Category: Social inequality

Sociology is basically the development of human structure and this society. In order to make the society a better place we study the theories and concepts of sociology so that we can learn what this world demands from us and what we are actually giving to it.

There are a lot of sociology theories which we can apply to our daily life to reflect the positive results from it. Sociology emerged in the context of the sweeping changes that the Industrial Revolution brought to Europe. Two other factors operating at the time also encouraged the development of sociology. Every person has to learn these theories so that he would have enough knowledge about the social issues and he can select between right and wrong about it. “The investigations show how, under the apparent repetition of using objects, the ordinary hides a diversity of contexts, situations and also interests that reflect how people insert themselves into social positions” (De Certeau et al., 1998: 251–6). Following are two sociology concepts which can affect our work, home, and community life and influence our future learning opportunities.

Sociological imagination

C. Wright Mills, who created the concept and wrote a book about it, defined the sociological imagination as ‘the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society’. It is a way to critically think about something or ourselves so we can modify our actions in the right way.

In our work or home when we try to see and observe something deeply we develop a better understanding about it. And if you develop a better understanding you can make a better decision. Some people may think of a handful of external influences as having a direct impact on their lives – religion, family, or perhaps the media – but they do not always see complex interactions between different social forces. Sociological imagination develops that relationship between our minds and the society and provides us a better view of it by acting as a helping lens.

Social Inequality

Social inequality refers to the concepts of being superior of inferior to each other by means of status, fame, economy or intellect. It is causing a difference among the people and also increasing the internal hatred for each other. Discrimination in the legislation for people of different statuses also establishes social inequality. In our work, home and daily routine life we witness hundreds of cases of social inequality and the theory of sociology helps us understanding it. When we understand this theory we try to abolish the inequality among different people of the society just because of their physical appearance, culture, modernity and many other factors. Sociology inequality helps us in being tolerate and listening to the perspectives of other people rather than just hearing it. And in this way it increases the peace of the society and spreads love and respect in people for each other.

Conclusion

Hence, sociology concepts and theories not only positively influence thousands of people but also play a vital role in a man’s life, work or home. These theories broads the point of view of a person he becomes ready to accept anything in life and this behavior becomes the cause of their success.

References

1. Certeau, Michel de 1984: The Practice of Everyday Life. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Social inequality happens when people are treated differently than others because of their social or physical characteristics. There are many causes of social inequality, like one’s religion, race, sexual orientation and gender, which can lead to various social imbalances. The situation where men receive higher income than women is called the wage gap, which is a social inequality that is rooted in patriarchal society. This essay will discuss the nature of the wage gap in Brazil, its historical and modern context and what can be done to change it.

The wage gap is the difference between the salaries of women and men who have the same or similar qualifications. According to public information from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)1, a government agency, women have a higher level of school education than men, such as high school and college education. Despite the fact that the Brazilian population has about 2% more women than men, the values of the educational divergence are still very significant. For high school this difference is about 3%, but for college it is higher, around 10%. Some positions were imposed for women to occupy without basis, such as maids, nurses and teachers, and a large part of the female population in Brazil occupies traditional positions for women, like the ones mentioned above. At these jobs they usually have a heavier workload, and still receive less than men. In general the wage gap in this case is about 25%.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal at the end of the XV century, and it remained a colony until the XIX century. During this period the economy was based on exporting natural resources to the crown of Portugal, such as sugar and coffee. At that time society was based on sugar commerce, and women couldn’t leave the plantation without being accompanied by their husband or their eldest son. Women gained the right to vote only in 1932, but in 1937 a dictatorship started that was imposed by the same man who gave them the right to vote, so women couldn’t actually use their right. During the time of WWII women started to work to help the financial needs at home, but in 1964 a second dictatorship began and women could still work, but when they acted out against the government they were severely tortured, one example of this was Dilma Rousseff, who would later become the first woman president of Brazil. After the end of the military dictatorship women’s rights started to grow, but because of the history of a patriarchal society social inequality still exist for women.

