What Is Social Class Simply Ascribed

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.

Social class is typically known as social grouping or hierarchy based on differences in wealth, income or occupation. In the UK there are mainly two social classes; working class and middle class.

Social classes all throughout America are denied or provided with different opportunities than one another, making certain social classes, such as immigrants & different races, put in more work and effort into achieving their American dream. Race is arguably the biggest factor in identifying a social class, and America has famously been a racist and segregated country throughout history, even today.

Social class refers to the system of stratification of the different groups of people in a society. These different forms of classification are, in most instances, based on gender ethnicity and age. Social class makes everyone’s lives extremely different. For example: How long one can expect to live. In a wide range of ways, from success, to one’s health class, social class influences people’s lives (Grusky,2003).

There is no escape from the social class because it suffocates you like a python squeezing its prey. The social class is apart of you. We eat, sleep, and breathe it’s foundation. The clothes we wear, the food we eat, the religion we commit to, and the place we call home, etc. all connects to the social class. However, does this system influence the way a child is socialized? In other terms, who you are? Many may argue that how a child is nurtured will influence the way a child is socialized because of the child’s family status of being rich or poor. If a child came from a wealthy family, he/she is more likely to become successful because the family can provide a higher education and things that are necessary for a child’s development. On the other hand, if a child came from poverty, he/she will be less likely to become successful because of financial problems of not being able to afford higher education and things that are necessary for a child’s development. Social class affects the way a child is socialized through environment and guidance.

For a long time, I always thought social class was between three classes which is the wealthy, middle class and the poor class. After taking this course, I gained more knowledge of what social class really means from a sociologist perspective. Social class is pretty much the same in other country.

When considering the social class of an individual, I tend to analyze the educational aspect and the experiences they had over the course of their life. As I was growing up, both of my parent social class position is in the working class group. They didn’t have the opportunity to attend college / university nor graduated from high school when they were younger due to the situations that wouldn’t allow it to happen. They grew up in Southern China and their families didn’t have much money for them to go to school. Instead, they were working to earn enough to just buy food and to survived. When they came to the United States, life was better for the both of them. For me, I want to study hard to at least graduate to earn a bachelor degree so I

Thinking about how you understand the term of social class, people are usually getting the definition from books, online or teachers. Wherever you get the meaning of it, they usually use people’s experiences or story as an explanation for people to easily understand. And literature is one of the ways that used to tell readers about the situation of each social class through the experiences or stories of characters. Salvador says the Harry Potter literary series can help him to understand the term of social class because his experience is related to Ron. He further explains Ron’s parents are working for the secret organization called Order of The Phoenix. On the other hand, the Malfoy’s family, is the wealthiest characters in the book series. Lucius, who is the father of Malfoy, is a school governor of Hogwarts. The background information of two characters in Harry Potter helps Salvador to understand that social class is a representation of people’s status according to the job position they have. My another classmate, Yijing Ma, says she can also get the meaning of social class from the book called How the Steel was Tempered by Pavel Korchagin. She says social class can be divided as the rich and poor people. Pavel Korchagin, who was working for army in the Civil War and living in a poor environment, is belonging to lower-working class person according to Yijing’s definition of social class. Yijing also tells

"A social class is a group of people of similar status, commonly sharing comparable levels of power and wealth. In sociology, social classes describe one form of social stratification." Cheggs (n.d)[online].

Social class is an important part of how the United States functions. Because the United States tries to run on a laissez-faire based marketing system, there are social classes that differ based on economic prosperity. The people who work hard and are smart rise to the top and usually become part of the upper or middle class. People who don 't work hard or are lacking an intellectual capabilities fall to the lower class. Social class stratification is important to understand because social class can affect who we are and how we interact with others. People in different social classes tend not to interact because a poor person can not afford to eat out at a place where wealthy person would eat. Also, wealthy people tend to form their own social groups because they have a large amount of money to go places and do things with. These differences between social classes and the separation that occurs is vital to understanding the way society functions.

Social Class distributes civilization into two central groupings, Upper Class and Lower Class. Upper Class encompasses the social group that has the uppermost status in society, with higher salary and supremacy in the community. Lower Class is branded by low income,

There are many different types of social classes not just rich, middle or poor class. What makes up a social class is all the people have the same resources. Blue collar workers or people with a lot of power or people higher education than others. Even with all these different classes, no matter what the class is it comes down to wealth and power. In society white collar workers are looked at being more smart and useful. Of this they get more money and more power, and this leads to them joining a certain type of social group that are just like them. It’s the same with blue collar workers, society sees them as being less smart and so they get payed less and have less power. So they are put into a social class with the same people like them. This goes on with the other types of social classes and it always comes back to power and wealth.

Social status or placement can impact someone’s life dramatically. “Social class determines where people will live, how well educated they may be, their occupation, their physical health, their mental health, the forms of recreation they enjoy, their social networks, their political views, their attitudes toward childrearing, and how long they may live.” (Vissing, 2011) It also plays a big role in how people view themselves, as well as how others view them. Social class can also play a role in the potential of how successful someone can be. “Class is a large group of people who share common economic resources that influence the kind of lifestyle they are able to live.” (Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum, Carr 195)

The concept of social class is and has always been a major part of society since the first days of society. Has this concept evolved over time and became less important or has it stayed the same as it was in the 18th Century? Most people if asked today would say that social class is much less important than it was back then. The question though is if that statement is true. In a world where the barriers between the lower, middle, and upper classes are so thick, can social classes really be ignored? In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, social class plays a huge role in their society. It determines who marries who, who talks to who, and who can be seen out in public with others. Members of different classes do not get to “hang out” with each other usually. The rich see themselves to be better than the middle class while the middle class thinks the same way about the lower class. Can all of this be relatable to our modern society? Research says that as much as everyone thinks social class is not important, it is still a major part of our society the only difference is, not all parts have been passed down over time.

When analyzing what exactly determines a persons class in society there are several factors to consider. Among these factors are income and wealth, these are arguably the most important aspects when considering what class a person falls under. Now what is the difference between the two? Well the book states that "income refers to the amount of money one makes on an annual biases , be it from wages , stock dividends, or interest on savings. Wealth refers to the total value of things one owns, including material possessions, like a car or house, but also stocks, bonds, real estate, or money in the bank." Now how exactly do these two factors define ones social class? Well generally speaking someone who acquires a higher income means that they more than likely live in a nicer neighborhood. A neighborhood that probably has low crime rates and bigger houses. This is also true for someone who has great wealth, have you ever seen a person with a million dollars in the bank but still living in a trailer? Generally speaking no, most people with large incomes or great wealth have things to show for it such extravagant trips or expensive possessions such as a house or car. These things put a person into a social class. A person that has great wealth and a large income have better and more opportunities to live where they want, got to school where they want, and work were they want. They have options and a choice but people who are not born into money or acquire wealth do not have