Sociology is defined as the study of how groups influence peoples behaviors, with a

specific reference to how people are influenced by society; a group of people who share a
particular culture and territory. It specifically refers to the social contexts in which people live
and how these social contexts influence peoples behaviors (Henslin, 2012 p. 4). During her
senior year in high school, while shopping for her senior prom, Marisela Benavidez was
surprised at the fact that her dress costed $150. She explained to her friends that she thought that
the dress was one of a kind (Thorpe, 2009, p.15).
The response the other girls gave to Marisela showing off her dress is a textbook example
of how people can be socialized into their beliefs. The girls have differing views on which price
for a dress is the more expensive type due to differing manners in which they were brought up.
Mariselas parents had illegally brought her across the border. They decided to move to Colorado
in 1996 when Marisela was ten in order to chase the American Dream.
The Benavidez familys concern for how their children would be influenced inspired their
decision to move to Denver, Colorado in 1996 when Marisela was ten. Aridness provided by the
Colorado environment made the parents feel that their kids would be far better off in this area.
Fabian and Josefas aim to maintain the cultural integrity of their previous lifestyle in Durango,
Mexico reflects their reluctance against the norms defined in American society.
This is further reflected when Josefa, Mariselas mother states that she wants all her
children always to be behind a desk (Thorpe, 2009, p. 38 paragraph three). Josefa and her
children grew up in different environments and thus, held differing views over which kind of
lifestyle was ideal for success. Josefa did not know how to read or write and only held a job at a
Further to the disagreement of her parents, Marisela began going to nightclubs with her
cousin Roman Ortega when she began high school. Evidently, she enjoyed a very active social
life. Armed with her fake school id, Marisela often enjoyed sneaking in on Denvers night clubs.
Fabian and Josefa saw this type of behavior as deviant and were greatly opposed to their
daughters love of social life (Thorpe, 2009, p. 39). Her parents held differing views about how
her life should turn out. They believed that America was fundamentally ruining their daughters
life.
Marisela and her friends learned that Americans do not view fathers attending their kids
proms as customary. In other words, Americans do not see this as the norm. Their main folkway
seems to be sending the students to attend proms independently with their dates. Students are
used to spending private time with their dates. Consequently, they view having parents at prom
as deviant (Lee, 2014 p. 16).
Deviance also takes a hold in Mariselas life when she began high school. She desired not
to tell her parents where she was going, for fear of being met with backlash from her parents.
Mariselas parents are best described as people experiencing a cultural shock. Fabian and Josefa
are not used to the idea that their daughter is fascinated with the nighttime social lifestyle
(Thorpe, 2009, p. 39). The process of hanging out with her cousin Roman Ortega lands Marisela
in the deviant category.
Mariselas life is best characterized as one filled with conflicting interests. Emil
Durkheim stated in his philosophy that one of the key predictors of suicide rates is social
integration; the degree to which somebody is connected to their social groups. An individual
with weaker ties to their social groups are at an increased risk of suicide (Henslin, 2012 p.7).
When Mariselas parents find out about their daughters sexual life, they feud with her regarding
basic things she aspired to do in life. Her life in the Denver Night Club scene pulls her away
from supporting her parents, but she is also being dragged in another direction by the viewpoints
of her parents (Thorpe, 2009 p.40). . This represents a weakening of her ties to her social groups,
which puts her at a higher risk for suicide as Durkheim stated. It even leads her to try taking her
own life by deliberately overdosing on Tylenol. From this incident, we know that Marisela is not
being given enough ground on which to find out where she really belongs during her time in high
school.
Mariselas social ties see an improvement after she begins to attend the University of
Denver. However, she still feels that her ties with her family back home are not strong enough.
Her strong ties to the college community fit Durkheims definition of social integration. Her
quick transition into the college life still remains opposite to the kind of life she has lived while
back home with her parents (Thorpe, 2009 p.129). They hold differing normative ideas, which
identify someones beliefs about what kind of behavior are socially acceptable.. Mariselas
splashy and social personality allowed her dorm which she also shared with Yadira to become a
hub of social activity, causing three visitors to drop by within only thirty minutes (Thorpe, 2009
p. 116).
It could also be inferred that Fabian and Josefa display more class consciousness when
they decide to move to Denver. They wanted to keep their social class uninterrupted by things
such as Mariselas deep affection for the Denver nightclub scene.
Marisela cites her comfort and inspiration to keep going from living with someone who
understood what is was like to transition from the Roosevelt High School to the University of
Denver. This has helped her to avoid further plunging into a state of failure to know her true
identity. However, her integration is not to the point where she feels comfortable telling her true
life story to her classmates.
From Marisela and Yadiras experiences compared to that of their friends, we can see
social stratification. There is structured inequality among entire groups of people with different
access to social rewards because of their position on the social hierarchy. According to Thorpe,
the girls were bifurcated along the lines of legal standings. Even though she does not support
illegal immigration, her time spent with Marisela and Yadira has taught her that their lack of
documents is the chief reason why they are unable to enjoy the basic rights that their friends and
enjoy (Thorpe, 2009 p.149).
Cultural shocks occur when somebody has a difficult time adjusting to the culture of a
certain area, mainly because they are new. Zulema, one of Almas friends, feuded with her 13-
year-old cousin over adjusting to the new living arrangement. The key factor which made it even
more difficult for Zulema to adjust to the new living arrangements was the fact that she had
barely completed her first year at Abraham Lincoln High School (Thorpe 2009, p.160).
My research on children coming to the US illegally is most optimally conducted through
analysis of documents. This means that I plan on examining newspapers, books, immigration
records, bank record or any other written sources (Henslin, 2012 p.30). By examining documents
such as immigration records, I can find out how many different times children immigrating to the
United States have had to change and adjust to different societies before they came to the United
States. The Benavidez family moved first to Bakersfield, California back to Durango and then to
Denver, Colorado in 1996 when Marisela was ten mainly because Mariselas parents were very
nostalgic Mexico and felt as though Denver resembled Mexico in the most accurate manner
(Thorpe, 2009 p.38). Because their family moved that many times, it was very difficult to
become socially integrated with any particular group. Bank records can shed some light
regarding what the immigrants value.
I hypothesize that being an illegal immigrant in the United States, coupled with switching
residences within the United States places children at a greater risk for physical, mental and
emotional abuse. My independent variables consist of: the legal status of the immigrant, different
addresses they may have had if any. This is best explained by whether or not the immigrants
have legal documentation, including a green card and social security number. Marisela becomes
increasingly concerned over whether or not she would be able to lead a meaningful United
States, compared to her friends Elissa and Clara (Thorpe, 2009 p.19).
My dependent variables consist of: employment records, tax returns filed. The
employment status of the parents matters the most because that dictates the future status of the
children. Yadiras job makes only $6.50 per hour, and she still manages to help Zulema stock her
wardrobe. If translated to a yearly salary, this is well below the family of four poverty cutoff of
$23,850. Thus, Yadira would be classified as poor at the time (Thorpe, 2009, p.160-161).


Works cited
Scheuble, L Lecture 2014 THE_Stratification Gender though age fill in the blank University
Park, The Pennsylvania State University
Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: a down-to-earth approach. 10th ed. Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson Inc., 2012. Print.

Thorpe, Helen. Just Like Us. New York: Simon & Shuster Inc., 2009. Print.