brandy-kay13-blog

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Hello!

My name is Brandy, this Tumblr blog is for my Sociology class so this page you will find several sociological topics and posts that will break down different parts of sociology.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I am the biggest animal lover. I’ve had this handsome guy since I was 8 years old. I have 2 cats and just got a Pug puppy! My fur babies are easily my favorite part of each day to come home and wake up to. I also always love to have a good time, laugh and smile. I love adventures, hiking, and being out doors. The beach is my absolute paradise, specifically love traveling, I don’t always need a destination or just sight seeing. If I am not outside, I’ll probably be inside listening to music, watching movies, or reading a good book to relax. 

I am currently a Medical Assistant and have been for a little over 4 years now which I decided recently the beginning of this year to pursue furthering my career but still working with patients but now in the dental office setting. I have always been a hands on worker and learner, I enjoy working with people but at the same time alone so a Hygienist seemed to be the perfect fit to go back and learn! I’m excited to see where this journey takes me.

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Social class is for the most part, apparent or at least known throughout most people. We know the basics when it comes to poor, middle class, and upper class but do our children? School lunches are provided day after day throughout the school year. Your parents add money to the account and that’s it, you go to lunch the next day at school and get in line for lunch. What if your child in confronted one day though, that they do not have enough funds? Is the school lunch aids supposed to tell the child that could embarrass the child or do we say nothing at all? These are questions school systems are struggling to over come because should we educate the students as most are old enough to realized the different social class structure or should their parents be. This would possibly and has in the past promoted the free rider problem which is defined as “the notion that when more than one person is responsible for getting something done, the incentive is for each individual to shirk responsibility and hope others will pull the extra weight” (Conley, p. 248) When the parents do not have the funds to pay for their children’s lunches, the school is left to pay. Although, your account may go delinquent, the school is still technically funding the child until funds are placed and paid in the mean time.

“This is the same sort of conversation I had with a mother whose child was on a nearly full scholarship at a private school (she requested she remain anonymous to protect her child’s identity). The mother can’t afford the basic things other kids have for her daughter – she couldn’t cover the expensive sweaters that composed part of daughter’s school uniform, for instance. And she sometimes misses school and parent meetings that are consistently held during the workday, and even some at night, when she can’t afford the extra babysitting. I tell my daughter that some people have a lot of money and have no love, and some people have no money and a lot of love,” she says. It has forced a conversation before it would have happened otherwise, but in wealthy and unequal areas it has to happen early. You have to keep the kid strong and confident in themselves through this” (Quart).

Another element the article mentions is that “some schools have set about tackling the issue of income inequality or income difference in the schoolyard. Pre-kindergarteners at New York City’s Manhattan Country School, for instance, participate in a program where students visit others’ houses and then discuss their neighborhoods, what they have in their homes, and what kind of food they eat, as a way of starting to talk about class (and ethnic and racial) lines and differences” (Quart). By doing both of these actions, the school is trying to allow the children to understand social class for themselves, even at a young age. This demonstrates class system which can be defined as “an economically base hierarchical system characterized by cohesive, oppositional groups and somewhat loose social mobility” (Conley, p. 251). By the time they get older, it would be not only be easier for the child to understand why Jane Doe can’t afford lunch but also why Jane Doe or John Doe is dressed a certain way or doesn’t have books. Some people don’t even notice the different class system and other notice it in their daily lives everyday. The real question here is if kids and especially as young as 5 whose parents may be struggling financially, should be made aware if they are not because their parents never let on their financial struggles. 

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Quart, A. (2017, July 19). 'Lunch shaming' and other humiliations: How can we teach our kids about class? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/19/social-class-wealth-inequality-children-parenting

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

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After taking this class, I have learned so much about sociology and how it reflects our day to day life. Sociology is important to our everyday life because it holds a close relationship with it. Our entire lives are influenced by social relationships and people and places that surround us on a daily basis. Sociology studies human interaction, behavior, and the way human beings interact with one another. People are all different genders, races, full of different ideas, cultures, and etc that allows us to reflect and see the world from a different perspective, from a larger perspective, and from someone else’s perspective possibly. 

