Angela Whitiker's Class Matters

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Class Matters by Correspondents of the New York Times was written in 2005 a collaboration of series of individual’s lives and how they operate through world of class distinctions. This book illustrates the factors of people who were affected negatively and positively in America. Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, or groups through a system of social hierarchy or stratification (Britannica Encyclopedia). In reporters work, they have successfully argued that social mobility in society is of the socioeconomic differences that shows how class is distributed by “education, income, occupation, and wealth” (Class Matters, Pg.9). The reporters arguments is supported with detailed charts and graphs with tons of short stories that …show more content…

With the children’s father’s not being present the oldest son Nicholas had to act as the father by making sure his siblings were feed and had clothes to wear for school the next day. The oldest son had a little brother named Willie who admired him and followed into his footsteps that soon left the two boys in a bad state of being. Whitiker, tried to provide for her kids the best way she could she attempted to go to school, but that shortly went down the drain when she had to stay on top of her bills, so she put school on a hold. Later Angela found a man of middle class that helped provide for her kids. When the relationship of Angela and her husband was stable she went back to school and made the best choices for her and her family. Her oldest son Nicholas did not approve of another man stepping up to where he had always had to be so he tried to get rid of her husband, but he stayed. When the two was married Angela soon got accustom to the lifestyle of a middle class person. She paid attention to how valuable middle class people were to their appearance when it was time to take family photos she asked if one of her sons can step to the back because he was not properly dressed according to the …show more content…

Willie had been shot more than twice and has children of his own. Nicholas is living the life of a drug dealer and chasing a fantasy of being a rapper. Angela Whitiker blames herself because of the lack of benefits she had with the two oldest they had to grow up fast and learn quickly, they had to witness living in a crime neighborhood as kids. Angela tried to talk to the boys telling them that they were the only people to make their lives right. After all of the hardships Angela faced she soon finished school and became a registered nurse that made enough income to pay bills. However, she still faced making decisions like putting money towards her daughter graduation or prom. Even though she made a large amount of cash it was not like she could switch the type of car she needed for the type of car she had. The type of mobility involved with Angela Whitiker was the upward mobility of social classes or hierarchy system of moving from one class to the next. She as well as her kids experienced what it was like to have less than others and what it felt like to be a part of the less fortunate group. In many ways once Angela class status shifted the still felt out of place for example, when she attended a party with some coworkers they all smoked marijuana except Whitiker that put her in a tight place because it

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