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Concepts of Social Stratification
Concepts of Social Stratification
Concepts of Social Stratification
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Social class, as defined by the film, is something that affects who you are as a person. In the film, the people saw class as the defining factor of a person. They saw class as a barrier between people. If one person is in a different class than another person, then obviously, they are not supposed to associate. They allowed their social class to dictate their action each day. It was amazing to me just how much the people in the film allowed their class to truly define them and really serve as a boundary in their life. The people in the film lived their daily life with their social class as the most influential factor. Their worth and value as individuals was not determined by anything else except the amount of money they had. It was really interesting to see how the amount of money a person had somehow equated with their worth in society. The same is true within our society today, but in the film, this aspect was especially evident. The film really shed a light on just how impactful social class is and just how much we allow it to …show more content…
Stratification across the states has created a divide between classes. It has allowed the upper class to solely remain with the upper class, while the working class only associates with the working class. It has caused people to only feel comfortable within their own class. Stratification has allowed people to see others as those to be feared or as those to be ignored. It has also created an unspoken boundary that says it is wrong to associate with another class. In the film, it was evident how the people only felt comfortable to associate with those who were like them. Even more than that, though, it revealed how it was not expected for the classes to intertwine. The system of stratification has created a vicious system that ranks people based on the amount of money they have, instead of valuing people as
In America, many people are divided by what we comprehend as a class system. Within our society, a multitude of people finds themselves not interacting often with those outside of their class and can rarely find similarities with people with a different financial status. In Andre Dubus’ writing “The Land of No: Love in A Class-Riven America”, he speaks about his experience with his girlfriend who comes from an affluent background opposed to his less advantaged upbringing. Dubus shows that the experiences people face from different classes can differ entirely and therefore it makes it difficult to identify with someone outside of your class. In Andre Dubus’ writing, “The Land of No: A Class-Riven America” he is showing
But I think this book is more for those people who aren’t that aware of social class, or for the ones who feel that we live in a society that is classless, rather than the actual people who have realized the consequences that class really has on someone’s life. Many people can relate to what stories are told in the book; if not, they know of a person that can relate to these stories. As a person that grew up in the lower class, I can definitely relate to most of the stories told in this book. From experience, there is a big difference in this country between the rich, middle class, and the poorest that we see daily. Even those in the so-called working class have to make continuous sacrifices and live very differently from those positioned firmly in the middle class.
Social class has always been a controversial issue in America. This idea, that individuals are defined by their wealth, is explored by Jeannette Walls in her memoir, The Glass Castle. Walls shows, through a manifold of personal anecdotes, how growing up in a dysfunctional household with financially inept parents affected her and her siblings. Growing up in this environment, Jeannette was exposed to a very different perception of the world around her than those of higher social status. However, despite the constant hardships she faced, Walls makes it clear that a lower social status does not define an individual as inferior to those in a higher class.
After having viewed a few films in Chicano History class like A Class Apart, A Struggle for Educational Equality, and Latin and African Americans: Friends or foes, one cannot help but wonder how it is possible that you might be learning about the intense racism towards Latinos the United States for the very first time after having devoted your life to the American country. I, myself was born and raised in Arizona, a state south of the United States, in the city of Tucson that lies about only an hour away, or around 68 miles away from the Nogales, Sonora, Mexican border. One would assume to know a sufficient amount of history of the neighbor land or at least be aware of some fundamental facts about America and Mexico 's relationship throughout
Class is a “relational social categorization based on economic, cultural, and social characteristics” (Barnes 2016) this includes a person’s: income and wealth, networks and connections, cultural knowledge, and social status. When a person has a high social status, that often means that they have more power in society compared to a person who is in a lower social class than they. A good example of class and how it separates the lower classes from the higher classes are private schools. Private schools are often very expensive and people who are in lower class systems often cannot afford to send their kids their, causing an even larger gap between classes. In Conley’s memoir, with him switching schools from a public, working class school to a private, middle class school shows how the schools that people go to can greatly effect their
Bridesmaid is a movie about the competition between the maid of honor Annie and Helen another bridesmaid, over who is the bride Lillian’s best friend. The film reflects how class, gender and sexuality intersect in the real life. As the Rolling stone critics the film “ dudes always fear movies that might shrivel their sexual standing when women prioritize. Man up and see Bridesmaid. You just might learn something.”