Sociology is relevant to my life because I see different patients each day from different races to some people who are even transgender which made me realize how broad this class really is. There is more to it than that, there are different doctors at my job with different religions who must pray so many times a day. There are woman who have been there for years but make less than some men who just got there. Sociology is seen all throughout my job and my life.

The part of I connected with most this semester was just getting into everyone’s heads. I enjoyed genuinely seeing through someone else’s eyes, whether that be through reading other peers posts or hearing how Dr. J speak about the lessons in the lectures. My favorite part was just opening my eyes more and allowing myself to see more openly and just the differently types of ways how we as humans ignore habits or conform or just not even notice why things happen such as how a product is made not in the United States. All of these things made me reflect on who I am and just in general personally gave me more meaning and understanding to my life and the people and material possessions around me. 

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Recent research done in the UK, explained that woman who were the sole earner for their household were significantly poorer than those where the man is the breadwinner for the household. “Dr. Helen Kowalewska, of the University of Southampton, and Dr. Agnese Vitali, University of Trento, Italy, analysed survey data on 171,697 people in the United States, Australia, Canada and 17 European countries. Dr. Kowalewska told the British Sociological Association's annual conference in Glasgow on April 25th that the average median disposable income of UK households where the woman was the only earner was $13,983 US dollars and the man was the sole earner, it was around $17,095” (British Sociological Association). 

This research approach can be described as the inductive approach which is defined as “a research approach that starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory” (Conley, p. 50). The research jumps right into stating observations of how woman in the UK not only make less but are also less likely to be in a type of managerial or a professional occupation by 29% in comparison to men at 26%. The inductive approach this article ends with the conclusion with correlation between the woman and man. Correlation can be defined as “simultaneous variation in two variables” (Conley, p. 48). The article ends with it isn’t that the woman just don’t seem for surpass the men when it comes to income but that the woman just aren’t making enough because they don’t always have the education, work fewer hours, and may have to help out if the men lose their jobs making the combination income between the households to be lower. The woman sometimes exceed the men when it comes to income depending on the variable given. If the man loses his job, the woman of course will make more as opposed to not being the breadwinner. The article ends with the theory that of course if both work, the income in obviously to be likely to grow in the household.

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Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

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It was just recently that we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday and since the recent #MeToo movement, we are reminded the importance of what social movements truly do, the impact they have, and truly the importance behind them now and across history. “The first stage of a social movement is the emergence stage and within this stage, “social movements are preliminary, and there is little to no organization” (Christiansen). An example of this in the Civil Rights movement was the fact that there was a general understanding and sense of discontent among the African American population in the South. However, they were not yet organizing the actions that came later, characterized by the Civil Rights Movement. It was not until Rosa Parks arrest in Alabama for refusing to comply with the segregation laws that movement would proceed into the next stage. 

“The second stage know as coalescence is characterized by a more clearly defined sense of discontent. It is no longer just a general sense and being uneasy of who is responsible” (Christiansen). The Civl Right movement in the second stage can be example of when they did in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and when people or children purposely got arrested and pulled away by the police just in order to make their point and show them that they are not afraid. 

“The third stage is known as bureaucratization or formalization which is characterized by higher levels of organization and coalition- based strategies. In this stage, social movements have had some success in that they have raised awareness to a degree that a coordinated strategy is necessary across all of the social movements” (Christiansen). An example of bureaucratization in the Civl Rights movement would be the 15th amendment. The Selma to Montgomery march to protest the killings of black civil rights activists was just a reason that the legislation enforced the amendment. Without this march to protest, there most likely wouldn’t of been success of the 15th amendment. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

 Finally, the last stage in this social movement is decline, or “institutionalization.” Decline does not necessarily mean failure for social movements though. Instead, Miller (1999) argues, there are four ways in which social movements can decline such a repression, co-optation, success, and failure (Christiansen). The decline would be sadly afterwards after what seemed to be such great process that people were killed. The leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. He was not alone though and so were others along with president Kennedy. 

