White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History Of Class In America.

In Mantsios article “Class in America” he states that Americans hold beliefs that blind them to social classes, citizens in America have four myths they use to ensure talk about the classes never take place. America has the largest gap between rich and poor in the world, and the lower class has no means to an end they can’t afford health care or quality education. The upper class avoids talk about social class the most; wealthy people don’t want to admit that they are better off than others. While the lower class sees how much better off others are than them, but they still don’t like to label themselves. I agree with Mantsios that most Americans avoid talk about classes although I am not one of them. Also I

Well-known essayist and writer, James W. Loewen, in his essay, The Land of Opportunity, argues that the common American people aren’t given equal opportunity in this day and age. Loewen effectively convinces his readers, high school teachers and history buffs that, social class and inequality is an important thing for students to learn and understand. Through convincing logical arguments he proves that American history books are giving students across the nation false information. According to Loewen, “social class is probably the single most important variable in society.” (Loewen para. 5) He goes on saying, “From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all social characteristics of people that we can measure.” (Loewen para. 6) In addition, he establishes credibility with his audience by not accusing students or even instructors for this lack of knowledge, but clearly blames the textbooks used in high schools today. Lowen’s logical approach in exposing the lies that we are taught and taught to think leave the reader with the abitlity to empathize with him, ultimately getting the message across far more effectively.

The emerging inequitable class systems and antagonisms of the nineteen twenties saw the traditional order and moral values challenged, as well as the creation of great wealth for few and poverty for many. The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, explores the causes and effects of the unbalanced class structures. Fitzgerald outlines the idea that the desire to accumulate wealth and status is a common ambition amongst the lower classes; when that desire is reached, the traditional upper class is challenged by the emerging newly wealthy, which finally leads to destructive consequences. By creating rigid class structures, traditional upper class, new wealth, and the poor in The Great Gatsby, it is

In the article, "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios (Myths and Realities 2000) shows us how what class a person is in affects his or hers life more than they think. This article is written sufficiently well however, it does have some weak spots. I will prove my thesis by examining his use of examples and showing factual data and statistics, but also show how this article could have been better.

There is much debate about the issue of social class in the United States. There are arguments about whether social classes are distinctly separate or fluid, dependent upon one’s community or society as a whole, and if they are subjective or objective (Hughes and Jenkins). However, despite the debate surrounding social classes, it is still important to try to define them and analyze their effects, as they are such an important part of our identity and our opportunities in society. Although our society has tried to appear as though we have no classes, and it is becoming harder to tell what class someone is in by material goods, classes do still exist today (Scott and Leonhardt). The trend has been to divide the U.S. into four major

The readings examined how classism has negatively affected economics in the United States, how oppression manifests in taking financial advantage of groups of people who cannot advance financially, and systemic issues contributing to low wage and inability to move out of one’s social class. I was struck by the idea that most people in the United States are disadvantaged financially based on the way the country has set up its economic policies. From the beginning, black people have been oppressed by the inability to attain wealth, which continued through the end of WWII. I unnecessarily read a chapter speaking about financial companies targeting poor people, particularly people of color, with money schemes so they are losing their hard-earned money to fees and interest rates. This scheme continues to keep people in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. I related to the reading about college loans creating a paradox that students with degrees enter the workforce unable to find a job in their their field of study. Then the added paradox of not being able to find work making

There has always been a class system since the beginning of civilization and it was extremely difficult to get to a higher class. A person could not choose what class they were born in and the majority were lower class-man. As before the only way to become wealthy is by education and it was hard for lower class-man to get one. One way was for girls to get married like Johnny’s mom did or Mrs. Lapham marring Mr. Tweedie. For boys to become a higher class they need to be educated or have great skill at a craft which is usually only born with like Johnny. As these kids have little to no money they are picked on by arrogant adults, an example is Dove as the horseman for the British. These lower class-man children were given brute and labor intensive jobs. The children’s jobs are unimportant so they are given the least money for their work. Some children with low pay would be accused of theft if they had a valuable object. When court action is taken the upper class-man are listened to, unless undeniable evidence, like in Johnny vs Mr. Lytes case. A common stereotype for these children is that they are sick and thieves. The class system has created rough jobs for the lower class children and most jobs are extremely

Understanding that the poverty of black Americans did not just stay within the home is a big step in understanding urban poverty. Urban poverty reached outside the home, into the parks, schools and playgrounds. With poverties reach being that extensive, there was something other than adversity causing this. Louis Gates wrote an article about this called “Black America and The Class Divide.” (Jr.)

An inequality in society, economy, wealth distribution, and political corruption and the influence in cooperation of government led to

Back in the eighteenth century, wealth combined with ethnicity, race, family, age, and gender to create social divisions known as “rank.” When social confusion happened in New York, authorities were driven to try to toughen the boundaries of traditional ranks. Through the courts` verdicts, Horsmanden had hoped to create a society in which there were “clear social distinctions between slaves, elite whites, indentured servants, free blacks, and free whites, as well as between men and women in all these categories.” These distinctions were

The ideal concept of American society is one in which all of the citizens are treated equal in all every realm and situation. Class, race or gender does not divide the utopian America; everyone is afforded the same opportunities and chances for success. In this chimerical state Americans are able to go as far as their dreams allow and with hard work and perseverance any thing is possible. Many Americans subscribe to this pluralist view of the Country, believing that within our democratic system it is the majority who maintains control and sets policy. Unfortunately this idyllic country does not exist nor has it ever existed. America is made up of distinct social classes and the movement within those classes is for the most part,

Social class is defined as 'people having the same social or economic status' (Wordnet). In contemporary American society, social class is based on the amount of money and property you have and also prestige. Prestige is given to a person through the line of work or the family that they come from. For example, upper-upper class member Jennifer Lopez reeks of prestige not only because she has millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has very expensive luxuries, cars, and houses.

Class division has existed throughout time, both in its range of meaning and complexity of describing social division. The modern implications of class can be seen as a general word for groups or group distribution that has become more common. Rebecca Harding Davis’s short story Life in the Iron Mills, together with Raymond Williams’s entry Class delineates the oppressed lower class in a vivid and moving way, exemplifying the impact of social divisions on oppressed working labourers. Davis “embodies a grim, detailed portrayal of laboring life” (Pistelli 1) with an articulate correlation of Williams’s entry Class, structuring her narrative and focus of attention on gender, industrialization, immigration, and social divide. This essay

Every person can be identified as rich or poor regardless of their other status be it in terms of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or age. The author explained even in the most predominant White race, there were class divisions and the least fortunate were the so

Throughout American history, no matter what time period, humans have been categorized, discriminated against, and treated according to their class, financial status, and race. Many concrete and obvious examples of this have appeared throughout the years, ranging from the Salem witch trials in the late 1600’s, all the way to the recent civil rights movements in the 1950’s and 60’s. Social history uses personal stories to show how class/status and race played a part in the way people were treated in America.