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Janice Hoopiiaina
Professor Sue Briggs
English 1050
April 24, 2015
The Rich Get Richer (Class Diversity)
The worth of a life and desirability of that life is evidently dependent upon power and
money. As these stories were read and expressions of beliefs were revealed, there was a
similarity between them all, that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The
rich have power and control, thus using their rich-man ways, are able to dominate the poor using
them or disregarding them at will.
One example of this exertion of power over the poor is shown as the ‘Big Squeeze’
addresses the diversity of class by revealing what’s been happening in the workplace.
Corporations are making bigger profits than ever, but rather than providing better pay and
benefits with the increase for their workers, the CEOs are pocketing the profits causing an even
bigger separation between classes. Greenhouse states, “Important trends taking place in the
United States today is the broad decline in the status and treatment of American workers…A
profound shift has left…the American workforce on a lower plane than in decades past, with
health coverage, pension benefits, job security, workloads, stress levels, and often wages
growing worse for millions of workers” (405). Then he reclaims, with a few statistics, that
although workers are more productive causing large financial increases, the rich are getting
richer and the poor are getting poorer. “Even though corporate profits have doubled since
recession gave way to economic expansion in November 2001, and even though employee
productivity has risen more than 15 percent since then, the average wage for the typical
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American worker has inched up just 1 percent…” (405). The workers that still have jobs call
themselves lucky; and the even luckier ones somehow manage to provide insurance for their
families. Although the workers rarely see increases in pay and are often treated with disrespect,
they have learned to keep quiet about it for fear of losing their jobs. In this way, the rich having
power over the poor continues.
The concept of rich versus poor is not new to society. In Trachtenberg’s excerpt from a
book’s preface, he expounds how using conceptual representation in photographs, reaffirms the
existence of historical class diversity, “Alfred Stieglitz’s “The Steerage” is a more complex
example of conceptual representation. Notice how it is composed analytically, dividing the
viewer’s field of vision into the steerage of poor immigrants below deck and the wealthier
passengers above” (493). The view in this visual essay is of two levels, the poor immigrants on
the lower level and the rich above. The visual imagery used in this photograph depicts real
separation of classes. This spatial distinction is a physical representation of the social,
psychological and financial differences between the classes. The visual impact might have been
slighter if the classes were intermingled, with only things such as their clothing and appearance
differentiating them.
Clothing and appearance are not the only things differentiating the classes. Even art
choices demonstrate a big difference. Though mural paintings at one time might have been
considered high class art, there is now a definite distinction of classes in the art world. Many
murals, especially Chicano murals in California are considered art of the poor. Cockcroft and
Barnet-Sanchez explain:
“in the eyes of many, contemporary muralism has been identified with poor
people…This association has been a major factor in changing muralism’s rank
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within the hierarchy of the “fine arts” from the highest to the lowest. Once the
favored art of popes and potentates, murals, especially Mexican-style narrative
murals, now considered a “poor people’s art,” have fallen to a level of only
marginal acceptance within the art world” (305).
Classmate Alan brought an interesting point to topic with class diversity regarding murals
in response to Jamie’s discussion. He states, “I guess the aim is similar, to broadcast a message
that will hopefully resonate with those who see it. In my mind, the desire for a community to
claim a space is a healthy desire for unity, while advertisers' desire to claim a space feels
predatory and manipulative.” This is an excellent example of how the rich get richer. The
advertisers are only looking out for themselves and the bottom line of making more money for
themselves. These high-class people generally don’t take an interest in the poor, in fact, they do
their best to keep everything in life separated from them. There are others, however, who have
different opinions.
A new concept quite the opposite of separation has come to light. The original idea of
slum tourism is one of good intent. There are those who believe the gap between classes can be
closed through educating people with financial resources, thus causing the beginnings of change.
