Conception Of Social Mobility
Conclusion
Throughout this paper different conceptions of social mobility were distinguished. The question that has to be finally answered is whether there is any social mobility either in the literature of Jane Austen or in the American dream? The American dream implements all conditions that should determine the possibility of upward social mobility. Equality and same opportunity are the most important ones. The characters in the movie impersonate these traits. Regardless of race or religion everyone can be part of the elite. Their status and achievements are incidental to their own work. On the one hand the movie portrays the fulfillment of the American promise and allows everyone to hope and not to despair. The expression “from rags to riches” already implies such a promise. On the other hand it is only demonstrating the life of the upper class that is …show more content…
not at all connected to the lower class and does not know about their obstacles. The movie does not show how someone rises to the top it only shows those ones who arrived there. One may only suspect different possibilities for their success. They could have exploited other persons to achieve their goals and become prosperous or they could have been born into rich families and have inherited their possessions without having worked for it.
In Jane Austen’s literature the main subject is love and therefore matrimony.
The latter was the best possibility for a woman to be independent to a certain degree, even the husbands profited from such a connection. In a wife they had someone to rely on and to be trusted while they were on buissness, e.g. in another city or country. Another reason for marriage apart from love was money. Many a woman married a man without affection, love was often desirable, but money was absolutely indispensable. In consequence possession was the only instrument for moving upwards. And those who reached a certain status had no reason to fear for their income if they spend it responsibly.
To put it in a nutshell every age had a different concept of social mobility, accordingly the success of it is different for each of them. Upward social mobility has far more than one conception, in Jane Austen’s literature it is only achieved by marriage and in the American dream by hard work. Whereas the truth is that the opposite is the case: Those who work most are often those who have least and who are the lowest in the social
hierarchy.
Throughout this paper different conceptions of social mobility were distinguished. The question that has to be finally answered is whether there is any social mobility either in the literature of Jane Austen or in the American dream? The American dream implements all conditions that should determine the possibility of upward social mobility. Equality and same opportunity are the most important ones. The characters in the movie impersonate these traits. Regardless of race or religion everyone can be part of the elite. Their status and achievements are incidental to their own work. On the one hand the movie portrays the fulfillment of the American promise and allows everyone to hope and not to despair. The expression “from rags to riches” already implies such a promise. On the other hand it is only demonstrating the life of the upper class that is …show more content…
not at all connected to the lower class and does not know about their obstacles. The movie does not show how someone rises to the top it only shows those ones who arrived there. One may only suspect different possibilities for their success. They could have exploited other persons to achieve their goals and become prosperous or they could have been born into rich families and have inherited their possessions without having worked for it.
In Jane Austen’s literature the main subject is love and therefore matrimony.
The latter was the best possibility for a woman to be independent to a certain degree, even the husbands profited from such a connection. In a wife they had someone to rely on and to be trusted while they were on buissness, e.g. in another city or country. Another reason for marriage apart from love was money. Many a woman married a man without affection, love was often desirable, but money was absolutely indispensable. In consequence possession was the only instrument for moving upwards. And those who reached a certain status had no reason to fear for their income if they spend it responsibly.
To put it in a nutshell every age had a different concept of social mobility, accordingly the success of it is different for each of them. Upward social mobility has far more than one conception, in Jane Austen’s literature it is only achieved by marriage and in the American dream by hard work. Whereas the truth is that the opposite is the case: Those who work most are often those who have least and who are the lowest in the social
hierarchy.