ipl-logo

A Summary Of Robert And Helen Lynd's Study Of Muncie

1743 Words7 Pages

Robert and Helen Lynd’s study of Muncie, Indiana, focuses on the differences between the working class and the business class. As we learn through their study, “there appears to be a constantly closer relation between the solitary factor of financial status and one’s social status,” (Lynd & Lynd 1929: 81) thus paralleling our current society. The primary focus of the study is social mobility, and Robert and Helen Lynd expose that social mobility is increasingly becoming a myth created by society to control the work ethic and have all individuals uniformly working towards one goal. As the Lynds emphasize, “everybody who gets a living in Middletown is theoretically in the process of ‘getting there’; each person has a large degree of freedom to …show more content…

The Lynds paint a picture of the two different kinds of homes in the Middletown mornings; “the dark ones where people still sleep, and the ones with a light in the kitchen where the adults of the household may be seen moving about, starting the business of the day” (Lynd & Lynd 1929: 53). The decisions that the heads of families in Middletown made regarding their employment profoundly affected family life and all things that revolved around the home. Being of working class was challenging in Middletown, and being of working class meant obtaining a living by having to make it the top priority at the expense of everything else. According to the Lynds, “layoffs have become much more automatic than the reluctant personal decision of a sympathetic employer,” (Lynd & Lynd 1929: 57) and this caused many working class individuals to feel like their unemployment was impending. Being in such a state of worry reinforced the working class citizens’ need to sacrifice their happiness for their social and economic stability. Relating to this idea, when the women of Middletown were asked about their husbands’ jobs, they “said that their husbands had taken or would want work that paid less and had less future if it seemed likely to be ‘steady’ and less subject to layoffs” (Lynd & Lynd 1929: 60). The working class citizens of Middletown faced a …show more content…

This transformation was used as a distraction from the reality of what their lives were, and was seen as a form of denial. The working class citizens of Middletown had to distract themselves by making things on their side better; they knew they were not the business class, but this did not mean that they could not feel like them. Developing a routine allowed these individuals to feel comfortable in their current place in society, but also enabled them to live a life filled with much more ease, as a person in the business class would. The stressors of the working class can have an immense effect on the quality of life, which is why certain individuals within the working class chose to distract themselves with routine. The working class citizens transformed their lives by fixing the systems in their environment; they focused on improving their social life, economics, and other areas. One of the methods that they used to complete this transformation was unions. According to Robert and Helen Lynd, “organized labor formed one of the most active coordinating centers in the lives of some thousands of Middletown working families” (Lynd & Lynd 1929: 76). Creating these unions improved their daily lives and allowed them to have more of what the business class

Show More
Related
1422 Words | 6 Pages

The Brothers faced this challenge in their, largely, futile attempts to achieve middle class status through achieving a proper education. Macleod highlights that, historically, the “overall structure of class relations from one generation to the next” is extremely reluctant to change(4). The Brothers evince this in their inability to earn work with greater wages than their parents, forcing them to live in working class neighborhoods like they did. Although some of the Brothers did manage to obtain middle class work, they struggled to keep those jobs as they either got laid off or were pressured out believing that they just didn’t fit in the workplace environment- though this is largely in fact due to differences in cultural capital, knowledge, disposition, and skills passed on generationally, that arise from the different upbringings of the supervisors and the Brothers.

Read More
263 Words | 2 Pages

In the book Rereading America, a passage “Looking for Work” by Gary Soto narrates his life as a young Mexican- American boy. As a nine-year old boy, he compared his life with modern white families that he watches on his television. Throughout the passage, Gary gives examples of how his life is different, compared to the modern family and his Armenian-French neighbor. He mentions how money and luxuries play a big role in society. Gary and his neighbor are obviously in two different social classes.

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

Many immigrants and rural inhabitants fled to urban areas in search for any job that would provide them with any salary. As more and more companies failed, thousands of families lost their only source of income. Layoffs and wage cuts were common. Eventually even Burnham, a man with a reputation for being a fair employer, had to join the trend and let many of his employees go. Burnham knew that, “The dismissed men... faced homelessness and poverty; their families confronted the real prospect of starvation” (Larson 155).

Read More
891 Words | 4 Pages

Eugene Lyons wrote about the realities of the idealistic notions of rags-to-riches. His life was riddled with hardship as he was growing up as an immigrant on the East Side of New York. In his essay, “Revolt against Ugliness,” Lyons spoke of how deep emotion feelings were invoked in people when they heard the stories of folks pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. He pointed out that the stories of success are not written by those who never get a leg up, but rather the “true or near true stories” are authored by the few and far between who make it out of poverty and hardship. The grim truth he spoke of was that even the youth had to work in order to help their family earn money for the bare necessities of food, shelter and clothing.

Read More
1126 Words | 5 Pages

Urbanization made many families move to cities and start entirely new lifestyles that hadn’t been as prominent in the past. Before industrialization, the cottage industry, small home businesses, and farming were common forms of income. But, as they moved to cities, that had to change. Familial life weakened as mothers began working in factories, children occupying their time either working or playing in the dirty streets. People lived in overcrowded tenants or apartments.

