Upper Class Life example essay topic

How Identities, Aspirations, and Achievements Of Two Females Were Affected By The Aspects of Family, Class, Gender, and Race The intent of this paper is to compare and contrast the ways in which the identities, aspirations, and achievements of two upper class females were affected by the aspects of family, class, gender, and particularly race. Race will be particularly scrutinized because the individual interviewed, Alesha (or Lee), is a female of Italian / Irish-French-German descent, whereas I am an individual of Mexican / Chinese descent. There are certainly discernible differences in the growth of an upper-class White female and the growth of a minority female, and it is my purpose to dissect those differences and explicate them in sociological terms, while touching upon how the issues of class and gender also have an effect. Lee was born into a family that was already very economically established due to the fact that her parents had her relatively late in life. She was born into a large family of three brothers and one sister, though all were the children of her parents previous marriages, and the only one that lived with her during the entire time that she lived with her parents was her sister, who was ten years older than her, yet the closest in age. Thus it would seem that her father had had considerable time to establish himself as the owner of three supermarkets in New York.

Her mother was a domestic engineer. Lee's family greatly values owning material things that are conducive to comfort. This evident in the mansion in which they inhabit, and the luxuries, such as the extravagant vacations taken and the numerous cars, and boats, they own. I was born into a newly economically established family. I am the youngest of two children, but was raised for the most part as an only child because my brother was eight years older and lived with my father during most of my youth, who left when I was very young. My mother was the sole supporter of me, economically an emotionally, for most of my life, and the role hat he played was very limited.

My family values saving money and only spending to impress others. Thesis evident in that everything purchased by our family is very ornate and extravagant, and usually to serve other people's viewing purposes. Lee's family background was very influential on the shaping of her identity. When she showed a serious interest in playing softball, her father connected with her in this arena of her life, but when she began to show a lack of interest, her father pressured her to continue. This drove her to keep playing and thus it became a part of her identity, in that softball became more than just a game, but part of who she was; it is as if she would not know what to do if she was not playing, even though she does not necessarily enjoy it all that much. Lee's identity in terms of how she views other was also influenced by family and also exposure to social forces.

Lee's mother and father grew up in primarily white, middle class home environments in New York and segregated from all other. Lee herself lived most of her life in predominantly all white neighborhoods, which were extremely high class. She attended primarily all white high schools and had very limited contact with minorities with the exception of a few Asians She rarely ventured out of her mostly white environment and thus developed strong stereotypes about based on familial influence in addition to things that she viewed in the media, through books, and through entertainment propaganda. I was also greatly influenced by family in the shaping of my identity. My mother valued education and my performance in school was very important to her. For many years, I took on the almost unrealistic, high expectations of my mother and thus it became part of my identity to always be at the pinnacle of my school.

Later I discovered that not all knowledge comes from learning institutions, that in order to be a more 'educated' person, I should not take school to the extremity that my mother had pushed me to, but explore other facets of life as well. So, my mother's exertion of pressure on me to well in academic arenas caused me to eventually deviate from her wishes in order to explore other areas that would thus become part of my identity. My perceptions of other that are part of my identity are also largely influenced by family and environment. My parents grew up in lower class homes in minority dominated inner city Los Angeles, and had far more exposure to other minorities than whites. I was born into a primarily white area, but only stayed for about the first eight years of my life.

After that Lived in an extremely culturally diverse area, and attended schools that were very multicultural. Thus my experiences with such rich diversity made me open to every ethnicity. Lee's aspirations in life consist of maintaining the same level of comfort, as her parents have furnished for her her entire life except she wishes to do this on her own. She is unsure of what avenue she would like to pursue in school, but she is somewhat pondering into psychology. Her aspiration for living an upper class life comes from her parents who have always given her everything she desired, not to mention the fact that she has witnessed the desires of everyone around her being satisfied, which consequently constructed an image of how she should try to live.

Her interest in psychology seems to stem from her desire to understand people, being surrounded by her parents who are controlled by money and who use money as a form communicating feelings. Her limited understanding of minorities and the issues surrounding them coming from such a segregated area and then being thrust into such a multicultural area, has also caused her to question people. My aspirations in life are to better the conditions of life of people, particularly women, in perhaps a law aspect. This interest stems from the fact that my parents, too, are controlled by money and tried to control me in the same way, telling me that 'possessions' will make for happiness, but through my experiences with them in this regard, I have only found unhappiness. This paper is an example of how the lives of two upper class females of different are different, even though right now we are in the same place.