The War Between Classes

Literary journal 1 Being human is the most terrible loneliness in the universe a lyric from the band Simple Plan. By reading stories, they take us not away from ordinary life, but into it. What then is so comforting about reading what everyone else does? People long to fit in, its part of human nature. Perhaps this serves as a clue. Reading offers the perfect escape. It allows us to become the character, which provides an escape from reality. In our minds we build our lives up to be something theyre not. Reality is only what we believe it to be. Perhaps this is what we find so comforting; reading makes us normal, which is one of our greatest desires.

Literary journal 3 In society people are separated by social class, culture and sex. In Mr. Oteros class the categories are stereotyped. People generally agree that classes are mostly divided but not completely. For example; sometimes people could be between upper class and middle class. In Mr. Oteros class he does not allow higher classes to talk to lower classes. However in western society this is not generally the case. In certain instances very wealthy families help out or befriend poor people. In Vancouver the divisions between classes definitely do exist. For example people from the north shore (generally upper or middle class) do not normally interact with people in the down town east side (lower class). This leads us back to the original statement; people do stereotype and are stereotyped according to social class, culture and sex.

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There are many reasons why an individual tends to like some people and not others. In general, people become friends with those who are in close proximity. For example if one person is in the majority of another persons classes then the pair is likely to talk, and become friends. According to The ABCs of Liking, another reason people become friends is due to similarities, or common ground. People also become attracted to others because of physical characteristics. According to the article, no matter what people say, they are always going to judge other based on their looks. Beauty is a greater recommendation than any other letter of introduction, Aristotle once said. As soon as we see people we judge them. Fact; people like beautiful people, and everyone wants to be friends with them. These are some of the reasons that we choose the friends that we do.

Literary journal 5 Sexism is when people treat others differently according to their gender. In real life sexism is practiced from childhood, without people really even noticing. For example a young boy is expected to play with trains, cars and soldiers, whereas girls wear dresses, pink and play with dolls. If someone of a certain gender breaks these typical concepts then they are considered strange. In some cultures around the world sexism is more widely ingrained. As an example in some countries women are not allowed to attend school or go to work. In Canada sexism is not as extreme, but it still exists. Another example of peoples prejudiced views is that men provide for the family, and women have to do all of the house work. This is unfair because women are just as capable of holding and in many cases do hold a steady job. Truth be told people are still born into sexist environments, these environments just happen to not be as extreme anymore.

Literary journal 6 Ethnicity and cultural background are a giant part of us; they shape us into who we are. However people should not be stereotyped and thought of as smarter only based on cultural background or ethnicity. In Canada Asian immigrants are often thought to excel in maths and sciences, but do worse in English courses. This stereotype likely comes from the belief that they practice more maths in Asian schools than we do in Canada. Certain people would disagree with the previous statement however because there are many Asian immigrants who dont excel in maths and sciences. In The War Between Classes, Adams sister says youre only good at math because youre oriental. This is the same as what was stated earlier. People judge others academic ability according to ethnicity.

Literary journal 7 Money can sometimes buy things that will make you happy but it doesnt mean that money is always going to make you happy. What is money without time to spend it? People never realize the value of health until they actually are sick. For example a girl was told she had three days left to live. Now shes not going to wish for money that would not make her happy, all she would want is more time. In our vanity and selfishness we believe that money is our solution to everything. Next time try asking yourself this. Is it really going to save my relationship or is it going to heal the gap between a parent and their children? Is money going to be there as a shoulder to cry on, or to comfort one in their rage? So may you realize that money is an illusion of joy? When dawn fades to dusk health and relationships will be what truly please us. Literary journal 10
Those who live on welfare are not necessarily lazy or uninterested in work. Perhaps they wish to get a job but are not properly educated. Maybe if they had the money they would like to study at university. Welfare certainly would not be able to cover the costs of university or even small collages. This then creates a never ending cycle. Educated or not, getting a job is not easy. People on welfare may have a disability that makes work difficult to find. Certain elders live on welfare as well, they are not lazy. These people may have already spent a lifetime working and are retired. Education is indeed the latter to economic success. Without a high school degree of education, work is very difficult to find. There are a very small handful of decent paying jobs that do not require a decent education. Life guarding for example, requires a tonne of knowledge, and money for certain classes. If a person does not have money to begin with, to pay for education then they will not be able to get a job.

Literary journal 11 Often it is important to be part of a rich culture because it gives people a sense of being. Our culture is like a guide in life, it teaches people how to act. Along with rich culture, it is also beneficial to dig through ones family history. Doing so may result in secrets from the past being discovered. If an observer were to look in to a friends history, it could be important to the observer. Our history tells a lot about us; therefore it is a quick key to easy information about people. Amy Sumoto is from a very strict Japanese family. Although she often dislikes her culture, she learns to love it in this chapter. She feels accepted by it, and is very appreciative of her familys loyalty to Japanese culture. Amy is just a prime example of how important heritage is.

Chapter 9 questions 1. When Amy and Adam met at the beginning of the chapter, they had a little dispute involving jealousy. However they worked things out. Both of them realized they were acting dumb so they made up and teamed up. 2. Amy worries that if Adam got mad at Amy then he might think of her as a Jap. She is also worried because he provided no explanation about the weekend. 3. Dana does not like Amy because she does not trust her. Dana believes that Juan & Amy might be spies planted by Mr. Otero. 4. Amy Bowing to everyone demonstrated her loyalty to the oranges. 5. It was not fair for Amy to ask Adam to do her paper, however it was just. Adam had previously asked Amy to do his. Both of them should just do their own work. 6. Amys idea was to create four color armbands for everyone to wear, not just the color game players. She got the idea from Germans who made the Jews wear starts on their sleeves to identify themselves. 7. Next week the meeting place was to be a Juans house. It will be different because Juan is probably half or a quarter as wealthy as Adam. Juans house will be smaller and less extravagant.