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An essay on social class
An essay on social class
Social class and social inequality
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The Continual Oppression of the Homeless The story of Eric Blair, also known as George Orwell, shows many aspects of poverty. Eric goes about everyday life that is completely and utterly different from every aspect of the average Americans life. He tells of various characters that are all attempting to escape the possessive hands of poverty. Each character has their own way of dealing with poverty. The problem is that none of them seem to escape. The stem of the problem can be found in many aspects of the book. The attitudes of the homeless, the operation of such homeless shelters as “The Spike”, along with the practices of the pawnshop and the actions of the coworkers all contribute greatly in oppressing the poor. There are also many characters that play a role in keeping the poor down. The first one that will be discussed is the role of the tramps play in their own oppression. Oppression is not something that can be forced on someone. It is something that they must accept and find to be true in order not to fight it. This brings up the issue the feelings deep inside a tramp that Orwell brings up. “Indeed, when one sees how tramps let themselves be bullied by the workhouse officials, it is obvious that they are the most docile, broken-spirited creatures imaginable” (202). This proves the first point that the only reason that those in this destitute class remain oppressed is because in essence they are allowing themselves to be oppressed. In order for the destitute homeless people to move up in the world they must prove first to themselves that they should not be oppressed. By allowing oppression, they are supporting it. Not only do the homeless not fight it but they admit themselves that they are not worthy of being praised. This attitude is exemplified by Boris in his talk with Orwell when Orwell first arrives and finds work as a plongeur, “Do you think a plongeur can afford a sense of honour?” (60). In saying this, Boris is proving the feelings that lurk behind those that work the low class jobs. They feel that they are so low that they do not even deserve their own honor. By not believing that they are worthy of their own honor they continue to hold themselves down.
“Untouchables” by Jonathan Kozol goes on a journey to discover the mistreatment of homeless Americans. The story is very well detailed in explaining how society does not accept these individuals and how they are literally “untouchable.” Kozol shows characters and tells stories of how they life got affected by homelessness and the treatment that came along with it. The author also explains how easy it is to be prune to homelessness by making one little mistake. Not only does Kozol show society thoughts about the homeless are bad, but he also shows the homeless people thoughts of how society responds to them being “low class.” In Jonathan Kozol’s short story “Untouchables,” he exhibits this by explaining how they are misunderstood, stereotyped,
The notion of poverty has a very expanded meaning. Although all three stories use poverty as their theme, each interprets it differently. Consequently, it does not necessarily mean the state of extreme misery that has been described in ?Everyday Use?. As Carver points out, poverty may refer to poverty of one?s mind, which is caused primarily by the lack of education and stereotyped personality. Finally, poverty may reflect the hopelessness of one?s mind. Realizing that no bright future awaits them, Harlem kids find no sense in their lives. Unfortunately, the satisfaction of realizing their full potential does not derive from achieving standards that are unachievable by others. Instead, it arises uniquely from denigrating others, as the only way to be higher than someone is to put this person lower than you.
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
People in United states tend to ignore the complex problems the country is facing but focuses on the dominance of the country. People only looks at the surface of the United States and neglects problem about poverty. The bigger cities, like Los Angeles and New York, are mostly impacted by the poverty. It is important to recognize the impact of the poverty in order to understand the complex problem of the United States. In George Orwell’s “Down and Out in Paris and London”, the author provides a vivid image of the poverty and the impact on the people’s daily lives. In 1933 London and Paris, the condition of the poverty was much critical due to lack of support from the government. When we compare the 21st century poverty
A Rebuttal of “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime” In “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime,” L. Christopher Awalt says that homeless people are homeless on their own accord. He believes “many of them seem to have chosen the lifestyles they lead” (Awalt))).. This article states that most homeless people would prefer to escape responsibility rather than fix their social and economic problems. Awalt uses an example of a man who had been on the streets for about 10 years. He provided this man with resources to improve his life and within four months he was making progress.
