Social discrimination is the prejudicial and distinguishing treatment of an individual on the basis of their social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, and systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower class. Isabel Allende uses the rigid class structure and the degree of social mobility in the country described in The House of the Spirits as a literary representation of the social discrimination that occurred in Latin American cultures during the 20th century. This period witnessed the growth of two classes—the landowning, upper class criollos represented by the del Valle and Trueba families (a person born and raised in South America but is a direct descendant of Spaniards) who control the land, housing, and the infrastructure and the peasants represented by the Garcia family who are tenants that till the land. Allende establishes the social discrimination of the poor workers who have little access to education or political enfranchisement by the educated elite. That control businesses and politics through the depiction of the absolute power, and control Esteban Trueba has over the peasant’s living in Tres Marias. His tyrannical rule over the hacienda is a microcosm of the social discrimination in larger society. The economic, educational, and physical subjugations of the peasants by the upper class undermine their social mobility due to their lack of access to money, education, and political influence. This deliberate preservation of social inequality through discriminatory practices against the lower class not only creates a permanent underclass whose opportunities in life are dictated far more by circumstance of birth, but culminates in the dehuman... ... middle of paper ... ...ndown and know how to invest our money, run risk, and take responsibilities”(Allende 170). They are dismissing the existence of the struggles of those living in poverty who work physically demanding jobs that do not provide a livable wage, as well as the barriers the poor face to gaining an education. Nevertheless, the accepted viewpoint is that all men are not created equal, and the impoverished living conditions of the poor is due to their own lack of education, ignorance, and laziness. As a result, a distinction between the upper and lower class is inevitable. This distinction leads to the treatment of the poor as less than human, dehumanizing their position in society to second-class citizens unworthy of the same rights and opportunities as the upper class elite. Works Cited Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1985. Print.
A big disadvantage that the lower class has compared to the wealthy is a lack of quality education. While serving as a waitress, Ehrenriech learned about many different people. Some of these co-workers were immigrants who had recently come to this country. “I learn that he [George] is not paid by Jerry’s but the ‘agent’ who shipped him over--$5 an hour, with the agent getting the dollar or so difference between that and what Jerry’s pays dishwashers”(38). Their contracts lacked any benefits, and they were paid below minimum wage. People, like George, cannot read their contracts before they sign because they don’t understand the language. The critic would argue, “…They are baffled at the idea of fighting the class struggle of which…Ehrenriech appears to be the only person complaining about the situation…” In Georg...
...ther being, that lower income people are in fact hard workers and are stuck in their social economic class. Finally, this paper discusses how it relates to our PS 204 class, and how one can link the ideas in this class with those from the book. Issues like equality which are mentioned in the book, and others like voter participation, which was a question raised by this author, are major issues in our country today. These issues need to be addressed so that individuals like Gail and Holly don t have to worry if they are injured on the job, because they know they will be taken care of. Confucius says it best, “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” (quote site). Our country has the ability to help these individuals, the question is, what are YOU going to do about it?
Women are seen as failure and can’t strive without men in the Mexican-American community. In this novel you can see a cultural approach which examines a particular aspect of a culture and a gender studies approach which examines how literature either perpetuates or challenges gender stereotypes. Over and over, Esperanza battled with how people perceived her and how she wished to be perceived. In the beginning of the book, Esperanza speaks of all the times her family has moved from one place to another. “Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler.
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
Every nation has its cultures, and every culture has its people. Like a clay figure, the people of a culture are inevitably shaped by what makes that culture unique and where it will lead them in a world composed of many different ones. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and In The Time Of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez present two contrasting cultures, one that is depicted through a poor Latino neighborhood in Chicago, and the other on a viciously dictated Spanish island. The roles of men and women along with the importance of an organized church bring with it the image of the residing living condition of the culture, and whether its for the better or worse, the people existing in that culture are a mirror reflection of what that culture is. The vivid expressions of gender roles and the influences of religion in the two extravagantly differing cultural societies in The House on Mango and In The Time Of The Butterflies precisely shaped what became of the characters’ personality and characteristics in their struggling efforts to work their way toward goals and dreams.
