Analysis Of The Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills

The sociological imagination refers to the individual men and women that identify society as the source of the issues or obstacles they face in life, as well as the source of the achievements they accomplish. Two issues I have faced in my lifetime are linked to unemployment and marriage, which C. Wright Mills further discusses in his book titled The Sociological Imagination.

My parents have always been a part of the working or lower class. They came to this country as immigrants hoping for a better life for themselves as well as their children, but without very much education and the lack of ability to speak English they were not able to obtain work that would pay more than minimum wage. It was seasonal work, so throughout my childhood my family

Society expects that as an adult I alone have to be able to take care of myself financially. Higher education institutions expect that if I want to have a stable career I have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars, end up with a large amount of debt, and eventually get a job that will allow me to spend years paying my debt off. Society and educational institutions do not make attaining a better life very easy, although I am still willing to try. Since childhood society has shown me that the institution of marriage is a wonderful thing to strive for. My culture has shown me that marriage is a patriarchal family structure. Men have control in marriage and women are to be submissive. Women are expected to cook, clean, and care for their husband and children. Today's society also expects women to have a job or career. I have seen the toll that financial stress can cause within a marriage. When the individuals in a marriage are unhappy, divorce may be the answer, but divorce carries a stigma with it. C. Wright Mills (1959)

Inside a marriage a man and a woman may experience personal troubles, but when the divorce rate during the first four years of marriage is 250 out of every 1,000 attempts, this is an indication of a structural issue having to do with the, institutions of marriage and the family and other institutions that bear upon them (p. 9).

According to society marriage is supposed to be forever. Society urges married couples to stay together and work things out, but when the marriage falls apart the blame falls on the individuals within the marriage who failed to keep each other happy. Divorce weakens the family structure as well as the belief in the need for marriage. Marriage is not a necessity and people could be happier without entering this institution. Growing up in a low socioeconomic status household I was able to see the hardships my parents went through. In a society where the majority of people are in debt, my parents taught me that money is very essential to life. Society has many beliefs that it imposes on others. As an individual I have decided that I do not agree with the institution of marriage. I don’t strive to get married. I strive to be independent and not care what society wants me to do or what it has to say about the decisions I