Jesse Ashes Sociology

The Impact of Social Class on Jesse Thistle:
The novel “From the Ashes” by Jesse Thistle is written in narrative form by the author himself. In the novel, social class heavily influences Jesse’s life decisions and mindset, as analyzed from a Marxist literary lens perspective. To explain, Jesse grows up in a low-class neighbourhood in Brampton, with his grandparents who were not the richest. Due to Jesse growing up in a low-class environment, he was influenced to do whatever to survive and have peace of mind, even if that “whatever” is considered unhealthy and goes against good values. From childhood to adulthood, Jesse goes through a roller coaster of hardships due to family problems, trauma, confusion in identity, and peer pressure. It is

On top of all these hardships, Jesse had no coping mechanisms for this trauma and felt demon thoughts running through his head all the time. As Jesse got older, he saw the shining light coming from drugs and alcohol and turned to them to distract himself from the depression and anxious thoughts he had since childhood. As mentioned, Jesse lived in a suburban and low-class neighbourhood in Brampton for most of his childhood, which was known for mischievous habits such as doing drugs and drinking alcohol, which was normalized in this part of Brampton. The first interaction Jesse had with drugs was through a friend at a local teenage party in the neighbourhood, “Balpreet uncorked the lid, pulled the cigarette out, then thrust the bottle full of smoke in my face. “Suck and hold,” he said. I put the nozzle to my mouth and sucked as directed. The smoke shot into my lungs” (Thistle, 144). This event was the catalyst for Jesse’s further use of drugs which leads to a dependency. From the influence of rebellious friends, Jesse was like a magnet to alcohol and addictive drugs to relieve his feelings of sadness and hopelessness, since getting from his friends for no fare was