Article 461 of the Consolidated Brazilian Labor Laws (CLT in Portuguese)2, guarantees that workers who occupy the same positions at the same company must receive equal salaries, despite their gender, ethnicity or age. The judicial branch of government should ensure that these laws are being properly applied, and they could do this by regularly auditing companies. Also a law should be made that guarantees that children learn the role of women in history at school, by adding these courses to the official school curriculum. Additionally, the entertainment industry must steer away from portraying women in traditional positions, such as nurses and maids, by showing men occupying these positions in movies and TV shows.

For further solutions governments should create gender equality tax laws and tax breaks. These could work like the following example. If a company has less than 45% of their workforce as women, it would pay higher taxes, and if it has more than 45% their taxes would be reduced. Finally, every country that is a member of the United Nations (UN) should have a committee comprised of women who are in charge of promoting women’s rights in their own country and they would be in charge of choosing one of their own members to participate at an international committee that has the same job as the other one, but with international impact. In conclusion, all of the arguments that have been shown regarding social inequality, such as the wage gap and patriarchal society, must be combated considering that they have a large negative impact on society.

Contrasts in social status are investigated to a great extent through the overcomplicated social progressive system of Maycomb, the intricate details of which always astound the kids. The generally wealthy Finches remain close to the highest point of Maycomb’s social progression, with the greater part of the townspeople underneath them. The racial worries that Harper Lee delivers in To Kill a Mockingbird started some time before her story starts and proceeded with long after. So as to filter through the numerous layers of partiality that Lee uncovered in her novel, the peruser needs to comprehend the unpredictable history of race relations in the South. Numerous states — especially in the South — passed ‘Jim Crow’ laws (named after a dark, minstrel show character), which seriously restricted how African Americans could take part in the public eye. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the ways for these laws in 1883 when the court decided that it couldn’t implement the fourteenth Amendment at the individual level.

The first Jim Crow law showed up in 1890; the laws expanded from that point and went on until the social equality development of the 1960s. Numerous whites at the time accepted that as opposed to advancing as a race, blacks were relapsing with the nullification of bondage. Southern holy places much of the time maintained this bigot thinking, which likewise helped give the Jim Crow laws a portion of their capacity. Incidentally, African American holy places were as liable to maintain the Jim Crow laws as white chapels were. The proceeded with abuse of one gathering over another is generally mental. The overwhelming gathering first uses power to acquire their capacity. Gradually, the gathering being persecuted starts to feel miserable that the circumstance can change and starts to accidentally become tied up with the mistreatment as the standard. Before the social liberties development picked up force, numerous African American houses of worship focused on helping their assemblages manage the mistreatment as opposed to attempting to end it. Jim Crow laws reached out into pretty much every aspect of open life. The laws stipulated that blacks utilize separate passages into open structures, have separate bathrooms and water fountains, and sit in the back of trains and transports. Blacks and whites were not permitted to be served nourishment in a similar room in an eatery, play pool together, share similar penitentiaries, or be covered in similar burial grounds. African Americans couldn’t play pro athletics with white partners or serve in the military with white fighters. Dark youngsters were taught in isolated schools. Dark hair stylists couldn’t look out for white female customers, and white female medical attendants couldn’t take care of dark male patients. Few out of every odd law applied in each state, however the Jim Crow laws were crippling and expansive, all for the sake of securing white culture and power. Examples of Prejudice include the following quotations:

“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (pg. 121)

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—” “Sir?” “—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (pg.16)

“Cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too.” (pg. 107)

“There’s some folks who don’t eat like us,” she whispered fiercely, “but you ain’t called on to contradict ’em at the table when they don’t. That boy’s yo’ comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?” (pg. 13)

