Analysis of "class in America--2006" by Gregory Mantsios

The essay "Class in America--2006" by Gregory Mantsios discusses how class in America affects a person's life. Mantsios believes people simply don't like talking about class or labeling themselves as being part of a certain class. The essay states four myths about class in the United States and then with evidence Mantsios proves the myths false. The argument is that in fact class affects several different aspects of life whether Americans want to believe it or not. Class affects ones schooling, how far one will go to school, what job one will have, and how one was raised.

I went into reading this essay with an open mind. I put all my beliefs about class and its meaning behind me. I feel Mantsios took on a hard job of arguing why people don't like to talk about class and how class affects everyone's lives but he did a great job at presenting and supporting his points. The Myths were clearly stated and then with supporting evidence and examples Mantsios thoroughly proved them false. One example would be when Mantsios wanted to show how class affects peoples schooling. Using Richard De Lone's data on college students SAT scores and comparing that data to past research on the correlation between class and education level, it was found that "students from upper-class families were twice as likely to obtain training beyond high school and four times as likely to attain a post-graduate degree" (Mantsios 315). Mantsios then had reasonable evidence to state "class standing has a significant impact on chances for educational achievement" (Mantsios 315). This statement helped refute a lot of the myths that were listed. I agree with most of what Mantsios stated in his essay. It would be hard to go against what he stated with all the evidence and data there was to support his claims and argument.

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