Social Class/ page 96: Large numbers of people who have similar amounts of income and education and who work at jobs that are roughly comparable in prestige. In the documentary of “The Real Slumdogs” they’re one million people living in one square mile. Within Dharavi’s limits they’re a plethora of families who work and make a living off the jobs that are found in and around Dharavi. One of the most common jobs that is found in Dharavi is sorting and picking through Mumbai’s trash. Men, women, and children spend all day picking through the trash that is dumped right in their backyard. There is trash all around. Sometimes it comes to the knee it’s so high. This means that there is always work to be done. The average days pay is around five …show more content…
Nothing that the people in the Dharavi is like America. When food is made in Dharavi they’re no laws of regulations or sanitations. There’s no concern from anyone about the amount of germs that are lingering within Dharavi because of the trash and the lack of a sewage system. The smell of the place would be unbearable. In one of the scenes it showed an ejection needle exposed and just poking out of some trash. There was also glass shards and metal wires laying right where men, women, and children walk. It is so unsafe and no one in the slum realizes that. Children run and play games in the streets and they are shoeless. It’s surprising that injury isn’t more common for everyone living in Dharavi. Even if someone were to get injured they don’t have any resources to go to a clinic and get help. These types of conditions are only found in slums and are only tolerated in slums. No human being would choose these circumstances for themselves. But the people who live in Dharavi make it work. From the outside looking in the living conditions looks atrocious. But the people can still put a smile on their face. It’s remarkable. From an American perspective, life would not be enjoyable at all if someone had to live in those close quarters. It would be a violation of privacy. But everyone that live in Dharavi genuinely love life. They don’t take for granted anything that they have. They cherish and understand the important things in life. Without all the distractions of rules and expectations they have a clear mind to think of family and the value of what that means. Even though people in Dharavi violate the norms of what Americans think is normal or right Americans can learn from these people who look destitute. Family is worth fighting
Dinesh D’Souza constructs an argument in his essay “What’s so great about America” that is convincing to the average reader. His essay was published 15 years ago and American culture has seen some changes since then. However, nothing that he mentions specifically in the essay has changed drastically. His extrinsic ethos is strong because he is from India and the audience may perceive that he can compare his knowledge of living elsewhere to an immigrant’s knowledge. This view of looking at America from an outsider’s point of view and how others view living in America is essential in D’Souza’s fundamental argument. He compares living in America to living in other less developed countries and appeals to the common citizen in his style, logic, and development of his essay. His arguments are sound and he convinces the average citizen that America is the best place to live, although his lack of facts and statistics to back up his statements could be seen as a weakness.
While it may be easier to persuade yourself that Boo’s published stories are works of fiction, her writings of the slums that surround the luxury hotels of Mumbai’s airport are very, very real. Katherine Boo’s book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity” does not attempt to solve problems or be an expert on social policy; instead, Boo provides the reader with an objective window into the battles between extremities of wealth and poverty. “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” then, exposes the paucity and corruption prevalent within India.
Long, Russ. "Social Class (Stratification)." Introductory Sociology. Del Mar College, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
(p1) Broadly speaking, class is about economic and social inequality… (p6) We have a tendency for groups of advanced people to congregate together, and groups of disadvantaged people to congregate so that inequalities persist from generation to generation.
Not only do the homeless not fight it but they admit themselves that they are not worthy of being praised. This attitude is exemplified by Boris in his talk with Orwell when Orwell first arrives and finds work as a plongeur, “Do you think a plongeur can afford a sense of honour?” (60). In saying this, Boris is proving the feelings that lurk behind those that work the low class jobs. They feel that they are so low that they do not even deserve their own honor. By not believing that they are worthy of their own honor they continue to hold themselves down.
Fussel, Paul. "People Like Us: Social Class in America." PBS. PBS, Web. 14 Mar 2014.
The pickers and collectors of waste are at the very bottom of the social order. Even by the standards of urban poverty in India the living conditions are at best appalling. The bare necessities are enough for inhabitants in the terrible slum of Annawadi to be happy.