In the novel, Scout and Jem, Scout’s more seasoned sibling, are cared for by Calpurnia, their dark maid. In spite of the fact that Scout imparts her disparities to Calpurnia, Calpurnia fills in as a mother-figure for the youngsters. She’s adored and regarded by Atticus, who recognizes that Calpurnia is taught. However, it is discourse that isolates the dark network from the white. Whenever Scout and Jem go to Calpurnia’s congregation, Scout takes note of that Calpurnia embraces an alternate discourse when she speaks with her kindred churchgoers: ‘That Calpurnia drove a humble twofold life never occurred to me. The possibility that she had a different presence outside our family was a novel one, to avoid even mentioning her having direction of two dialects’ (143). In spite of the fact that Scout and Jem battle with the possibility that Calpurnia communicates in two unique dialects, Scout regards Calpurnia for acing the two dialects since she requests to visit Calpurnia at her home. The trial of Tom Robinson fills in as the urgent and exceptionally foreseen minute in the novel. Tom Robinson is blamed for assaulting a youthful white lady named Mayella Ewell. The Ewell family need instruction and cash, speaking to the lower class.

As the most seasoned kid, Mayella turns into a mother figure for her more youthful kin. Also, the novel infers that Mayella is engaged with a forbidden association with her dad. While Atticus speaks to equity and ethical quality, Bob Ewell speaks to numbness and racial preference. All things considered, Bob Ewell’s complete name is Robert E. Lee Ewell, named after the general who directed the Confederate armed force. The name assumes a huge job considering the Confederate armed force spoke to southern slave states and their entitlement to grow subjugation, in this manner fortifying Bob Ewell’s bigotry. For Tom Robinson, we rapidly discover that he is indicted dependent on the shade of his skin. Prior in the novel, Scout relates that Atticus sees the Ewell family as ‘the disrespect of Maycomb’ (33). Be that as it may, in light of the fact that the Ewells are a white family, they hold a higher economic wellbeing. During the preliminary, it is suggested that Mayella allures Tom Robinson, and her dad, Bob Ewell, sees with dismay that his girl would share private affections for a dark man. Likewise, Bob Ewell’s response to his little girl kissing Tom Robinson demonstrates the dread of miscegenation. Atticus, in any case, makes progress toward equity. Atticus discloses the monstrous truth to Jem and Scout: ‘In our courts, when it’s a white man’s statement against a dark man’s, the white man consistently wins’ (251-252). Atticus shows sicken with white individuals exploiting a dark individual’s numbness’ (252). Besides, Atticus makes it obvious to his youngsters that prejudice exists.

“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (252).

The talk of race should show an open to instruction minute or minutes in the study hall, bringing about an advantageous result for all included and a superior comprehension of the issues of the past and the nearness of those issues in the present. The primary angle that ought to be examined is the title of the novel. The title is alluded to numerous occasions all through the book; the first is when Jem needs to take his firearm outside and he is told he can shoot the majority of the blue jays he might want yet not mockingbirds. The explanation for this is given legitimately by Miss Maudie Atkinson just as Atticus Finch: ‘I’d preferably you taken shots at tin jars in the back yard, yet I realize you’ll follow flying creatures. Shoot all the blue jays you need, in the event that you can hit them, however recall it’s wrong to kill a mockingbird.’ That was the main time I hear Atticus state it was just plain wrong to accomplish something, and I got some information about it. ‘No doubt about it,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do a certain something however make music for us to appreciate. They don’t gobble up individuals’ nurseries, don’t settle in corncribs, they don’t do a certain something however sing their hearts out for us. That is the reason it’s just plain wrong to murder a deriding winged creature’ (Lee 10.98). It is quite apparent that

