A Question of Class

In contemporary society, you (and often times, your family) create a social and economic stance for yourself. Those who are in the lower classes are viewed as the pariahs of a society that is ruled by the high class. Of course, you can fight and become a member of this exclusive club; through hard work, termination, and overall, expensive education. The social system that exists within American society is unchanging, it seems that you can only break out of the rigid top class, yet there is no way that you can break in; unless you make a million or two. The rich and famous are the ones who have the advantage in society, the world of socialites and heiresses. In a Question of Class from Women's Lives, the author gives the gritty view of the poor in the south, she questions the romanticized view that is present in movies and books, and shows a world of hunger, self-hatred and violence. The author tells of her struggle with her abuse from her stepfather, and how it continued mainly based on her mother's economic strain and inability to support her children on her own. In this class of severe poverty and low social standing, the author's family do not fight to get out, as is often the surreal view of the working poor, the ideology of the American Dream, and how anyone can achieve it. The members of this class are realists, cynical to the idea of change. Within this story, the characters do not fight their class standing, they only fight to survive. The low class poor is a world all within the American class system that most people have never been introduced to. The severe poverty that is talked about is becoming more of a reality for a lot of people based on the economy right now. The story was an eye opener for me because who knows how many people are going to be a part of a class such as this in just a matter of months. The world of prostitution and sugar daddies is not something that sounds appealing to me; it was so easy for this to happen to generations of families before me, will it be my family next?