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Its Just Me Social Status Essay Stephanie English One Summer 2001 Mr. Vasquez Its Just Me Does anyone really have one specific class which they fit into? Different activities and things we do put us in many different classes. For example, if your in a prole class and you ride in a limo on prom night are you then considered to be in the middle- to high-class range?
No, either you or your parents just thought it would be nice if you could take a limo instead of taking the family minivan. On the other hand, what if you are upper-class and you normally drive a McLaren F 1, but it has to be put in the shop and you temporarily have to drive a Kia, does this drop you into a lower class? It shouldnt. No one participates only in activities that fit into one specific social class. Through my occupation, housing, leisure activities, clothing, and the reading of Paul Fussell's book entitled Class, I have been able to come to the conclusion that I am high-proletarian to middle-class. My current occupations include teaching assistant at Royal Oaks Elementary School, student aid at the College of Sequoias Agriculture Department, and volunteer caretaker at Linwood Gardens Convalescent.
I got my job at the elementary school through the COS career / transfer center. I chose to work there because I love working with kids. I get to help them learn lots of different things from their ABCs to reading. Fussell states that, the wider the difference between ones working clothes and ones best, the lower the class. (45) I wear T-shirts and jeans to work, and there is a very wide gap between T-shirts with jeans and my best, which would probably be one of the three dresses I own that isnt formal. This would probably put me in the low-prole class.
Working at the Ag. Department, I have minimal supervision. Fussell makes the statement, high proles are quite smart often their work is not closely supervised, they have pride and a conviction of independence (45 - 46) I may be told to type up an exam for an instructor, or write a receipt for someone; these are both independent tasks. The independence and supervision would probably put me into the high-prole class. Volunteering at Linwood Gardens Convalescent was something I had to do in the first place, but I began to like it so I continued to go.
I assist in activities, transporting residents, reading to them, getting their drinks or whatever else they ask for. I am minimally supervised. The nurses and directors know that I know what the residents can do or have and what they cant do or have, so I have become very independent in the time I have been volunteering there. Again, with high amounts of independence, and minimal supervision this would put me into the high-prole range. I live in a two-story, three bedroom, two bathroom, house located in a nice neighborhood. It has a two car garage but with my Uncle constantly always building a new go-cart, there is no room to park the cars inside the garage.
The grass is well kept and there are lots of flowers, chrysanthemums and pink geraniums, which puts me in high-prole. There you will see primarily geraniums (red are lower than pink), poinsettias, and chrysanthemums, and you will know instantly, without even attending to the quality of discourse, that you are looking at a high-prole setup. (80) My mother does have a potted poinsettia in the house. I live on the street and have a short driveway, which Fussell states would put me in a lower class than someone with a longer driveway. the longer the driveway, the higher the class. (76) I live with my aunt, uncle, and two younger cousins. Most of our neighbors are retired people. My house, even though its not mine directly, would also, in my opinion, put me in the middle-class range.
There are many leisure activities I enjoy regularly; four-wheeling at the coast with friends, partying, cruising, and just hanging out, not having to worry about anything. When we go to the coast it is a basic pattern; someone trying to show off gets stuck, someone else pulls him / her out, then vice versa. Put in words, and this sounds boring or maybe just plain stupid, but doing it is definitely fun. This type of activity probably puts me in the low-prole range. Partying is definitely low-prole. Hanging out with friends, just relaxing or talking is low-prole also.
My leisure activities would put me into the low-prole class. Clothing is the most important criteria for determining class status. The clothing I wear is just whatever feels comfortable. Fussell states that, When proles assemble to enjoy leisure, they seldom appear in clothing without words on it. (56) I can say that about 80 % of the T-shirts I wear have words or logos on them and about 60 % of my tank tops and sweaters have words on them also. With these I would either wear jeans or a pair of athletic striped warm-up pants. I have worn formal dresses a few times; to Proms, Homecomings, and Winter Formals.
The last time I wore a dress was about two years ago. In conclusion, I have already stated that clothing is the most important factor used in judging someones class status. If we are destitute's or top-out-of-sights, we are still people. We all have different thoughts on life, and we all have different views of classes. There is no right way to class another person, because then your making an assumption that you rightfully can not make. Bibliography Fussell, CLASS
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Research essay sample on Leisure Activities Middle Class