Works Cited

1. ‘The Theme Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay – 2112 Words | Cram.’ Cram.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 27 Sept. 2019.
2. ‘To Kill A Mockingbird: Discrimination Against Race, Gender, And Class | The Artifice.’ The-artifice.com. N. p., 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2019.
3. ‘To Kill A Mockingbird Thesis Statements And Essay Topics.’ N. p., 2019. Web. 27 Sept. 2019.
4. ‘ To Kill A Mockingbird: Critical Essays | Racial Relations In The Southern United States | Study Guide | Cliffsnotes .’ Cliffsnotes.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 27 Sept. 2019.
5. ‘Sparknotes: To Kill A Mockingbird: A+ Student Essay.’ Sparknotes.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 27 Sept. 2019.
6. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York :Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee focuses on the social inequality in a few different forms during her novel. Most of the social inequality that we see throughout Lee’s story is because of the mindset that the people of Maycomb have and their unwillingness to change their ways. This view that the people of Maycomb have is due to the time when there was many cases of discrimination that included not only race, but also of wealth status and gender. The acts of social inequality are seen throughout To Kill a Mockingbird within reasons of color and wealth, especially in black communities that are seen to be considered inferior to white social classes.

Social injustice is one of the most reoccurring themes in Lee’s novel. The idea of social injustice is “a situation in which dominant population is made known of the inequity that leads for others due to their relative position in the structure of power” (Isioma). To Kill a Mockingbird gives an example of the southern culture that is found in America during the 1930s. Lee focuses on the social injustice of Tom Robinson, a black man that was charged with rape of a white woman.

During the trial of Tim Robinson, there are quite a few instances that Lee describes social injustice. There are examples that are seen in the trial that show that Robinson was not guilty but showed evidence that was against Mr. Ewell instead. Proving that Mr. Ewell abused his daughter, Mayella. By having him write his name, “You’re left-handed, Mr. Ewell” (Lee 201), showed everyone in the courtroom that the bruises and black eye came from Mr. Ewell and not Tim Robinson. Even though the evidence was in favor of Tim Robinson, the jury still decided to vote against him, “Guilty…guilty…guilty…guilty…” (Lee 240). With the jury playing a huge part in this trial, we can understand how the jury uses their own belief instead of the evidence that they were given during the case. This part of the novel really shows how unfair the court system is.

With his trial going to court and being in front of a jury shows that this is a step forward in the progression of social injustice. The jury took quite some time in deciding whether or not Robinson was guilty, “That jury took a few hours. An inevitable verdict, maybe, but usually it takes ‘em just a few minutes” (Lee 253).

The second act of social injustice that Lee shows, is about the Ewell family. Social injustice does not cover race, but also looks at the social hierarchy in a community. The Ewell family was really affected by this type of injustice. “Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (Lee 33). While we see the nature of Bob Ewell, the reader does not have any sympathy for the man. He is seen as violent and drunk father who refuses to work and does not value his children, or for the way that the community views him. His actions We really see the social injustice for Mayella, “She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance” (Lee 231). Unfortunately due to her father’s behavior around town and the reputation that he has required, the community has turned their back on the family.

Even though the Ewell’s are at the bottom of totem pole, they are still seen slightly more elevated than the black community. Because they understood that, that lead to starting the case against Tom Robinson. Bob Ewell knew that he could get away from his actions, even though everyone in the courtroom knew what he had to done to his daughter.

The last scenario that Lee focuses on is the social injustice of Boo Radley. Lee uses Boo to show how someone can experience the mistreatment of society based on the past actions of his early life. While he hides in his house all day, Maycomb discriminates against him by telling stories of him. Jem describes him as a “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks;…There was a long-jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 14). Based on the assumptions of Jem, we can see the prejudice that Maycomb has embedded into the mind of not only the adults, but also their children. Using the descriptions from that passage, Jem stereotypes Boo based on his actions, leading him to believe that he is a monster.

While this does come from the imagination of a young boy, many other members of the community have their own versions of him as well. Stephanie Crawford tells the neighborhood of how she saw him sneak around and look into her windows while she sleeps. These examples show evidence of social injustice, because the people in Maycomb really do not know much of Boo and the only way for them to feel like they understand him is to make assumptions about him.