In order to be radical about poverty, we need to understand the difference between wealth and income. Income is a transfer of money by working or by gifts. On the other hand, wealth is more of a total of accumulated assets that has been stored for a period of time (Conley, pg. 253). Wealth is not distributed equally among the public. (NCH, 2016, http://nationalhomeless.org/about-homelessness/). Declining wages has also caused a lot of stress and increase people’s inability to pay for their housing or other needs. If there are affordable housing, it’s usually in an unsafe and polluted environment or it’s extremely overcrowded that people have a higher chance of being homeless or inadequate housing arrangements than getting their applications accepted (Why Are People Homeless Research, 2016, NCH). Also, privatizing housing will increase the accumulation of wealth of the power elite or those that own property and lands by their pricing in rents. Most people go through depression because of loss of home, jobs, or a sense of self. Often times, the lack education about health and they don’t receive adequate support for medical care if they are homelessness. Poverty is also treated as a criminal offence and if people were to ask for public assistance, they have to prove their eligibility. If they have a criminal record, they are
Humans always have had a tendency to allow the poor and miserable to suffer, even while the wealthy continue to fatten and flourish in needed yet often unshared resources. The social order has shaped a distinctive hierarchy composed of the High, the Middle, and the Low in an exceedingly flawed and callous structure. This system has been implemented in our history over a variety of ages and civilizations. More importantly, the structure has not been altered to work for any system except for theoretical Communism and Socialism. The novel 1984 was a shock to the masses when it was released, but by showing the class structure and political satire Orwell was able to present not only the danger of Communism gone awry but its repercussions on society.
The simple definition of oppression is the cruel and unfair treatment of an individual or group of people. Oppression can be systemic, meaning it is deliberate, and designed to marginalize a section of people by forever keeping on the outside of society. One such group of people who have been historically and continue to be oppressed are the homeless. According to Johnstone, Jetten, Dingle, Parsell, and Walter (2015), homeless men, women and children are denied basic civil rights even though they are members of society solely because they do not reside in a “home”. The homeless are a vulnerable and victimized population as they experience personal and economic hardship as well as discrimination and exclusion because of their housing status.
“3.5 million people will experience homelessness in a given year,”(Los Angeles Homeless Services). This shocking number is one of the sad truths in today’s society. Homelessness is caused by a wide range of things including financial issues. The life of a homeless person is hard and comes with set-backs and the constant need to overcome them. Homeless people go through many challenges in surviving without a home. They can suffer from health issues, hunger, and poor emotional well-being.
The Homeless in America I never imagined that I would be homeless. " Although I have read this statement over and over again, the facts behind it remain astonishing. The facts are that there are millions of homeless people in America today. Many of these people had no choice but to become homeless. Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing, have led people to live on the streets.
...d by a difference in wealth. The difficulty to provide for a family, much less make more money to rise above the working class, caused children born into working class families to feel like they were “stuck” because they did not have the extra time or money to devote to an education. Instead of being able to learn and grow during childhood, children in the working class focused on the survival of themselves and their family. This contrasts the middle class where children had the possibility to earn an education before working in the future. Horatio Alger argued that anyone can change their situation by a little extra work and by improving their behavior, but Ragged Dick was an unrealistic character. Children born into poverty often faced a cycle, where guidance and luck could not even help the escape the working class because they were committed to their families.
There is a serious problem with the way homeless people are treated. They are not treated as any normal human being is treated. The homeless have been dubbed the outcasts of society and receive practically no assistance from the government. Where is the consideration for these people? Are homeless people considered less than human? Why is it so hard to give a helping hand to somebody who is in need? Is society becoming too self-absorbed or are homeless people just transient to the rest of society?
This paper will explain approaches to resolve the social issue of homelessness in the state of Delaware. It will also explain a few reasons why homelessness should be addressed the correct way to potentially end it. I will describe the correlations of homelessness and health, the crimes involving and against the homeless, and lastly the families subjected to homelessness. A few solutions will be recommended in this paper also to optimistically achieve the goal of assisting the homeless and improving the assistance already given.
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe, ” (Frederick Douglass). The prejudiced aspects of society that cause turmoil and disarray are put forth in the above quote. Similarly, the classification of people by class and how they fit in social structure is presented in the following literary works: 1984 by George Orwell, Othello by William Shakespeare, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The prejudiced social structures evident in the status quo are challenged by the use of minor characters, plots, and thematic structures.
It is difficult to decide what is worse, the work done in the mines or the housing to which the miners returned to at night. The especially cruel truth. is the fact that the rent of a family of six living in two barren rooms, two hundred yards from an outdoor privy, extorted most of the household wages. Orwell 's urgent prose does not let anyone turn a blind eye to the facts. Although Orwell wrote from the perspective of a “participant observer” it still resonates today 's concerns about the effects of poverty on people 's everyday lives and dreams.