty of societal influences is reflected through Maureen and Bam’s inability to relinquish power to July. Although they recognize the extent of July’s help, they cannot let go of their upper-class values as Bam complains that July has overstepped his bounds: “he [July] ‘let me’ drive, going there?... July’s pretty sure of himself these days” (127 Gordim...

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...rden Party” by Mansfield, when Laura conforms to societal wishes despite her dislike of them. Although originally horrified by the idea of hosting a party on the evening of a man’s death, with pressure from those all around, she decides that she will “remember it [the death] again after the party is over” (8 Mansfield). Because Laura has always conformed to societal wishes, she will likely continue to in the future.

Although these literary works have a bleak perspective that societal values are insuperable, the characters in “The Garden Party” and “Shooting an Elephant” feel guilty for ignoring their personal moral obligations. In contrast, the main characters in “A Cup of Tea” and “July’s People” remain blissfully unaware of their blatant disregard of an ethical code; they cannot even recognize the immoral nature of their actions as it has become second nature.