The Distinction of Social Classes in Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Yet, these positive and supportive stances on poverty did not last long, and by the late 1960’s and in the beginning of the 1970’s, this viewpoint started transforming into a more individualistic outlook. During this time period, Americans began to strongly emphasized individualistic values, holding the poor primarily responsible for their plight. This change in opinion caused the poor to get separated into two spheres: deserving and undeserving. The deserving poor were characterized by those who are not expected to work due to factors such as their age, sex, or family status. For example, the elderly or children would

Wealth in the 1920’s was a topic when it came to societal beliefs. A lot of people started becoming rich and famous, and the economy had a 42% increase (Amadeo). In the novel, The Great Gatsby, they show what wealth was like during this time. When Nick says, “I lived at West Egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them” (Fitzgerald 5). This is a small example of how the United States is a wealthy place where people worked hard to earn their money, or, they were born into their family already rich.

The late 1700’s was a time of promise and an expectation of freedom. Millions of immigrants flocked to America in hope to acquire the “American Dream.” Hard work, white picket fence, a stable life, religious equality, the whole nine yards. In the 1700’s the American dream was substantially different than it is now a days, due to the colonization of the whole country, the modern laws in other countries, and our economy. The American dream was birthed in a time of despair when people needed hope the most but the basic principal started in DeCrevecouer’s letters from America to Europe. The new land that he discussed was full of hope, optimism and opportunity. At the time he wrote the letters, most of the continent wasn’t discovered. People had

wishing to fulfill the “American Dream” of happiness and prosperity in the early 1900s, came to

“The American dream is more about opportunity than anything else.”- (Parker). This quote states what seems to be true about the American dream and how opportunity is how you achieve it. To me the American dream is being able to do what you want and achieving your end goal in life. Although this means something different for everyone but, to historians, it means that the government protects the rights of people to to do what makes them happy. In this paper I will discuss what the American dream is and if it is even still possible to achieve. Another thing about the American dream; it could mean the same thing in modern society as it did a long time ago because it is still a person's ability to do what they want and what makes them happy. However it has changed a little bit.

In The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie speaks about poverty in our communities and how the rich have a responsibility. That responsibility is to use their wealth to promote a better future, but this doesn’t necessarily mean giving money to homeless. An important aspect of this is what actually

As rent prices were not cheap, some families offered to have other extended family to stay with them. Also is was very common for families to have strangers stay with them in order to compensate for the high rent. More and more people flocked to the cities, and the need for affordable housing was out of control. The main concern for families was finding a place to live, even if it meant living in a tenement faced with overcrowding and safety issues. Most tenements had few if any windows, poor ventilation systems which led to bad air quality, which in turn led to the development of sickness and diseases. The tenements also were extreme fire hazards with no viable escape routes, and most had no indoor running water or plumbing

In the 1920’s, there was a major class division between the rich and the poor. The rich were extremely rich and only liked to associate with people of the same income level, while the poor had an extremely difficult time with making enough money to survive. According to Rosanne Tomyn, a professional historical, cultural, and political author, she wrote, “In 1928, the top 1 percent of families took home 23.9 percent of all income. The bottom 90 percent shared 50.7 percent of all income. Such income disparity experienced in an inflation economy further ignited labor disputes across the country.

Strugglers vs. Wealthy (Robert B. Reich’s Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poor) Imagine you’re walking down the street in the big city of New York. It isn’t uncommon for you to see numerous homeless, and needy people on the side of the street. They range from sitting out playing a guitar to raise money, selling homemade crafts for money, or simply some just begging for your kindness in lending them all that you are willing. How do some end up living day to day with what they have, and another’s having enough money to where they don’t know what to do with it?

The American Dream can be, in a sense, complex; in other words, it is prone to change, and has been changing over the centuries since it’s informal conception. Alexis de Tocqueville, a French writer, prominent in the 19th century, regarded the American Dream as a system of several physical and ideological components that contributed to the success of it’s people; for example, these factors included “abundant and fertile land, countless opportunities for people to acquire land and make a living, lack of a feudal aristocracy that blocked the ambitious, and the independent spirit encouraged by frontier living” (“American Political Culture”). These views are responsible for establishing a basis for the American Dream; however, this ideology does

The American Dream, as described by Boyle, is that the U.S. is a place to achieve success and prosperity, but as societies began to segregate themselves, it made it harder to achieve prosperity, turning this “city on a hill” into a “city on a mountain”, which ultimately represents an evolution from John Winthrop’s

Before man lived in organized societies there the aged and disabled were a major concern and often a burden on the family and tribe. During the Middle Age, societies began to manage the problem in varying ways. During the colonial period of American history, Poor Laws were created. They established a tax that helped support the poor and destitute in each township. Unfortunately these funds were not usually distributed fairly since the local town elders were usually in charge of determining who was and who was not worthy. This type of system lasted for a century or so until societies grew more complex. During the 1700 and 1800’s, poorhouses were created by state and local governments to provide for the poverty stricken with the basic necessities to live as well as help cover the problem. These poorhouses were intended to be as unpleasant as possible in an apparent effort to help discourage the habit of becoming poor and

     In the Middle Ages, housing was inadequate, sometimes even nonexistent for the lower class. “Peasants lived in a world of filth. It is a miracle that they had pulled through to work another day on the noble’s land.” (Vinogradoff, p 25). Peasants who were lucky to have nobles that had buildings on their land often slept with the livestock, and the floor was littered with filth and rubbish. Nobles did little for improving the peasants living conditions, and they often did cruel and inhumane things to them if they refused to work one day due to illness. (Vinogradoff, p 40).

In the early 1900s, housing was much different, and far poorer in quality than today. For poorer immigrants in particular, good and affordable housing was difficult to come by. Proving this is a series of photographs by Jacob Riis entitled “How The Other Half Lived”. The photographs show just how poor the housing situation was for most families at that time. Usually the cheapest option for an immigrant family was to rent a tenement or apartment in the city and share it with another family. This meant that most homes were small and crowded. In addition, the lack of sanitation standards meant that filth and disease were quick to spread, especially in big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These big cities also lacked proper fire departments, meaning that fire was quick to spread between the wooden buildings making up most cities at that time.

Setting: Time + Place + Atmosphere (mood or tone): The setting is in the nineteenth- century Chicago and New York City. The atmosphere is Gloomy and Reflective.