It’s Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

The current social situation in United States suggests that the notion of racial differentiation is extremely important. Indeed, division into social groups in accordance with race is a common phenomenon in educational establishments, workplaces, and in routine life in general.

It determines people’s way of life and attitudes of others towards them. However, is such differentiation justified? In his article “It’s Class, Stupid!” Richard Rodriguez managed to prove the existence of another, more objective criterion for social groups’ differentiation, which is wealth level.

One of the main issues of the author’s concern is color of skin as the most significant factor for living in American society. Rodriguez gives a lot of evidence for this idea, using elements of exemplification in his article. For instance, the author mentions the American writers, who “are brilliant at describing what it is like to be a racial minority” (Rodriguez, 1). Using such irony, the writer clarifies to the readers his position, showing that he disapproves such preoccupation of his nation with race differentiation.

In contrast to the existing way of social distinction, the author offers an alternative one, which is dividing people into rich and poor. He introduces the notion of “poor whites” (Rodriguez, 1), in order to prove that not only black people suffer from social inequity.

Rodriguez names numerous cases, which show the relevance of such reevaluation of society. Specifically, he tells about poor whites, who are willing to study, but who have no other choice but finding a “dollar-and-cents job working at Safeway or McDonald’s”, due to the financial state of their family (Rodriguez, 1). Thus, Rodriguez proves that material comforts or their absence are more important than belonging to a certain racial group.

Moreover, Rodriguez insists that subdivision of society into classes is a more objective way of social differentiation. The author emphasizes, “poor whites do not constitute an officially recognized minority group” (Rodriguez, 1).

Therefore, the writer encourages Americans, focused on racial narrow-mindedness, to extend their limits of society perception and admit the existence of social classes. What is more, Rodriguez mentions European society as the one, where the acknowledgement of lower social groups is progressing, setting an example for Americans. This proves the rational nature of author’s ideas.

It is worth mentioning that Rodriguez uses a persuasive tone in his argument. One of the evidences is the use of irony and sarcasm in the article: “Our only acknowledgment of working-class existence is to wear fashionable working-class denim” (Rodriguez, 1). The other feature of persuasion is the use of such lexical units as “sneer”, “rednecks”, “trailer-park trash”, etc. (Rodriguez, 1).

In addition, the writer uses a deductive type of discourse, developing his ideas from general statements to specific examples. Such tools help the writer to express his opinion more clearly and influence the readers. The main target emotions that are to be caused are shame, self-consciousness, and compassion.

All in all, the article of Rodriguez is aimed at showing the division into rich and poor more adequate than the division into black and white. Thus, the article discusses an important and topical social issue, which proves its usefulness. The author uses various techniques in order to prove his idea; he presents evidences of his own experience and of world famous cases, which support his point of view. The author is rather successful at persuasion, and his article is very educational.

Works Cited

Rodriguez, Richard. “It’s Class, Stupid!” Salon. 1997. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2018, July 8). It's Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beyond-the-color/

Work Cited

"It's Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation." IvyPanda, 8 July 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/beyond-the-color/.

References

IvyPanda. (2018) 'It's Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation'. 8 July.

References

IvyPanda. 2018. "It's Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation." July 8, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beyond-the-color/.

1. IvyPanda. "It's Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation." July 8, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beyond-the-color/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "It's Class, Stupid!: Wealth Level and Social Differentiation." July 8, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beyond-the-color/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1