Megan Philbin

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Globalization and deindustrialization stole countless jobs from Middletown and social problems such as child abuse, unemployment and violence increase. Those who have money leave, while others are trapped, losing hope, and at risk of succumbing to these prevalent problems

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU This has affected the way I read because a living individual experienced this in their life. Vance writes his story for readers to capture true moments of his life. While other texts been interesting, this memoir exposes a different and broader perspective of the working-class.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU This memoir exposes difficult topics such as how Vance survived his mother's drug addiction and many hapless stepfathers. The text exposes the idea of "learned helplessness" throughout his community and he gives no hope for working class Americans.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Although it does expose the culture of poverty, it also gives a sense of what his life was like with controversial topics such as alcoholics and abusers growing up.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Vance is an American author and venture capitalist. His memoir was the best seller in 2016. I agree with the compassionate analysis of the white underclass. Vance tells his chaotic childhood in Ohio, where part of his family migrated from Kentucky's Appalachian region.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Mango Street is becoming more culturally diverse, that is why Cathy's family left. Esperanza never fears her neighborhood because she knows outsiders avoid "her people." But when Esperanza enters a non-Chicano ethnic neighborhood she gets scared. She does not feel she belongs.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Esperanza's struggling with something bigger than herself. She not only is a working-class female, but she has Latin-American heritage that's stereotypically another challenge. She has to find a way to blend in with her identity but not forget how her culture has shaped her.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Sara and Esperanza both have goals to sustain a life a better than the one they are living one day. They both believe that their families are the ones holding them back. However, for Esperanza, her culture takes a larger tole on her ambition to achieve success and happiness.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU Esperanza's similar to Sara in the concept of family because they both want to create a life of their own. However, Esperanza feels responsible for her family while Sara is resentful and escapes her community. Both protagonists feel outcasts in their own family.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU These authors are focusing on how America has changed from the land of hope and freedom to hate and destruction. They want readers to understand that the path black individuals have to take to reach success is hundreds of times longer and more difficult than for white people.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU These texts open our eyes to a new perspective of individuals in the working class during this time. We have mainly been focused on the struggle for The American Dream and endless cycle. Now, we are exposed to the constant stereotypes individuals of color experience as well.

[Megan Philbin @MeganPhilbin2]

@WorkingClassTCU I think this is a reality check for individuals to realize their privilege. Before the pandemic, I rarely thought about the struggles individuals in the working class experienced. Now, I am aware of the fear these individuals have living paycheck after paycheck during this time.