Social class is a hierarchy based on wealth, living standards, education level and occupation which impact people’s lives for better or worse. In this essay, I have chosen to explore the idea of how social classes affect the way we treat people. The four texts To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen all capture the idea in which social class can affect our lives. In each text, we see how social classes divide people from another, that most characters are aware of where they stand in their society because of social status, and how relationships across different social classes can be formed.

One of the main connections across these four texts is the division of social classes. In Water For Elephants, social class defines where you stand in the “circus hierarchy” and how you live. At the top of the hierarchy is the boss, Uncle Al, closely followed by managers like August. Following them were performers or “kinkers” as they were known by working men. Performers almost always got paid. All three groups stayed at the back of the train. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the working men and animals. Working men almost never got paid and since spaces were cramped, working men and animals shared the same cart. This idea is evident when Jacob is going to the “cookhouse” for the first time and goes to take a seat on the performer 's side of the house, “’So what 's my department? ' I ask,