This review essay assessed and examined the success of clarifying poverty through the concepts of social inequality and social exclusion. Despite Raphael’s tremendous writing skills he still unconsciously was biased or contradicted himself in addition to limiting his views. –write questions
With each class comes a certain level in financial standing, the lower class having the lowest income and the upper class having the highest income. According to Mantsios’ “Class in America” the wealthiest one percent of the American population hold thirty-four percent of the total national wealth and while this is going on nearly thirty-seven million Americans across the nation live in unrelenting poverty (Mantsios 284-6). There is a clear difference in the way that these two groups of people live, one is extreme poverty and the other extremely
Major turning points in history such as the overthrow of a country’s government, political violence, guerrilla movements and civil wars, bloody revolutions, brutal dictatorships, domestic violence, criminal violence, physical and sexual abuse and psychological damage are all well known throughout history and they serve as a common theme in literary works of the time period. This is especially true of Isabel Allende, in which the true event of the overthrowing of the Chilean government by the military is an important aspect of the plot in her novels. The aim of the paper is to analyse Isabel Allende’s Of Love and Shadows as a story reading in between the shadows of violence and the gentleness of love by mixing politics and love and demonstrating
Since the beginning of time, social class and race have been paramount in society. Back in the time of caveman, roles and traditions were passed down based on gender. The man was responsible for protection and collecting food while women were responsible for cooking and keeping house. That belief has traversed time and slowly changes with each era. But throughout history, men and women have lived with preconceived notions of their duties to their families. These notions have been passed down generations and have affected how people live within their society. In the novel “Like Water for Chocolate”, social class is revered in the story of the De la Garza family. As we see through the personal journey of Tita, the main character, these distinctions are evident.
According to Schwartz-Nobel, America will lose as much as 130 billion in future productive capacity for every year that 14.5 American children continue to live in poverty (Koppelman and Goodhart, 2007). Sadly the seriousness of poverty is still often clouded by myths and misunderstandings by society at large. This essay studies the issue of poverty and classism in today's society.
...stic things in order to live a better, more sound, and overall healthier life. Juxtaposition makes the audience want to follow through with the purpose. Exemplification causes the audience to realize the extent of their materialistic nature. A definition of the average homeless person’s terms allows him to build his ethos and consequently allow the audience to believe and follow his purpose. A majority of people are a part of the middle class, and this majority tends to judge the poor for their lifestyle whether it be through Dumpster diving or begging on the streets. However, as proven by the essay, these people have no right to do so because the poor do, in reality, have a greater sense of self than these middle-class people, similar to the rich. The middle-class citizens must no longer act the victim; instead, they should be working on becoming more sentimental.
...th what little they have, however; why is it left to the poor to have to suffer the consequences of these political choices. The persistence of extreme poverty and social ills speak to a situation that bears for a different approach. It is clear that capitalism and free market solutions cannot spread wealth as advocated. American governments have shown their reluctance to admit this discrepancy through the strategic creations of welfare policies and welfare reform coupled with placing blame upon the citizens who possess little power to change market decisions that govern and effect their lives.
Throughout the novel “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende the reader sees many instances that exemplify the antagonistic nature of man verses woman. Through Esteban Trueba’s raping of many of the women at Tres Marias, his marriage with Clara, his relationship with his daughter Blanca and her with her lover Pedro Tercero Garcia and with Alba Trueba’s relationship with her lover Miguel and her Grandfather Esteban, much of what Allende wants the reader to know about the nature of man verses woman is exposed. Nature pits man against woman, in marriage, love, sex, work, and war. Women can choose their battles and fight them subtly, without really seeming to, because all women know that the men like to think they are in charge when they really aren’t, and that men will fight every battle just to prove that they are men. Triumph over a weaker opponent does not make men stronger. It only makes them feel powerful. Allende writes about women who are able to quietly persevere, always managing to get their own way, without seeming too, because they know the only way to keep men happy is to let them feel powerful and in charge.
The one of the main themes in the epilogue, and in the entire novel is
Isabel Allende’s novel, Eva Luna, amalgamates many of the techniques and conventions associated with the picaresque tradition, magical realism and bildungsroman in order to present a critique of dominant Eurocentric ideologies of the patriarchy and oligarchy in 20th century Latin America and to valorize the voices and experiences of the marginalized and oppressed. A prominent aspect of Eva Luna which acts as a vehicle for the novels critique of the patriarchal oligarchy are the numerous motifs and symbols utilized throughout the novel. The manner in which Allende introduces and develops symbols and motifs throughout the novel functions to set up a number of oppositions which portray a sense of loss of freedom and expression under the oppression of the colonizing oligarchy, illustrate the superficiality of oligarchic power and align the reader with expression over silence and transgression above oppression.