Social Classes in America The American dream is what many people hopes to attain in their lives. Many Americans, or even non-Americans who migrated to America, pursue a goal in life that they call the American Dream. Within this dream is an objective of being in the American workforce. Sad as it is in reality, however, this dream has been categorized by many into classes -- classes that distinguish the higher
For example, in discussing his childhood in "Southie" a poor neighborhood in Boston, Patrick MacDonald talks about the willful ignorance of the people in the neighborhood when he was a child. "They were all here now, all of my neighbors and friends who had died young from violence, drugs, and from the other deadly things we'd been taught didn't happen in Southie" (MacDonald, 1999, p.2). In other words, the
Social Class And Health During the Renaissance and Medieval Times THE BASIS OF PRIVILEGE The Diet of the Rich and the Poor What the rich and the poor ate in those times was vastly distinct (Cheng et al., 1999). The nobles and the wealthy could well afford and were served a wide variety of foods by cooks. Poor peasants, on the other hand, subsisted on a few and affordable types of meat and
Social Class The place and role of social class within the American society The issue of social class has been an agenda for discussion and even legislation over several decades now. The societal structure is such that groupings along the social classes cannot be wished away, the best that can be done is to ensure mutual co-existence of people between these classes within the community. Many scholars have come up with studies
Differentiate between race and ethnicity Race refers to the socially constructed physical, genetic characteristics of a person. Ethnicity refers to the group he or she identifies with in a cultural fashion. For example, a person may be Caucasian racially, but identify in terms of his or her ethnicity as an Italian-American -- versus his or her Irish-American friend who is also classified according in same 'racial' category. These identifications are not necessarily
In society, there are examples of people who have been able to transcend their class. For example, basketball stars like Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas were able to ascend from abject poverty to extreme wealth through their athletic achievements. However, despite their wealth one can reasonably raise the question of whether these individuals were ever able to transcend their class. Indeed, "transcendence" implies that one has completely dissociated himself from