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Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

Christiansen, J, (2009). Four stages of a social movement, p. 1-7. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from EBSCO online database https://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-1248.pdf

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Feminism still exists and the feminist theory is still very important and in this article you will find that things have changed over the year and feminism tends to me less despised than it had been and that is it more needed now than ever. “Women in the UK have been living under a regime of austerity since the 2008 economic crisis. They have shouldered 86% of the income loss from changes to the tax and benefits systems since 2010, simply because they are more likely to be welfare recipients in the first place” (Aune). Meanwhile, the resurgence of the far right has led to violence and harassment against ethnic minority women, with Muslim women bearing the brunt of virulent Islamophobia. There is a stubborn gender pay gap, now 14% for full time workers, and women pensioners in the UK face one of the worst gender income gaps in Europe. The list continues to go on with gender based violence which is alarmingly high. 1 in 4 woman have experienced domestic abuse such as sexual violence and physical. But only three quarters of councils have funds however for domestic violence due to the government budgets cuts and referrals that are being sent to refuges are not only being turned away, but woman cannot get out of the domestic violence situation due to lack of room for them. Today, feminists is more diverse and more attentive to the obsessed gender norms. At a macro sociology perspective this article looks at feminism at a higher level of analysis that is across society. Although this could be part of social movement, I think it can be related the the feminist theory most because it shows that woman are still in crisis and the emphasis on equality. The article talks about feminist theory which “emphasizes equality in men and woman and want to see woman’s lives and experiences represented in sociological studies” (Dr. Jacobson). There is much more awareness to the way racism is linked, sexism, homophobia, and the list goes on. Feminism hasn’t moved beyond sexism but there are a wider range of voices making the functionalists being able to spread the word further than ever before and reaching out to more people. “Rather, a wider range of voices is now being counted as feminist. The HeForShe campaign which encourages men to become advocates for gender equality, and Muslimah Media Watch, a forum where Muslim women critique how they are presented in the media and popular culture, are examples of this” (Aune).

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Jacobson, S. (2019, January 25). The Sociological Imagination.

Aune, K. (2018, September 19). Why feminism still matters to young people. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/why-feminism-still-matters-to-young-people-91299

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Future Students,

The best advice I can give for any future student who takes this Sociology class is to genuinely open up your mind an allow yourself to see the world in a different perspective than you are used to. I can say when Dr. Jacobson used to say “think macro not micro” in a lot her lecture videos that I, myself included, didn’t at first grasp this idea. I thought, of course, what else would I do or don’t we usually all do this? The truth is no, we don’t and myself included did not either. If you allow yourself to truly see the bigger picture, topics, discussions, and lectures become easier to understand and you find yourself actually being able to think like a sociologist as this class is intended to do.

Another advice would be to give yourself time to do the discussions, I always found if I planned my other classes accordingly, that doing my readings and lecture videos the first two days of the beginning of the week and then posting my discussion by mid week, gave me more time to not only explain my own discussion but it allowed me to really focus and respond to other peers discussion in a manner that allowed me to be expressive and actually learn rather than just do. 

Lastly, take notes from the lectures. I learned and understood sometimes more when Dr. Jacobson would lecture than just reading the book. I kept all my notes and that really helped me through some quizzes because some quizzes were not just based on the book but from Dr. J’s lectures and once again sometimes her explanations made more sense for quizzes. The Tumblr project is huge and if there is one thing I cannot stress enough is, for every discussion save it to a word document. This allowed me for this project to go back and look through key words and things I may have missed later on for the project. Everything you learn in this class is very important and makes your more knowledgable to the outside world and culture and so on, so don’t just do the class because you have to, really allow yourself to open up and enjoy this class!