In Odede’s article “Slumdog Tourism,” he counters the expectation to one of a more realistic
outcome as he proclaims, “The expectation, among the visitors and the tour organizers, is that the
experience may lead the tourists to action once they get home. But it’s just as likely that a tour
will come to nothing. After all, looking at conditions like those in Kibera is overwhelming, and I
imagine many visitors think that merely bearing witness to such poverty is enough” (519).
The idea that rich people will use their resources to improve the situation in the slums if
they are only educated on the situation is in my mind outlandish. Classmate, Jamie, also
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acknowledges that slum tourism is unnecessary, but with a personal twist that this type of
tourism would not only not help the situation, but would also have a negative impact on the
residents. He explains his thoughts, “I don’t need to see these problems in person to know they
exist. I also don’t need to see it to know I need to do something about it…I guess the bottom line
is: I wouldn’t want to risk making members of those communities uncomfortable just so I can
see in person what I already know it happening. To me, it just seems rude and unnecessary.”
Although the intentions might be upstanding, the appearance of the rich into the slums to
gawk and stare (because that is what really happens) certainly forces the poor to be in
uncomfortable situations. The rich are not necessarily exerting their dominance by control but
rather by intrusion.
Another encounter of diversity in class, which is an account of control, is talked about in the
“Shooting of an Elephant” by George Orwell. Here the distinction between classes is openly
discussed as power. The elephant issue proposed an internal conflict with which he ultimately
chose to unnecessarily shoot the elephant. The decision appears to be based on what people will
think, rather than what he thought was most appropriate for the situation. Maintaining the
appearance of power won out. In an attempt to validate his choice as correct, he offers up this
awkward rationalization:
“The owner was furious, but he was only an Indian and could do nothing.
Besides, legally I had done the right thing, for a mad elephant has to be killed,
like a mad dog, if its owner fails to control it…the younger men said it was a
damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was
worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie” (508).
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I was appalled by this thought, however, the theme here was similar to the theme in the other
readings. In the end, the life of a poor person was considered not worth as much as the animal.
The insights I have developed from these readings, is that overall the rich are portrayed as
being better than the poor in some way or other. For instance, regarding the murals, Mexican
murals in poor areas are barely considered art; as compared to high-class social art. The textual
approach of the slum tourism topic was very enlightening to me. It opened my mind to the fact
that rich people, good intentions or not, are still rich. Even when they are made aware of others
terrible lifestyles, in the end, they go back home to their rich lives, continuing to make the rich
get richer. The readings speak to each other as they have a common thread in spite of the
differences in topics and stories. Diversity in class is addressed and represented by financial
resources, power or lack of, physical separation, even artistic expression. In this course, these are
some of the objectives that have been achieved. I have thought critically and analytically about
representations of diversity as I discovered my opinions and beliefs about the poor versus the
wealthy. Written and visual genres have been rhetorically analyzed as I heard people’s voices
about an animal being worth more than a human being. Examination of a social group over
another group was addressed multiple times as seen with the shooting of the elephant as well as
the physical separation between levels aboard a ship.
Diversity in culture encompasses many aspects relating to human life and lives. In
examining my own beliefs and attitudes, I admit a few things. (1) Poor neighborhoods have
people with kind hearts; (2) the lifestyle of the rich is desirable; (3) my level of comfort is at its
highest when I am in the midst of middle-class people. Reading and analyzing these writings
about diversity has caused me much contemplation. Life at its best, I imagine, is having the
resources of a rich man and yet the heart of a poor one.
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Works Cited
Cockcroft, Eva Sperling and Barnet-Sanchez, Holly. “Signs from the Heart: California
Chicano Murals.” Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing.
Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman, 2012. 303-308. Print.
Greenhouse, Steven. “Worked Over and Overworked.” George and Trimbur. 404-412.
Odede, Kennedy. “Slumdog Tourism.” George and Trimbur. 518-519.
Orwel, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” George and Trimbur. 503-508.
Trachtenberg, Alan. “Reading American Photographs.” George and Trimbur. 489-495.