Analysis Of Ain T No Making It By Jay Macleod

885 Words2 Pages

In Ain’t No Making It, Jay Macleod explains his theories and findings on social reproduction of inequality. He begins by telling us more about some authors and their theories. This helped me have a better understanding on what this book is really trying to portray. One author I found interesting was Bernstein who focused on language patterns and social reproduction. By bringing up issues like this one that most people usually don’t think about, I was able to look at the problems that the Brothers and Hallway Hangers faced from a whole new perspective. I would not have noticed this throughout the book if these issues were not mentioned right away. I come from a very traditional family that believes that success depends on how much work you …show more content…

I cannot help but feel bad for the Brothers because with every challenge they faced, they still kept a positive outlook on life. Jay Macleod added this to one of findings and stated, “no matter how diligently they devote themselves to schools, they cannot escape the constraints of social class.” (p.150) The Brothers situation shows us that believing in achievement ideology does not mean you will automatically be successful in life. Even with hard work, they struggled to find a stable job that would help them reach the middle-class …show more content…

The United States is the land of opportunity but we will most likely never reach social equality, which will always be a problem for people in the lower classes. I do think it is harder for children in the lower classes to succeed in school since they have to learn how to blend in with the middle class and the social norms of the middle class on top of getting their diploma or degree. I believe Jay MacLeod did a great job in explaining his theories with his research findings. My views on reaching success in life are very traditional, but reading this book makes me realize it is a completely different world in “the projects.” I always thought it was that individual’s fault for not getting out of the projects and they chose to live that type of life. MacLeod’s findings and interviews with the kids made me realize that is not the case. I now see that social inequalities make it very difficult for social mobility to

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