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What does it mean to be male or female? Gender is a social position, a set of social arrangements that are built around normative sex categories. Gender is also referred to as a guidebook that humans use to make distinctions among themselves, to separate one being from another, and to comprehend an otherwise fuzzy mass of individuals (Conley, p. 281). The idea of gender has become such a huge controversy and battle ground to some people over its definition. It has become a category and you are either in it or not, right? The lines become crossed when a man wants to be female and a woman wants to be male, also known as transgender. Are people who want to transition from one gender to another persuading the idea that there are fundamental differences between the two and are there fundamental differences between the two? That is the question this article looks into based on real people, real transgenders, and their story. A transgender is denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.

This article interviewed 4 transgender individuals and asked them questions relating to their transition into another gender. One specific question stood out to me and it is as follows: 

—What does being a woman mean to you?

“I have no idea. I have nothing to compare it to. Growing up I felt I didn’t relate to parts of my body so that’s why from the age of 11 I didn’t like to be naked at all even on my own I’d get changed under my bedclothes and have the quickest showers possible. So like the previous question I wouldn’t say I was born in the wrong body, it’s like the phrase “you were born a man”.  I wasn’t, I was born a baby, my parents were convinced that I’d be a boy, and it just took me 20 years to pluck up the courage to tell them. I think one of the biggest misnomers that’s perpetuated by the press is the idea that for transsexuals we are transitioning into something.”

This woman Bethany Black said the above statement. She transitioned from a male to a female and did this interview to show case just how simple it is for her and to be honest, how hard it is for us to understand as outsiders more than anything. Just because she is transgender doesn’t mean she is anything less than a woman and all she wants specifically in the rest of her interview is to be be treated equal and with respect because as she states “I was born a baby, convinced that I’d be a boy and it took me 20 years to pluck up the courage to tell them.” This also plays a part in gender roles which is a “set of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as a male or female (Conley, p. 289). Bethany’s parents assumed because she was born male, that is how she should be treated obviously from birth and that is the blue clothing, boy toys, and boy mindset that they should raise their son with because he was born a boy. The point here is that we assume based on how a child is born that they a boy or girl but what if it isn’t what genitals they have but it is much more than that, that causes what gender they truly are?

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Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

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This article and picture above it a little boy pushing a pink stroller which showcases gender roles that is a set of behavior norms assumed to accompany ones’s status as a male or female (Conley, p. 289). This is a part of gender roles because a lot of people would say, shouldn’t he be playing with toy cars or monster trucks? This article breaks down gender related beliefs that are an influence to us, especially when we are younger and our minds are still learning who we are and what we like. An agent of gender socialization is any person or group that plays a role in the childhood gender socialization process. The four primary agents of gender socialization are parents, teachers, peers, and the media (Vinney). “Media, including movies, TV, and books, teaches children about what it means to be a boy or a girl. Media conveys information about the role of gender in people’s lives and can reinforce gender stereotypes. For example, consider an animated film that depicts two female characters: a beautiful but passive heroine, and an ugly but active villain. This media model, and countless others, reinforces ideas about which behaviors are acceptable and valued (and which are not) for a particular gender. The beliefs about gender that we acquire in childhood can affect us throughout our lives. The impact and how it shapes us to what we believe plays a significant role determining our life’s course” (Vinney).  

