Classification in Society

[Kayla]

In The Outsiders society and class is a major theme and causes a great deal of conflict for the characters in the novel. Society and class has been prevalent since the beginning of time. Gaps between the rich and the poor or racially based treatment differences have always been around and will probably always be around. Classification of people isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it can be like in The Outsiders. Society and class has been a problem throughout history and it needs to stop.
In The Outsiders the Socials (Socs) and the greasers are separated and treated different, the Socs being the superior group of people. Mainly, groups of people are separated due to their income or intelligence. In other cases it is their race that separates them from others, determining how they are seen and treated in society. Ever since the earliest of years there has been a difference in treatment due to whom one is. A great deal of time ago, the Egyptians had a social pyramid classifying where a person was based on what they did for a living. In the early 1900s the rich and tycoons were one group being held up by all the workers and poor people in America. In the mid 1900s skin color separated America into the whites and colored, colored people being treated badly. As shown, classification has been a problem for a very long time because of bad treatment for one particular group.
Classification in society wasn’t only a problem in society in history; it is still a problem today. The difference between the middle class and the rich are significantly different today. The high percentages of middle class Americans are all experiencing the same monetary problems. The government taxes the middle class a great deal, taking money from their paychecks. The tax systems aren’t fair, with the middle-class paying more taxes than the rich. As of the year 2015, the middle-class paid 9.4 percent of their income while the rich paid only 5.4 percent. (cnbc.com) The system shouldn’t be like this; income tax should be balanced out better between the different classes of people ion America.