Amanda Williams Sociology 1010 November 2013

Short Paper #4: Social Stratification

For my paper I decided to compare and contrast a neighborhood both South Jordan and West Valley. I chose these two locations because I feel they differ in social class. In this paper I will compare the physical appearance of the people in each neighborhood, as well as the condition and safety of the two neighborhoods. Comparison of physical appearance of people: While observing South Jordan some differences I observed compared to West Valley were: the people in South Jordan wore really nice clothing that was fitted well, most of it was trendy and name brand. They wore clothing from places like Hollister, American Eagle, Vans etc., even the parents wore vans and converse shoes!!! The young adults and young parents appeared to be really done-up meaning the girls had their hair curled and had make-up on and the boys looked clean cut with fresh haircuts. In West Valley however many of the people had clothing that looked like it could be hand-me-down because it was more worn, less fitted, and was less trendy. I think this is due to the simple fact that most of the people in South Jordan have higher incomes than people in West Valley. In South Jordan people seemed to be very physically fit and appeared to be healthy. In West Valley the people were a little more heavy set. I think this is a very important difference because when social stratification occurs many things are affected that most people dont really think about. Some examples are physical health, mental health, family, politics and religion. In

this case it appears that the people in West Valley have poorer health due to lower income. The book talks about 3 reasons for poorer health among those of the lower class. They are as follows: doors to medical care are closed to the poor. Many people in this lower class dont have the money to afford high quality health care; in fact sometimes they cant afford any at all. The poor have an unhealthier lifestyle. People in lower social classes are more likely to smoke, eat lots of fats, be overweight and abuse drugs and alcohol. Life is hard on the poor. The persistent stresses they face cause their bodies to wear faster. The last thing that I noticed about the physical appearance of those in South Jordan and West Valley was the difference of race among the two neighborhoods. While observing South Jordan I didnt see a single person that wasnt white. Not even one! In West Valley however I observed that there were a lot of different races and ethnicities. I saw Asians, African Americans and Latinos. The most dominant race in this neighborhood was Latinos. A statistic that I found in the book stated that 22 percent of Latinos and 25 percent of African Americans live in poverty. This shows the social stratification that occurs from race. In the book they compare the percentage of poverty among race/ethnicity while including their education level. This was the chart:

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 White Americans Asian Americans Latinos African Americans High School Dropout #s on left represent percentage in poverty High School Graduate College Graduate College Dropout

As you can see from the chart, the ethnic minorities with the same educational background as whites are still more likely to end up poor. Race plays an enormous role in social stratification. Comparison of appearance of neighborhood: In South Jordan I observed that the houses were very nice, they looked brand new. Even their lawns were in great condition. Everyones lawn was mowed; their flowerbeds were tidy and didnt have any weeds. The neighborhood itself was in great condition. The streets looked newly paved, the street signs looked new and the grass in the common areas looked freshly mowed. I also noticed that the trees in the neighborhood were small so Im assuming it was a relatively new neighborhood. In West Valley however the houses were a lot older and run down. The yards looked neglected and the streets looked old and worn out. South Jordans neighborhood appeared to be in better condition than the neighborhood in West Valley. Comparison of safety in each neighborhood: In South Jordan I observed that the people seemed to be very friendly, especially the children. While I was walking through the neighborhood I walked by some children who were playing in their front yard on the other side of the street. One of the children yelled out hi so I said hi back and she began talking to me. During that brief conversation I realized that the children didnt have anyone watching them. As I kept walking through the neighborhood I began to notice more and more children that were playing outside without adult supervision. I also noticed that many of the houses had things left outside that could potentially be stolen. These observations lead me to the conclusion that this neighborhood was very safe. In West Valley however, I did not get that impression. There were hardly any people playing outside and from some of the stories Ive heard about West Valley, there is a lot of crime. I observed West Valley

with a friend that lives there. In the neighborhood that we were observing he pointed out two houses that had drug dealers living there. There is often more crime in lower class neighborhoods. In the book it talks about how people of the lower classes are more likely to be in prison, on probation, or on parole. In addition, because the people tend to commit crimes in or near their own neighborhoods, the lower classes are more likely to be robbed, burglarized, or murdered. Through observing each neighborhood I concluded that South Jordan is in the upper middle class, which consists of people with a college or university education who are usually professionals and upper managers. I came to this conclusion because the people there drove nice cars, owned new houses and wore trendy clothes. Also, because I observed when most people are getting off work, I saw that a lot of the people were wearing dress clothes, which I assumed meant that they were white collar workers. I think the neighborhood in West Valley was lower middle class because they had older cars and houses, more crime and pan handlers and homeless on the streets surrounding the neighborhood. While going through the neighborhood I noticed there were a lot of trucks. At first I had no idea why, then I realized that it is most likely because a lot of the people in the neighborhood were blue collar workers and needed a truck to transport the supplies they needed for their job. Through these observations I have compared the physical appearance of the people in each neighborhood, as well as the condition and safety of each neighborhood.