The Best Possible Taste

In the opening to Paul Fussell’s essay “A Touchy Subject”, he observes that no one really quite understands how class works, and each class theorizes the deciding factors between them, through the colored lenses of station. Of interest though, is the description he gives of the Upper Class, who “perceive that taste, values, ideas, style, and behavior are indispensable criteria of class, regardless of money or occupation or education” (McQuade) If that criteria is taken and applied to society, other social classes are revealed that lie hidden within the umbrella of Low, Middle and Upper. There is a group of people that embodies their own values, who celebrate their ideas, flaunt their style and act with a certain behaviors, and they have formed a class of their own; Geekdom.

Social class is one of the fundamental divisions that define post war British electoral politics.

An enigmatic city overcome with squalor and segregation, teeming with filth and workers blood is igniting a class struggle and division. The overcrowded poor houses left many in poverty and huddling for shelter on the street. The working class deprived of basic necessities of food and warmth (Engles, pg. 23). The upper-class looking on with a sense of mocking; they feel great sympathy, but would not dare enter a slum without a police escort (Walkowitz, pg. 19). This is late 19th century London. A city divided at its core with class distinctions, split into East and West, unsure of the next direction to take.

This essay will attempt to show evidence that supports the question ‘Does residential segregation shape the social life of cities and people’s sense of who they are’ by using different types of evidence, such as qualitative, which comes from interviews, focus groups, or even pictures and other artistic endeavours like murals. Whilst quantitative is obtained from statistics, surveys and records. Evidence will be looked at by what has appeared over time, looking at the growth of Manchester during 1800’s, with migration of people from the country side, to the city to take up jobs of an industrial nature and how segregation kept the wealthy and workers apart and the inequalities of conditions they lived in. Then at more recent evidence showing a case study of Belfast and the history of a single street Portland Road in London and how segregation can create connections as well as disconnections in people’s lives and how this shapes peoples sense of who they are.

Claire Battershill’s short story It Tastes Wonderful (ITW) like all her short stories in the collection Circus focus on a singular emotion. ITW is unique due to its form of storytelling limited third person omniscient narration which allows readers to learn the innermost thoughts of the main character Jay. Battershill utilizes this story telling technique as a smart way to create an emotional connection with the main character and for readers to emphasize with the protagonist. Subjectivity is vital to this type of storytelling as it allows readers to form impressions of the way things are without learning the full story. The underlying message Battershill attempts to convey under the greater umbrella of the theme of loneliness in the story ITW is that the emotion is subjective. The main character’s loneliness can be attributed to subjectivity. A lack of communication between Jay and Lisa further separates the couple causing him to feel isolated. Battershill tries to convey that this new type of loneliness has only recently become applicable to men. Traditionally, the emotions that Jay faces would not have existed from a male perspective as more power in the home was awarded to the male and women usually stayed at home. The fact that Lisa is a dedicated career woman makes Jay feel less valued in his relationship. Due to Jay not fulfilling a traditional male role in the home he is lead to feel dissatisfied

The heavy emphasis on physical appearance and the subsequent consumerism it promotes is reflected through the characterisation of the protagonist Cher. The extreme importance that Cher places on physical appearance is highlighted when she complains about how teenage boys “just jump out of bed and put on baggy pants and greasy hair”. Her disgusted tone reflects the shallowness of judging individuals by their appearance rather than by their character. Furthermore, the modern take on social status is confirmed when Cher’s group of friends silently mock Tai after meeting her for the first time. The extreme contrast between the costuming such as the matching black and white outfits that Cher’s group of girls wear with Tai’s baggy pants and flannel shirt only serves to highlight how appearance is crucial for social standing. Remarkably, this is just as shallow and snobbish as Emma’s belief she is above mixing with “the yeomanry.” Hence, an appropriation provides refreshing ideas because it is able to transform the idea of rigid social class into the modern democratic context, showing the paradoxes between our shallow actions and democratic

In a world focused on material possession, the routine of an everyday lifestyle becomes dependent on the haves owning more than the have nots. The United States culture tends to make trends and popularity an everyday necessity to fit in. Through playful sarcasm, Jennifer Price illustrates the way the American culture thrives off of acceptance and being bolder to not suffice but ultimately prosper. Price characterizes the culture using a plastic pink flamingo to reveal the foolish, carefree, and materialistic mindset the Americans possess.

“The view that British society is divided into two primary classes is much more than a sociologist’s simplification; it seems to be deeply rooted in the mind of the ordinary British citizen.” (Butler and Stokes, 1969)

People have the tendency to make snap judgements. Not only will they judge quickly but they tend to judge by viewing life through a clouded lens smudged by stereotypes. It is when we observe a situation without bias that we are able to consider an individual and make fair judgement of their character. Mary Oliver’s Singapore is a poem that focuses on class. It depicts the revelation of a middle class woman and how the interaction and observation with a lower class woman’s work changes her belief on assuming a character by the general assumption for their class. In Singapore, Mary Oliver uses persona, imagery, and irony to show the theme of stereotyping character by class level and the recognition of individuals.

Society has almost a negative emotional response towards the chav, manifesting them into a grotesque caricature. Tyler argues that ‘the class disgust is invoked and deployed in instrumental ways, marking difference and blocking social mobility.’

In recent year’s social mobility, the expanding higher education system and greater job flexibility have all been cited as examples of how social class is apparently becoming progressively demised in current Britain. Historically, social class was extremely important in society which was defined by a hierarchy. For example, the established middle class or the traditional working class. According to Clark (2015), social mobility barely exists, so it

In the Guardian of 1 June 2003, Margaret Stead, writes that Sixty-year-old Barbara Covett, lives alone in a tiny flat in Archway, and has taught history at a suffuse north London comprehensive for 20 years. Barbara tells the story of the furore surrounding her only friend, pottery teacher Sheba Hart. The British stereotype that people belong to different social classes is evident in Barbara’s subjective narration of events. It shows how difficult people find it to truly understand members of other groups.

British society is split into hierarchical categories with “higher” “middle” and “lower working” class. The British class structure is shaped like a pyramid cut into three

Another school which will be discussed that is present at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom a neo-marxist approach on things is taken, even though its distinct in some criterias but still it does also on some of the Chicago School studies for urban sociology, but this perspective of subcultures is born focusing on the societal conditions of 1960s and 1970s Britain. Reflecting on the position of working-class youth functioning to resolve the ever growing contradiction and generation gap between parents culture and the modern culture dominated by media and commerce where are young are trying to divert from their ancestors whom they see as powerless and going through the same routine. The Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) is most massive and influential school in this sector, its theories are

The artwork of William Hogarth is influenced greatly by social factors and the culture of eighteenth century England. In many of his works, Hogarth satirizes English society, rich and poor alike. His paintings and engravings depict the society of which he lived, with the costumes and ways of life of the times all shown in his work. Much of the time he is being satirical, exaggerating some of the faults of the people, other times he is being bitingly realistic in his views. It seems no-one is safe from his caricatures, from the lords and ladies, to slaves, servants, prostitutes, criminals and the poor.