Civilization And A World Lit Only By Fire

A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester is not only informative of the conflicts that occurred in Europe, but it is humorous and includes perspectives and anecdotes that are not viewed as impartial. It is structured into three separate sections: The Medieval Mind, The Shattering and One Man Alone.

Anthony Giddens (2006) defines class as “a large-scale group of people who share common economic resources, which strongly influence the type of lifestyle they are able to lead.” (pg 300). Karl Marx, a sociologist in the 19th

In A World Lit Only By Fire, William Manchester explains why he started to write this book, when he began writing due to an illness, and how he was too weak to move but not to write. Manchester had decided to branch out from his usual american history book, and begun to write about Magellan, a european explorer, inspired by other explorers like columbus and navigational, Vasco da gama. and the ¨portrait of age surrounding him”. Though Manchester only uses secondary sources to complete this book, it reviews the religion, education, exploration, and the philosophy of the 16th century. Manchester also describes the poverty, corruption, and violence of the dark ages. And finally, Manchester tells of how the reform acts as a hero of the time, bringing hope and prosperity to the middle ages.

World is composed of social stratification, a system which people are divided into layers based on their property, power and prestige. This stratification labels people and causes them to think accordingly within their own stratification. It can be expressed in four major groups as follows: slavery, caste system, estate, and class. Though it can be described in slavery, caste system, and estate, these are all old forms of social stratification that are not used commonly in the present. Therefore, my paper will be focusing on the description of the class system.

Erik Wright, Dennis Gilbert and Joseph Kahl sociologist, have identified social classes within societies and created different models for it. Wright has followed along the lines of Karl Marx’s model and has modified it naming four different classes: “capitalists, petty bourgeoisie, managers, and workers”. (Www3.ncc.edu, 2017) Gilbert and Kahl’s model has six classes: “the capitalist class, the upper middle class, the lower middle class, the working class, the working poor, and the underclass”. (Www3.ncc.edu, 2017) If individuals lived in a society that was considered a classless society individuals would be living in a communist society this is why society requires different social classes. Communism is not an ideal society and prevents individuals from doing what they desire. While researching tribal and nomadic societies it would seem that these societies are ideal. The individuals who live within them all share the same “economic roles” (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2017) and this can be considered ideal. However, communism restricts individuals from ever becoming more than what is told of them. While looking at Wright, Gilbert and Kahl’s models of social class and having an ideal society, Gilbert and Kahl’s model gives room for individuals at all class levels to play a part in society. These individuals are not set into a certain class and are free to rise to a higher class.

E. the degree to which there are different languages and the degree to which there are income differences

The concept of social class has been around for ages and is still a part of today’s society. Social class is not only based on the individual’s wealth but also on their social standing such as; monarchs, priests, nobles, merchants, and peasant class. The peasant class was practically ignored, which means that the higher classes would only pay attention to each other. This can be the case in society today, there are some people who feel that their career makes them higher than a janitor. Even though humans have been around for centuries, social class is still a big issue.

Society is set up into a hierarchical triangle that essentially determines social class. A social class is any person or group of people with the same educational, social or economical status. Social class can be broken down into many different categories such as race, age, gender, economic status, educational status and many more. Social class can be measured in many different ways such as financial status, family values, appearance, and demeanor. In America there are six main economical social classes which are the: Very poor, Poor, Working class, Middle class, Upper middle class, and the ruling class.

A civilization refers to “a particular and distinctive type of human society” (Strayer, pg. 90). Civilizations aren’t always different from one another nor are they the exact same. Each civilization has some form of a unique characteristic that differentiates itself from the rest. For example, the Ancient Egyptians and the Hindus from Ancient India. They both have a permanent arrangement of societal roles, yet they aren’t constructed or operated in the same manner. These two locations are the main topics of this discussion/comparison.

In the book A World Lit Only by Fire, the author, William Manchester, describes the period of time between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the start of the Renaissance known as the medieval period, or Middle Ages. The church had the most power in Europe and people struggled with surviving events such as epidemics. Consequently people had very short lives that may have not served them well. Every person in Europe during this time would eventually hear, “Bring out your dead!” as the gravediggers’ carts rolled down the street each night after an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague. Life during the medieval period was brutal and harsh with everything from church domination and the constant warring over political power to diseases and

Social class describes the different "layers" that exist in society. These "layers," or classes in society, are a division that civilization has been running on ever since the beginning of mankind. In most modern societies, our system of social class division is one of opportunity. We experience a good deal of social mobility, where people through generations or in their own lifetime can move up or down the social scale. By examining the many different perceptions of social class along with S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, it is illustrated that social class has an impact on people while they are growing up, and will usually deny them from rising above adversity.

In reality class always matters and it shapes our interests in life. We all come from different background and ethnicity. I believe that class is shaped mainly by income and occupation. However, many people think if a person is wealthy, therefore, he belongs in the upper class. But there are other factors that define class and it is more than just how much money you have. It can be the network of people that surrounds, traditions, and academic status that can also define class. Many of it has to do in which family you have been born and network that creates it. All of my family members have been born and raised in Russia; they completed universities, got jobs, and had enough income to support a family. “Each of us is born into a family with a particular class identity and class history—sometimes it is a mixed or hybrid identity—but almost always it is part of a network of other relationships—to other families in a community, to work and jobs, and to institutions” (Zandy 112).

In my opinion social class is one of the most important characteristics of a civilization.One of the reasons why is because it influences wise career choices.The reason why I think it would influence people is because they would be separated into classes.For example the highest class, the middle class, and the lowest class.The people who consisted of the highest class were land owners, priest, warriors, people of the government, and kings.The people in the middle class consists of merchants, craftsmen, farmers, and fisherman.The lowest class were the slaves.Most of the time the slaves lived in houses that their masters owned.Another reason this would influence people to get good jobs is because you would only be able to get a certain house because of what job you have.The kings would have palaces, and the rest of the top class would have “big houses” (Important Characteristics of a Civilization).The middle class would live in “houses with one or two floors.” (Important Characteristics of a Civilization).Did you know because of social classes “a knowledgeable and educated