Cantu: Chapters 12 & 13

"If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other?

 If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?"

Jem Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird

I can't imagine studying racism in a sociology classroom without reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.  Nor would a discussion about class conflict be complete without examining F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.  Greenhaven Press, the publisher of the Opposing Viewpoints Series, has introduced a series for the behavioral sciences called, Social Issues in Literature.  Viewing significant social issues through the lens of great works of literature enriches student understanding and broadens the perspective from which they can assess the significance of that issue in society today.

Below is part of a lesson I created using literature to teach diversity:

People who have what they want are very fond of telling people who  haven't what they want that they really don't want it, And I wish I could afford to gather all such people into a gloomy castle  on the Danube and hire half a dozen capable Draculas to haunt it. I don’t mind their having a lot of money, and I don't care how they  employ it, But I do think that they damn well ought to admit they enjoy it. But no, they insist on being stealthy About the pleasures of being wealthy, And the possession of a handsome annuity Makes them think that to say how hard it is to make both ends meet is  their bounden duity. You cannot conceive of an occasion Which will find them without some suitable evasion. Yes indeed, with arguments they are very fecund; Their first point is that money isn't everything, and that they have no  money anyhow is their second. Some people's money is merited, And other people's is inherited, But wherever it comes from, They talk about it as if it were something you got pink gums from. Perhaps indeed the possession of wealth is constantly distressing, But I should be quite willing to assume every curse of wealth if I could  at the same time assume every blessing. The only incurable troubles of the rich are the troubles that money can't  cure, Which is a kind of trouble that is even more troublesome if you are poor. Certainly there are lots of things in life that money won't buy, but it's  very funny -- Have you ever tried to buy them without money?  Nash, Ogden.  “The Terrible People.”  I Wouldn’t Have Missed It: Selected Poems of Ogden Nash.  Toronto:  Little, Brown and Company, 1975.  25.  Print.  Five Questions for the Reader:

 (Class) Is the author a part of the social class he is describing? The author is able to be in conversations with the very wealthy.  This shows that he must have some common social bond to be invited to these occasions (as he calls them).  He uses words like: Danube, annuity, fecund, merited and inherited that demonstrates he has an understanding of how these terms relate to money.

 (Class) Is it the author’s view that money is a good thing or a bad thing? The author has nothing against money itself and is rather glad he has it.  What he does have a serious problem with are individuals that take it for granted and do not notice that others might be having financial, social, or physical troubles. 

 (Community Influence) Why is there a public expectation to hide wealth? There’s a prevailing thought that this goes back to Protestantism’s roots in developing capitalism (Calvinism).  It is considered rude to discuss money openly and should not be done with members of a lower social class.  Obviously, there are many trappings of the wealthy that set them apart visually.  Some of those differences (where they shop, eat, stay) may allow for them to spend openly without condemnation or be taken advantage of by those who could not afford to do the same.  It also keeps the wealthy from experiencing the realities of those outside their class.

 (Socio-economics) What are the “incurable troubles of the rich”? Scarcity (not having enough of what one wants) is something that is experienced by the rich and poor.  These wants and needs are dramatically difference between the classes, but all people experience relationships with others and loss of one kind or another.  If relationships are the most important thing for human beings to have, then money cannot solve for all the problems couples and families face.

 (Socio-economics) What does this poem say about happiness? A recent Princeton University study showed that happiness, as it relates to wealth, peaks at $75,000 a year.  It stated that beyond that amount, more material items could be obtained, but that the general feeling of well being on a daily basis did not improve.  However, life-satisfaction for people did increase as their income went up to this point.  If the median salary for Americans is $50,000 then not only is their desire for the majority of Americans to continue to be productive, but households that have either two incomes or professionally employed individuals are happier.  Education and marriage play a role in this figure.

  Summary:  Poem by American satirical poet Ogden Nash.  Written in the first person, the poem is highly critical of wealthy individuals who are condescending to the poor.  He uses irregular poetic meter made up of rhyming couplets that fall until the very end, in which a rising rhyme is employed to ask the reader a question.  Nash takes liberty with his spelling of some words in order to have a pattern of similar sounds, or assonance.  He uses humor to get across his point of view in an entertaining manner allowing him to discuss what would otherwise be a touchy subject.  The New Yorker magazine for which this was first written, is a publication targeted at high-income individuals mainly living within New York City.  It is known for its witty commentary of popular culture and Ogden Nash was a regular contributor.  The poem was first published in 1933, following the worst year of the Great Depression and I believe that Nash’s purpose was to admonish those who still had opportunity and wealth into considering their responsibilities to the poor (very Calvinist idea - see below).

Reflection:  I chose this poem because I was familiar with the author and enjoy using satire and humor to teach political and economic concepts.  As a future high school social studies instructor, I am aware that students find these topics irrelevant to their current lives and outside their sphere of influence.  This poem would be effective in teaching a lesson on the history of capitalism and the current debate over income inequality.  We could discuss Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations and I could explain the negatives he warned against: informal markets and avarice.  A sociological discussion about what is free will and meritocracy allows for debate and discussion on equity and social class.  Drawing from the poem’s Depression Era roots, the concept of scarcity could be covered and how that affects prices.  As a major part of this discussion, I would teach basic macroeconomic concepts and vocabulary such as: maximizers versus satisfiers, opportunity cost, and normative economics versus positive economics, as it is important for students to understand the difference between feelings and facts.  We could discuss the current state of the national economy and how globalization and technology have hurt unskilled workers, particularly minority teenagers.  I would not go into a discussion about Calvinism and Protestantism with the themes mentioned above, rather I could go back to this poem and its ideas at another time when the impact of the Protestant Reformation on current society was discussed.