Monopoly-Social Class

The monopoly game that we played in class made the idea of social class more obvious for me. I was the member of the upper class, and the game was a breeze for me. I had all the money I needed, and never struggled when I lost money, and I profitted greatly from other people's losses. The members of lower classes though had an extremely difficult time. The person in our group who was from the lower-middle class became very frustrated in his inability to move up in class, or even keep himself at the level that he began at. This was very symbolic of real life, since people at the bottom struggle to stay at the level they are at, and it is almost impossible for them to move up in class. On the other hand, I didn't have to do much to stay where I was, and in the end I had gained quite a bit of money. In America, those people who are below the poverty line really are limited in their ability to improve their lives. We saw this in a few of the movies we watched, and the reading about living on minimum wage. Once you sink to that level, it is difficult to move up from a minimum wage job. It is nearly impossible to live off the wages of one minimum wage job, and getting a better job requires more education, which is expensive and people cannot afford, and having a well kept appearance. Both of these things are near impossible for a person who is living from paycheck to paycheck.