In slumming it, Kevin perspective of Dharavi is presented in the opening sequence of the documentary. It is employed through a close up shot of a needle being pushed into Kevin Macleod’s arm while the doctor lists various diseases, which implies the slums being a particularly unhygienic and diseases ridden. Kevin’s point of view on Dharavi also contradicts the notions of architects, planners and even Prince Charles’ who claim that Dharavi has a strong sense of community, high employment and little crime. Prince Charles’ voice implies this through his statement “even though Dharavi may be poorer in material terms, they are in many senses infinitely richer in the ways they live.” Prince Charles’ speech prompts Kevin to discover for himself why Dharavi would be the answer to anyone’s problems.
In Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo tells the stories and struggles of families living in a slum adjacent to the Sahar Airport in Mumbai, India. Boo details the ways in which the residents of this slum, Annawadi, attempt to escape their poverty, but fail to do so. Despite numerous initiatives sponsored by the Central Government of India to improve the lives of the many individuals living in Annawadi, these programs are ultimately unable to do so due to deep-rooted corruption in the city of Mumbai. Regardless of this, the residents of Annawadi seem to accept corruption as a fact of life, and do little to fight it. As illustrated over the course of Boo’s narrative, this results from the fact that many Annawadians recognize the ways in which the laws of their society allow for the unfair treatment of certain groups of people, especially the poor and religious minorities, and are also cognizant of the fact that they have no real power to change a system that
Introduction After reviewing the documentary Slumming It two philosophers came to mind. Throughout the documentary Slumming It both philosophical principles of both Robert Nozick and John Rawls. In the philosophical beliefs of Robert Nozick explains that each person within our society falls into one of two categories. The first category of people is "those who think this vision of the state is too small" (Steiner, Week 9). In this category, these people are described as communitarians, socialists or even sometimes described as conservatives.
Torkildsen (2011) stated that the nature and definition of 'social class' is generally regarded as being problematic, as class not only relates to income or occupation but also upbringing and family background. "social class is often regarded as grouping on the basis of occupation, which is 'socioeconomic class' rather than social class" (Torkildsen, 2011 p.49). divine
About a million people live in Dharavi slum in India that is only 432 acres which is 0.67 square miles. There are multiple tours that take people through the slums of many countries called slum tours. Many people find it useful to learn about people that live fortunate lives. With the slum tours people can help improve the slums, the tours can even start charities to help the slums and expand the knowledge about the slums. A lot can be learned and improved by seeing people in poverty and people living in the slums.
What is social class? It is a term used to describe a large group of people who share similar social or economic positions in society based on wealth, income, job status, education, skills or power in the political sphere. Class is not just about what you own or earn but also who you know. Class affects not only how we feel about ourselves, but how others judge and consequently treat us. Those at the top of the class structure, the elite, have more power than those in the middle and even more power than those at the bottom who are of lower class. Education is a highly valued commodity in our world. In his commentary on society Freud, claimed, “ No feature, however, seems better to characterize civilization than its esteem and encouragement
Shanty towns, as Google defines them, are deprived areas on the outskirts of cities consisting of large numbers of crude dwellings. There is already a countless number of shantytowns around the world, but that number is growing. The main reason why families are moving into shantytowns is economic opportunities…“The driving force behind these migrations is the abundance of jobs in the cities” (Teghrarian, 1997). People, in hopes of pursuing a new career and making money for their family, often resort to these shantytowns for a temporary living space, but soon find out it’s too hard to leave (Painting with appositives). The families that populate shantytowns often work harder than the average citizen, but are forced to live in dirt and tents,
The Untouchables of the caste system are seen by many as outcasts, unwanted humans who are simply unworthy of being seen on earth. Members of this class are considered impure from birth, because they perform unsanitary jobs, with little pay. For example, citizens who handle items polluted by blood or human waste, a leatherworker who works with animal skins, a weaver who creates cloth, a person who cremates or buries the dead, and a manual scavenger, are all considered Untouchable. A Dalit woman describes her day-to-day job as a “sweeper,” (collecting feces on the street), “I feel very sick. I can’t breathe. I can’t bend and lift the vessel” (Dalit Freedom Network). There is no way to escape these horrific jobs, she explains, “I have been asking the supervisor to give me another job, but he wont shift me from here” (Dalit Freedom Network). The illegal job of a manual scavenger is still present in many parts of India, and is still relied upon by societies in the country. Woman, however, are usually targeted for this grueling job. Safai Karmachari Andolan, a manual scavenger describes, “ I slipped and fell into the gutter. No one would come to pick me up because the basket was so dirty and I was covered with filth.” (). These horrific jobs, which untouchables are forced to participate in, severely damage their emotional and physical health.