Simon 1 Isaac Simon Professor Filbeck English 114A November 26, 2013 Eradicate the Social Injustice The

wealthy already live stress free in regards to economic difficulties. Why should they also be treated like royalty, while the rest of us suffer from daily mind-blowing stress as well as not receiving the several benefits that are granted to the high-class? In our society, there is great inequality between social classes. The high-class are more likely to succeed with more opportunities while the less fortunate are bound to fail. A perfect example of social class inequality lies in Marjane Satrapis novel called Persepolis. In her book, she describes the traumatic experiences she underwent during the Iran-Iraq war. She informs the reader about how it was to live in Iran during the war, as well as sharing the point-of-views that the Persians had during this era. A major part of the novel is the difference of opportunities that her family had versus the less fortunate families; every citizen was treated differently depending on their social class. This situation is not only present in the book, but here in our society as well. The wealthy have many more opportunities than the lower class, thus affecting the chances of the lower class to succeed. Two examples of social class inequality include the military draft and education system, wars will directly affect the less wealthy because they will be the first to be drafted, and the education a rich child will receive is certainly different from one of which a poor child will receive. In Persepolis, Satrapis message to the reader is that the inequality in social classes is unjust and is a negative influence on our society. Something must be done to equalize the rights for social classes in order for society to grow

Simon 2 Its unfortunate that in society, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but its even more disappointing that the government encourages this inequality in social classes. Satrapis Persepolis reflects how the government truly does encourage this injustice. In this novel, the low-class children are being prepared to enter the war by telling them that they will be going to war when they are old enough. The teachers gave a cheap plastic key to the children and told them that if they went to war and were lucky enough to die, this key would get them into heaven (99). Its unacceptable that the government would allow the teachers to introduce such traumatic ideas to the children. The major concern with this conflict is that only the poor children were given this cheap key, by giving this item to the kids it became a symbol of how disposable the children are and how their only purpose was to sacrifice their lives. Coincidently the wealthy remained in their homes without a single worry in their minds. In Persepolis, there were several other benefits of being wealthy during the war. One specific perk is the amount of power one has. In this novel, a man who was once a window washer became the head of a hospital and was in charge of several life-changing decisions. The influence the man had as a window washer compared to now as a head of a hospital is incomparable. Its incredible how a low-class citizen could gain money and suddenly be in charge of critical life-threatening decisions. The man was clearly not qualified for the position simply because he had a chance to save Marjis uncles life and chose not to act quickly. Its enraging that the government would allow this man to take charge of a position he is not wellsuited for because of his sudden wealth; Satrapi expresses her shock through Marjis aunt as she says that All that creepy window washer had to do to become director of the hospital was to grow a beard and put on a suit! The fate of my husband depends on a window washer! Now hes so religious that he wont look a woman in the eye. The pathetic fool! (121). Her

Simon 3 astonishment is justified because the fact that one has money does not necessarily mean they are qualified for a high class job, especially with a window washer takes charge of a hospital. The social class inequality cost several lives in this case, therefore not only is it unjust but it is also causing the citizens to suffer. Sadly, the inequality in social classes reflected in Persepolis is not only presented in Iran, but also in our society. It may not seem as though our government is unjust in this sense but by realizing who will be drafted in war, its clear that our government supports inequality in social classes. In our last war the draft would pull more unfortunate men and women from the ranks of the underprivileged and underrepresented. (Gillard, The Draft: No Solution to Social Inequality). In the case of another war in the future, the probability of the government doing the same is high. What right does the government have to decide whether to fight or not for the lower and middle class? Although in a draft nobody has a choice, its still unequal due to the chance of a wealthy citizen being drafted is incredibly low. Our government also supports inequality in social classes by allowing the education system to provide more assistance to those with money. Studies performed by Peter Cookson Jr. have demonstrated that just the mere class consciousness in each school reproduce social class inequality. It shows that students undergo different class rites of passage depending on the socialclass composition of the high schools they attend (educationsector.org). Because school staff is always conscious of students social classes the education received in private schools or public schools in wealthy neighborhoods are far superior and advanced than those schools located in the low-class neighborhoods. The staff knows of the great opportunities available in wealthier schools; therefore put more of an effort to assist the students to thrive. The help offered and technology in the wealthy schools help the students succeed while the students

Simon 4 in low class schools underperform due to insufficient tools and several insensitive teachers. This unjustness affects the world because low levels of performance among the most disadvantaged create long-term problems, particularly in an economy in which higher skill levels are more and more valued and the wages available to less-skilled workers are deteriorating( Social Inequality and Educational Disadvantage, Russellsage.org). Unfortunately our government is setting up the less fortunate to fail in life, while the wealthy are succeeding and gaining more wealth. In Persepolis, Satrapi shows how the government not only allows social inequality, but also encourages it. By sending those poor young children to war instead of the strong and wealthy adults, the Iranian government reveals its inhumanity and its support towards social class inequality. The Iranian government also allows a measly window washer to become the head of a hospital; this decision is not only preposterous but also risked many lives due to his under qualification for the job. It would be great to say that this social inequality is only represented in other countries, but that would be false. Our government allows the wealthy to get richer and the poor to get poorer by granting the rich more opportunities. The education system clearly supports social class inequality since the wealthy schools help the students succeed while the low class schools on the other hand, are not succeeding due to their lack of resources. This system allows the rich more opportunities to become wealthier while the chance for a low class child to succeed deteriorates. For these reasons I strongly agree with Satrapis negative point-of-view towards society and its inequality. The governments support for societys inequality causes the poor to suffer even more and the wealthy to flourish. Its quite unjust to allow the government to help the rich succeed more when there are underprivileged citizens in dire need of help. The government should be more conscious of its decisions because due to this inequality, the low-class will surely die out and the middle-class citizens will be next.

Simon 5 If the government would like society to prosper, it should figure out how to equalize the opportunities for all social-classes.

Simon 6 Works Cited Cookson Peter. Class Rules: Exposing Inequality in American High Schools. Educationsector.org. Education Sector, 30 August 2013. Web. 7 December 2013. Gilliard, Steve. The Draft: No Solution to Social Inequality. Alternet.org. Alternet, 21 November 2006. Web. 20 November 2013. Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon, 2003. Print. 26 November 2013 Social Inequality and Educational Disadvantage. Russelsage.org. Russell Sage Foundation, N.D. Web. 20 November 2013.