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

In chapter 15, “Self-Help in Hard Times”, Zinn’s overarching point is that unity among workers was not simple to achieve, and that white supremacy was a powerful, deadly force after the war. To support and further discuss these concepts, Zinn points out how relations between the American Federation of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World were often tense, how city life often changed drastically during times of strike, and how immigration laws during the twenties began to favor Anglo-Saxons. One such way Zinn showcases these ideas is by describing how drastically life changed for cities when workers went on strike, hoping for an increase in their wages. As the strike continued on throughout February of 1919, Zinn recalls how all services, except for those that were consider essential to daily life, ceased.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

In the middle of the 20th century, women were at a cultural crossroads in American society. Work or not to work? Ration or consumption - a ration? These very concerns were a hot debate across the nation at the time, as women of this period were expected of nothing more than keeping the house and raising children, but the goliath that was World War II opened up opportunities in manufacturing and other non-traditional jobs for women because of the fact that there was no men to fill these vacancies. Many women upon hearing Congresswoman’s Clare Boothe Luce’s speech in September of 1942 directed to the women’s banking committee were motivated to fill these spots that men normally would’ve worked at.

Read More
1510 Words | 7 Pages

From 1875-1900, America was beginning to rise up from the increase in industrialization. However, dubbed “the gilded age” by Mark Twain, the thriving promise of a better , wealthier life in America was not as it seemed. When labor unions rose to change the harsh working conditions placed on workers, it seemed to be that they found little to no success. This was brought on by the little change that they made, the suffering and hardships they brought on themselves and others, and the little support they received from those around them. Although labor unions were able to change some conditions, most of those changes were minimal.

Read More
184 Words | 1 Pages

In the article “Making Do: Women, Family and Homes in Montreal during The Great Depression” by Denyse Baliargeon, explains her view of family life from her interviews during the great depression. The article expresses what she spoke with thirty families about how they were handling life in their current situation. The article further states that family life during this time was difficult due to the fact that there was little money available to the families. Many families had to survive with very little, thanks to the scarcity of income. The author states that within her study of families during this time, wives had to make food that were usually for only one day last for weeks at a time.

Read More
398 Words | 2 Pages

In his seminal work, “Class in America 2012,” Gregory Mantsios challenges the prevailing belief in the American Dream, arguing that socioeconomic class significantly influences an individual’s opportunities and outcomes. As Mantsios himself states, ‘All Americans do not have an equal opportunity to succeed, and class mobility in the United States is lower than that of the rest of the industrialized world’ (Mantsios, 2012). This statement not only contradicts the idealistic view of America as a land of equal opportunity, but also highlights the stark reality of class immobility. Mantsios’s work was particularly relevant during the time of its publication, when societal focus on economic issues was heightened due to events like the Occupy Wall

Read More
468 Words | 2 Pages

Industrialization in the United States created increased employment opportunities in factories and metropolitan regions, liberating women from conventional homemaking responsibilities. Consequently, women sought independent lives, gaining financial independence and personal expression (Source 4). Women from various racial and cultural backgrounds, particularly those from working-class neighborhoods, entered the workforce, advocating for better working conditions and fair pay. These advancements shattered preconceived notions of gender roles, laying the groundwork for future women's rights

Read More
1112 Words | 5 Pages

Many times in America there has been issues about class division, even today will still have that problem. As (Document E) declares “…it is god who makes some poor, and others rich; that the rich have many troubles, which we know nothing of; and that the poor , if they are but good, may be very happy…”. This statement not only reveals that poor are not always the ones who pursuit crime, but also that the rich has problems of their own. It shows that the poor struggle and work hard as possible to sustain a suitable, as (Document E) states “ when he sees little boys and girls riding on pretty horses, or in coaches, or walking with ladies and gentlemen, and having on very fine clothes, he does not envy them, nor wish to be like them” . This illuminates that rather than the poor being jealous of the rich, they embrace who they are, and work hard in order to reach a descendant life..

Read More
868 Words | 4 Pages

The women endured additional burdens like campaigns against hiring women because they thought jobs should go to male breadwinners and then three quarters of the school districts in the country banned married women from being hired as teachers (Henretta, 2009). The women in Minnesota in breadlines were subject to sit in employment bureaus and hoped for work to try to provide for their family (Bethel University, 2005). The women here are those who are middle-aged, some have families, while some have raised the children and now they are alone (Bethel University, 2005). The others are those who have men that are out of work (Bethel University, 2005). These women are left to struggle to fed many mouths by themselves, while the women who pride gets the best of them starves silently, leaving the children to find work (Bethel University, 2005).

Read More
2059 Words | 9 Pages

Through interviews with Boston based blue-collar workers, the authors documented how the workers frequently expressed anger, pain and humiliation. These feelings, contended Sennett and Cobb, stemmed from the belief that they were powerless in improving their place in society. The workers spoke of pain and resentment at being treated in their work as mere 'cogs in the machine,' or just 'Rita the janitor.' The insight here, is that despite efforts by made by working class individuals to move on in life, classed experiences can have a detrimental impact on a person's social identity and their sense of place within hierarchies of respectability. One of the most significant observations noted by the authors, was that working class people often assume personal responsibility for their social position.

Read More
1348 Words | 6 Pages

However, the outcome of Vance’s life was different as he was graduated from Yale Law School, able to get a well-paying job and currently living the American Dream with his wife Usha. The purpose of the author in this memoir was to understand the reader of how social mobility feels and more importantly, what happens to the lives of the white working-class Americans, in particular the psychological impact that spiritual and material poverty has on their children. J.D Vance provides an explanation for the loss of the American dream to poor white Americans living in a toxic culture in this Ohio steel town.

Read More

More about A Summary Of Robert And Helen Lynd's Study Of Muncie

Related Topics

Open Document