The color we are allowed or choose for our bedroom, the toys we are allowed to play with, the outfit we wear, the tv shows, and etc all play a part in gender roles. The behavioral norms society tells us to be is from the start. If you are a boy, your parents most likely will buy you “boy” clothing, shoes, toys such as G.I. Joe or Hotwheels. The same goes for girls as well, girls are given Barbies or dolls to play with or possibly a kitchen set. These specific toys or garments are the mindset of gender role, you are either boy or girl from the moment you are born. In gender roles, people expect very distinct behaviors from boys and girls and it might be seen as abnormal for a boy to be playing with a pink stroller because that isn’t the ideal idea that we are used to and the same for girls. As a society, sex constitutes not only gender roles, but master status which fits along side gender roles because it refers to the moment they leave the womb, babies usually wear pink or blue to designate their sex" (Conley, p. 134). The moment babies are born they are given pink “girl” colors and blue “boy” colors to not only wear but associate with. Balloons are pink or blue for baby showers, gender reveals I’ve seen with paint or smoke are blue or pink to reveal the baby’s gender, and obviously the clothing tends to be pink or blue too for the most part. This boy in the picture may be struggling to uphold the status of being a boy or maybe at least some people or parent who would watch this little boy play with “girl” toys while also upholding a status that would influence his behavior in wanting to play with a girls toys. 

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Vinney, C. (2019, February 04). What Is Gender Socialization? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/gender-socialization-definition-examples-4582435

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

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“The statistics, for example—the 400 richest Americans now have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans put together. That is the 400 richest Americans have more wealth than the bottom half of the United States put together. And anybody who thinks this has changed since the Great Recession ought to know this data as well: that is that 95 percent of the economic gains in the United States since the recession ended, since the so-called recovery began, 95 percent have gone to the top one percent. In fact, median household income, median, I said median, not average. It’s important to distinguish between average and median” (Reich).

Socioeconomic status is described as an individual’s position in a stratified social order. It is referred to any measure that attempts to classify groups, families, or households in terms of indicators such as occupation, income, wealth, and education (Conley, p. 258). Reich speaks about how the years have changed in this Virtuous cycle and Reich refers to this cycle as a time that was once known as “The Great Prosperity” which was a time when wages increased, we had the largest middle class, companies hired more, and workers were better educated. It was a time when inequality was low and higher education was a priority which was the result or reason for better educated workers (Reich).

Reich explains that this Virtuous Cycle in globalization is the result of the rich paying less taxes and in return making them richer, which then takes from the middle class resulting in making them poorer, and as another result makes the poor even poorer. The upper class can be referred to as the economic elite (Conley, p. 258). The middle is referred to describe individuals with non manual jobs that pay significantly more than the poverty line— (Conley, p. 260). It is a revolving cycle and constant flow of personal debt to maintain a lifestyle people want such as buying a car or house are factors contributed to this virtuous cycle. There are static wages and because of that the economy becomes weakened when the middle class buy less and companies down size, resulting in people either losing their jobs or struggling to find another job because jobs become then limited. The education system becomes almost impossible as education becomes harder to afford and less people then attend college or do not end up finishing. The cost of education also lessens the opportunity for jobs. The cycle is endless and as a result is like a revolving door hence the spinning wheel to show how this virtuous cycle keeping going around and around.

The main idea behind Reich explaining this “Virtuous Cycle” is that we become more aware that technology isn’t made in the United States most of the time and as a result creates less jobs and middle class who are the main consumers, spend less. The cycle as a result to globalization become that there are no workers and if there are no workers, there are no jobs and buildings or factories become shut down. The people who are workers and still have a job in these different countries creating these products are also getting paid overwhelming low wages to keep this virtuous cycle going. The loop causes constant middle class to be able to achieve less and become even poorer and the rich stay rich.

[563 words]

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

Kornbluth, J. (2013). Inequality For All. Retrieved from https://www-filmplatform-net.ezproxy.hacc.edu/product/inequality-for-all/

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This is a little clip from Wayne’s World that adds fun to the ideas of product placement. Wayne’s World is a spin off of SNL (Saturday Night Live) where Rob Lowe plays producer trying to take the public access “Wayne’s World” to the world of commercial television. Garth and Wayne then have to battle and do whatever they can to save their show.

