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Daniel James Brown's Social Class

881 Words4 Pages

How does a person’s social class affect their successes? Daniel James Brown answers this question in his book The Boys in the Boat. People in lower classes tend to be more humble and hardworking than those in higher classes. Success means more to lower class citizens because they have to work for every piece of it. People of higher classes can, to some extent, ‘buy’ success with money. Society doesn’t usually expect citizens of lower classes to achieve as many successes as those in upper classes. This is a reasonable expectation, considering lower class citizens have numerous disadvantages. Money is often the biggest problem. When the boys qualified for the Olympics, but couldn’t afford to go on their own, Ulbrickson was frustrated. “Ulbrickson knew full well that …show more content…

The truth we learn from Brown’s novel is that while money can carry you a long way to success, money cannot buy you the sweet feeling that comes with succeeding. The Washington crew couldn’t be helped by money when they were working to win the Olympics. Other crews from different schools had an easier time coming up with funds to get them closer to success. This can be seen in everyday life. People use money to get closer to their goals. They can buy advantages, such as better equipment, better trainers, etc. When someone with less money to spare tries to reach the same goals, it is increasingly harder because they cannot buy the same advantages. When these two types of people reach their goals, however, it is more satisfying and meaningful to the person of a lower class, because they pushed through more disadvantages than the higher class citizen. Success and the awarding feeling that comes with it, often will be more treasured and enjoyed by the lower class citizen, who has to give more to get

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In James W. Loewen’s “The Land of Opportunity,” he states that social class affects the way children are raised. He discusses the inequality in today’s society and how the textbooks in high school do not give any social class information. The students in today’s time are not taught everything they should be taught. He states that your family’s wealth is what makes up your future. Loewen discusses that people with more money can study for the SATs more productively and get a better score than someone who has less money.

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However, the most thought provoking concept introduced by Mantsios is his fifth reality. Mantsios asserts, “Class standing has a significant impact on chances for educational achievement.” (Mantsios, p 483). Throughout this portion of his article, Mantsios continues to reference studies that prove lower class citizens achieve significantly less (Mantsios, p 482). Although the media is filled with stories of how different celebrities, such as Oprah, went from rags to riches, these are a merely a select few that escape their predetermined end.

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Social status exists but does not define your success or you as a person because social status is

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The way we view each other in terms of finance, education, and family aspects depends on a person’s social class. Students from lower backgrounds usually experience difficulty in the educational system. The educational standards of their family’s life differ from those in the higher classes because teachers teach according to the student. Meaning, not only does having a particular social class already separate you in terms of the educational system, but it also determines how and what you learn. From personal experience I’ve learned how to see from the perspective of a student who is of a lower social class than majority of his peers and teachers.

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The Lie- Thematic Essay In most of our lives we have encountered someone who believes that they’re entitled to everything because of their reputation or wealth. There’s times when kids are snobby to others because they have better clothes, a bigger house, more money, or even because they’re ‘popular’ and the other kid isn’t. In the story The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, there’s multiple times when Eli’s parents believe that because they are Remezel’s, Eli deserves different things than what the other students would receive at the Whitehill Academy for Boys. This story proves to us that you shouldn't act like you are entitled everything and you won't always get your way because of wealth and reputation because when you do you start to take everything

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Generally the social structure in a community is split into a hierarchy, so all of the richer and “more successful” people are socially connected. Anyone coming from a financially stable family is more likely going to afford attending a very prestigious university or school as they are also on the higher side of the spectrum for tuition costs. Gladwell points out that having an insanely high IQ, amazing athletic skills, or savvy communication skills alone are not enough to make people successful because “no one – not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses – ever makes it alone” (Gladwell 115). Friends and family play a big role in each other’s life.

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success in siblings is the family income. Again the family you are born in has tremendous weight in your life. The higher social class the family you are born in the better the chances are that you will become successful in the world. Such things as inheritances, marrying money, and family wealth boost you up in the social rankings.

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In the article entitled, “A Generation Struggling: Rich Kids are Losing,” Dr. Brian Carr talks about how rich kids have a lot of problems. First, Carr describes the way rich kids live their lives. The writer tells us the life story of struggling rich kids. In addition, he points out that wealthy kids don’t want to work hard to be successful but want to be successful quickly.

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The lower class works for their living and spends what money they have on things they need. Whereas the upper class, usually has a higher education and better paying jobs than the other classes in America. Thus, heritage plays a big part in reasons of social classes.

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There are many groups who are fortunate in the American society, such as males, Caucasians, heterosexuals, and people with high socioeconomic status, however most of these individuals do not fully comprehend their privileges because they have not lived life in the shoes of those who are less

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Entitlement among children is more prominent now, than it ever has been. You see, I attribute a great amount of my success to the way my parents raised me. It was this certain mindset that, if you’re not first, you’re last. If it weren't for this mindset, that my parents instilled in me at such a young age, I probably wouldn’t be in this position right now, making a speech to my fellow Harvard allums. You go to sporting events these days, where everyone gets a medal.

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This goes to show that although the separations of classes make it more difficult to achieve, there should be nothing stopping you from reaching your goals, no matter how modest or lofty they

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The myth of meritocracy does nothing to help the working class, while justifying the privileges of the higher classes, giving the perception that these classes excel through fairness and open methods. The myth of meritocracy is a way of making the working class accepts their role in society. (Kennedy and Power, 2010) The idea of that meritocracy exists is given to students through the hidden curriculum. This results in the working class accepting inequality, thus making it less likely to try to overthrow capitalism.

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One misconception society has is that the poor are poor, because of their own choices or mistakes. The media often chooses to portray the impoverished in a rough neighbourhood barely getting by, without showing the outside factors that have contributed to the situation, like generational and situational poverty. This sells the idea that those who work hard and dream big, will become successful; and the myth comes from a background of privilege, race, and education. People often assume that everyone has an equal chance and access to resources, which can result in achievement. However this assumption is unrealistic and

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Social classes are a form of social stratification that refers to the existence of structured inequalities between individuals and groups in society. A social class is a group of people of comparable status, power and wealth which are usually classified as upper class, middle class, and lower class. For each class, there are some specific opportunities available that influence their social life. We can understand about the particularity of the chances through unequal distribution of these opportunities between individuals in social classes. In here belonging to a social class seems to be an obstacle for some individuals to obtain equal opportunity, unlike upper class people.

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