Social Inequality in The Year of the Flood and The Cat’s Table

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Imbalance between rich and poor creates an unjust world of social inequality. Society as a class system is based on hierarchy of power, privilege, and prestige. One could take advantage of these three elements and abuse them to be beneficial to the indivisual, but harmful to the rest of society. The Year of the Flood takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, harmed by corporate control, and violent slums. In comparison, The Cat’s Table takes place on an immigrant ship embarking on a journey towards England, with a rich elite class living in luxury and an underprivileged larger lower class. Both of these works seem to have a social system that enables the powerful to take control, and the powerless left harmed and unnoticed. While both The Year of the Flood and The Cat’s Table take place in contrasting settings, it is evident that social inequality is universal. Power, although sometimes can be a good element of society, can also be abused and used in evil ways to create corruption in the world. In The Year of the Flood CorpSeCorps, the corrupted corporation government takes control over businesses and the world. There is a large frightened and obedient middle class that unwillingly accepts the corporate control. The people living in the pleeblands are deprived of equal rights and are left in the dark. The CorpSeCorps had to portray an image to the people of provoking safety and peace. Even thought they put up the forefront of saving the world, in reality the corporations goes behind the citizens’ back, manipulates the population to do illegal acts, and brainwashes the community to follow immoral beliefs. “The local pleebmobs paid the CorpSeCorps men to turn a blind eye. In return, the CorpSeCorps let the pleebmobs run the low l... ... middle of paper ... ...es that there is a flaw in the social system. Because prestige is so prominent in the elite’s mind, they cannot experience the same experiences that Michael goes through throughout his time on The Oranasay. This is seems as a disadvantage to Michael because his journey is made so much more impactful because of the adventures he went through that the elite would not have experienced. Socail inequality is a problem that not only happens in one setting, but also is prevalent everywhere around the world. The Year of the Flood and The Cat’s Table are an example of two very different settings but have the same concurring issue of social class inequality with abuse of power, corruption, abuse of privilege, and the motivation to keep social status. Power is a tool that we must use delicately because it can be used in evil and unjust ways to create problems in our society.

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