Socioeconomic Status
Celeste McNamee
March 21, 2012
ENG 311
Dr. Martina Sciolino
Connection between teenage pregnancy and socioeconomic status As a resident of Mississippi for the majority of my life, I have become more familiar with teenage pregnancy than most. In addition, Mississippi was recently the focus of national news with the recent vote to illegalize abortion. T. C. Boyle chooses a debatable subject to write about drawing many discussions about ethics. However, Boyle attempts to bring more light to teenage pregnancy, and gives the reader a different side than commonly assumed about teenage pregnancy. Often assumptions are made about the socioeconomic status of the teenager that is expecting. This has attached a stigma to the female expecting, and …show more content…
The author purposefully informs the reaer of he class system the characters are categorized in. Boyle begins character development with the description of how in love the couple is by describing how close they are with each other’s families. By doing so the reader learns that China has a typical nuclear family as an only child with expectations of success. Confirmed by Boyle later in the short story he writes, “She was spoiled, he could see that now, spoiled by her parents and their standard of living and socioeconomic expectations of her class—of his class—and the promise of life as you like it, an unscrolling vista of pleasure and acquisition” (141). This quote characterizes China well, as well as provides the reader with the affirmation of her class status. Jeremy is grouped in with China when the author discusses the socioeconomic status of China. In addition the reader can also make assumptions about the characters’ socioeconomic statues based on the colleges chosen, or rather the talk of colleges and college …show more content…
In China’s own words the author recalls a previous statement made by China showing the common assumptions about teenage pregnancy. Boyle writes, “I will never, never be like those breeders that bring their puffed-up squalling little red-faced babies to class” (139). Breeders, makes the reader not only think of a large number of people because of teenage pregnancy, but people of low socioeconomic status because more people means more mouths to feed and less money. China just like many others take part in attaching this sort of stigma to teenage pregnancy, but this is the moment with the author severs those ties demonstrating to the reader that even someone of China’s status could become part of the percentage of teenage pregnancies. When discussed in class, the question was brought up, “How can someone educated make such a poor decision like this?” Early on in the story China does what the reader expects of someone in her socioeconomic status to be doing. The main character is focused on getting into a good school, and is in the top ten in her class. However, she ends up becoming part of a less desirable percentage on a camping trip with her boyfriend just before they head off to
March 21, 2012
ENG 311
Dr. Martina Sciolino
Connection between teenage pregnancy and socioeconomic status As a resident of Mississippi for the majority of my life, I have become more familiar with teenage pregnancy than most. In addition, Mississippi was recently the focus of national news with the recent vote to illegalize abortion. T. C. Boyle chooses a debatable subject to write about drawing many discussions about ethics. However, Boyle attempts to bring more light to teenage pregnancy, and gives the reader a different side than commonly assumed about teenage pregnancy. Often assumptions are made about the socioeconomic status of the teenager that is expecting. This has attached a stigma to the female expecting, and …show more content…
The author purposefully informs the reaer of he class system the characters are categorized in. Boyle begins character development with the description of how in love the couple is by describing how close they are with each other’s families. By doing so the reader learns that China has a typical nuclear family as an only child with expectations of success. Confirmed by Boyle later in the short story he writes, “She was spoiled, he could see that now, spoiled by her parents and their standard of living and socioeconomic expectations of her class—of his class—and the promise of life as you like it, an unscrolling vista of pleasure and acquisition” (141). This quote characterizes China well, as well as provides the reader with the affirmation of her class status. Jeremy is grouped in with China when the author discusses the socioeconomic status of China. In addition the reader can also make assumptions about the characters’ socioeconomic statues based on the colleges chosen, or rather the talk of colleges and college …show more content…
In China’s own words the author recalls a previous statement made by China showing the common assumptions about teenage pregnancy. Boyle writes, “I will never, never be like those breeders that bring their puffed-up squalling little red-faced babies to class” (139). Breeders, makes the reader not only think of a large number of people because of teenage pregnancy, but people of low socioeconomic status because more people means more mouths to feed and less money. China just like many others take part in attaching this sort of stigma to teenage pregnancy, but this is the moment with the author severs those ties demonstrating to the reader that even someone of China’s status could become part of the percentage of teenage pregnancies. When discussed in class, the question was brought up, “How can someone educated make such a poor decision like this?” Early on in the story China does what the reader expects of someone in her socioeconomic status to be doing. The main character is focused on getting into a good school, and is in the top ten in her class. However, she ends up becoming part of a less desirable percentage on a camping trip with her boyfriend just before they head off to