preview

Social Class In Lakota Woman By Mary Crow Dog

Decent Essays

Social class has always been around, whether it is the present time or the past. It is a way to group people into a set of hierarchical social categories. For this reason, social class is something that will never go away. No matter how hard we try as a society, there will always be people pushing hard to keep these groups alive. The rich, high class, will never be ok with sharing a table with the poor, low class. Social class affects not only our outward appearances, but it plays a factor in what schools we can attend, our health, what jobs we can get, who we can marry, and the treatment we receive from police and courts.

A good example of the way social class is viewed is in the story “Lakota Woman”, by Mary Crow Dog. Social class was still relevant for the Native Americans, even in the 70’s. While it is already tough for Native Americans, Mary’s situation is slightly tougher. “It is being an iyeska, a half-blood, being looked down upon by whites and full-bloods alike.” (5) Both parties were viewing each other as being lower class, which made it harder for Mary to find her ranking. “I have white blood in me. Often I have wished to be able to purge it out of me.” (9)

When it comes to social class, people will always find a way to argue about how they should be handled. With “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts” by Bruce Catton, you have two people from different backgrounds. “…Lee stood for the feeling that it was somehow of advantage to human society to have a

Get Access