Culture, Structure, Agency
"It’s time like this that makes me feel that I’m moving up in the world. You sitting here, on the beach, drinking fancy wine, and you talking about stuff. Not baby daddy stuff." (Ray, 206)
(Culture, Structure, or Agency)
What is culture?
Why does Ashley consider their beach day to be indicative of her status?
(What symbols is she equating with success)
- Quality of their conversation
Name at least two ways the Port City youth thought you should celebrate a birthday?
- casino bar
- fancy club
-fancy restaurant
How do the youth in Port City define the American Dream?
(give examples)
- Avoiding early parenthood
- graduating high school
- attending college
"Youth had to make frequent irreconcilable choices like these—between school or family, romance or work, school or work." (Ray, 209)
(Culture, Structure, or Agency)
What is Agency?
Explain the ways in which a clean house represents success through the symbolic interactionist lens
multiple questions accepted
What is the name of the beach in the book that many youth frequented in the summertime?
-Sequence Beach
What was the affect of Port City youth feeling the need to detest symbols associated with their class?
- marginalized others in their community
-made others feel embarrassed/ ashamed
In what ways did the structure of Port City impede the youth's ability for upward mobility?
multiple answers accepted
Compare Ashley's party to Tamara's. Using the symbolic interactionist theory, explain which party better represented a higher social status.
(Name the symbols and ask a question a symbolic interactionist would want to answer)
How much was the bottle of wine they drank at the beach? How does Ashley's reaction to the wine correlate to Port City youth's idea of class ranking?
- $10
-multiple answers accepted
What are some symbols in your hometown that demonstrate class. Explain how it affects your personal sense of success.
- multiple examples accepted