Clark and Lipset (1991) explain that looking at class theories that has been a lot of change in class and it has altered the concept of class toward the fragmentation of stratification. Clark and Lipset (1991) further explains that changes have occurred since Marx and Weber write their view on social stratification and it went into high gear since 1970s. Clark and Lipset (1991) acknowledge a change for the theories of stratification is that traditional hierarchies is declining and economic and family hierarchies is less than generation or two ago. Clark and Lipset (1991) explains that class conflict declines, there would be less conflict or organized lines, for instance gender. However, not all hierarchies are generating counter-reactions and there is an acceptance of democratic process to allow the opposition to surface. According Clark and Lipset (1991), “the key trends could be described as one of fragmentation of stratification: the weakening of class stratification, especially as shown in distinct class-differentiated lifestyle, the decline of economic determinism, and the increased importance of social and cultural factors, politics is less organized by class and more by other loyalties, the slimming of the family and social mobility is less family-determined, more ability and education
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
Social Class starts off in the book when Claudia describes her house and current living situation. “Our house is old, cold, and green. At night a kerosene lamp lights one large room. The others are braced in darkness, peopled by roaches and mice.”(10). Another example of Claudia’s lower status is when her mother gets upset when Pecola drinks all the milk. Claudia’s family can not afford to go through milk like that without losing a lot of money. Claudia’s mother says “Time for me to get out of the giving line and get in the getting line.”(24).Social class is also stated in the book early when Claudia talks about being “put out” and being “put outdoors”. This shows the difference between poverty and homelessness.“There is a difference between being put out and being put outdoors. If you are put out, you go somewhere else; if you are outdoors, there is no place to go. The distinction was subtle but final....Knowing that there was such a thing as outdoors bred in us a hunger for property, for ownership” page 17 (Toni Morrison).Pecola was homeless ...
First, the chapters cover stratification. According to study.com “Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. In the United States, it is perfectly clear that some groups have greater status, power, and wealth than other groups.” According to the textbook “Stratification is unequal distribution of valued
America is seen as the land of opportunity across the world, but many people wonder if it is true. The truth is America does have opportunities and with dedication anything is possible though the opportunities are limited. Usually limited for those who belong to a lower social class. The main reason the opportunities are limited are because of America’s social inequality. The social class of America is separated into multiple groups that struggle with each other due to the inequality of power and wealth on the daily basis within the country.
All throughout the movie social class is a problem. Social class is the division of classes based on social, economic, and achieved status. All of the events on the ship are broken down based on which social class each person falls under. The upper class were those who were on a luxury trip, and
Social class is an underlying factor to which all characters run their lives. It is always a priority and influenced most, if not every part of their lives. Most of the characters in the novel respect the rules of class and are always trying to climb the social ladder. Or if they are atop this ladder, they make it a mission that they remain there. Mrs. Bennet tried very hard to have her daughters marry the most socially advanced men and in the end the daughters chose socially respectable men.
What is social class? It is a term used to describe a large group of people who share similar social or economic positions in society based on wealth, income, job status, education, skills or power in the political sphere. Class is not just about what you own or earn but also who you know. Class affects not only how we feel about ourselves, but how others judge and consequently treat us. Those at the top of the class structure, the elite, have more power than those in the middle and even more power than those at the bottom who are of lower class. Education is a highly valued commodity in our world. In his commentary on society Freud, claimed, “ No feature, however, seems better to characterize civilization than its esteem and encouragement
Class distinction is one of Jane Austen’s themes in the novel, and the differentiation related to it is evidently depicted. Reading the novel from the first chapter, I realize that the author clearly illustrates that class is what matters most in many of the incidences displayed by the characters. Unless an individual is of a given class, the idea that he or she has money is not valued, since only birth in a certain background is what is of value. When a person openly values money over class, such a person is frowned upon. In general terms, the Novel shows a social world extremely stratified and full of pretension and class struggle.