Garth and Wayne demonstrate a part of material culture in this clip by the use of technology (movie) which it was formed into and in the clip by the different food, clothing, drink, or pills they are using in front of Rob Lowe in this specific clip. This type of material culture in the clip is known as culture jamming. Culture jamming can be defined as “the act of turning media against themselves” (Conley, p. 109). This clip specifically acts as a propaganda for advertising for these consumers (Reebok, Pepsi, Dorito’s, etc) into their the Wayne’s World movie. Not only does this movie have to pay the people who own these specific products shown here in this clip incentive but also gain incentive and money by the consumers who end up purchasing after seeing this movie.

Although this movie is based on commercials and a spin of SNL in itself, the products they use throughout and specifically in this clip are a huge propaganda for advertising their products. Products such as Reebok, Pepsi, Dorito’s, etc in this clip are made to culture jam and evoke people while watching this movie or specific scene to want to go get their product and drink, wear, or eat it. These are just a few ways society is pulled into the consumer society. The way this clip contradicts the ideas of product placement is a form of culture jamming. Typically, other advertisements are more subtle in the way they incorporate their products into some movies, but here it is very obvious the way they are evoking culture jamming these products. Although this is not the conventional way of product placement their is still products placed into the film which received much attention.

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Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

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In this story featured on the David Pakman Show, a black woman applies for jobs and doesn’t get any response, she even goes back to school and after graduating from college applies again and gets no responses. The black woman then creates a duplicate profile with the same information only changing her phone number and her name to a more white name from an “African American” and phone calls and e-mails for job offers start to pour in, even the same day. 

This type of racism is part of institutional racism that is defined as “institutions and social dynamics that may seem race-neutral but actually end up disadvantaging minority groups” (Conley, p. 363). The story of the black woman is a part of discrimination which is defined as “harmful acts (not mere thoughts) against people deemed inferior on the basis of racial category, without regard to their individual merit” (Conley, p. 359). 

Institutional racism in this story can be shown through the way that the hiring patterns of these jobs that the black woman applied to. The employers looked over her application countless times and even after she furthered her education. Institutional racism can be seen here because they simply “over looked” her application each time because in their minds they knew what the ideal candidate should look like to them and instead they discriminated against other applicants such as this black woman. The employers clearly demonstrated some level of discrimination by looking over her application after seeing “African American” checked instead of “White”. The hiring patterns of the jobs she applied to were seeking to hire someone with a “white name” or “white person” in general. This was proven after she reconfigured her entire application, keeping all information the same but just changing her skin color and obviously phone number to not be linked back to her. The institutional racism here is that in order to get a job with all these companies she was either turned away because of her race or not even called at all, was only because of the discrimination and institutional racism at hand. This story makes you wonder how often this really happens to applicants and a lot of people wouldn’t even know but this woman decided to tell the world that there are employers out there to discriminate and that white people are clearly getting more jobs and offers. 

[399 words]

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

Black Woman Pretends to Be White, Job Offers Skyrocket (by David Pakman Show)

#thatshitcray

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The movie in synopsis is Tris (Shailene Woodley) lives in a futuristic world in which society is divided into five factions. As each person enters adulthood, he or she must choose a faction and commit to it for life. Tris chooses Dauntless – those who pursue bravery above all else. However, her initiation leads to the discovery that she is a Divergent and will never be able to fit into just one faction. Warned that she must conceal her status, Tris uncovers a looming war which threatens everyone she loves. Now the movie has conformity in it from the beginning with the other groups or factions because they are place into 5 categories based on a brain function test essentially. These 5 factions can be defined as organic solidarity which is defined as “social cohesion based on difference and interdependence of the parts” (Conley, p. 193). I say this because the 5 factions all have specialized functions and a purpose for each faction or group but they all have a mutual dependence on the government who is there to essentially control them and the different factions because they all must work together but in their different parts of each group. 

The government wants to control and categorized people and this is the norm, it has been happening through generations of their families. This is an example of social control which is referred to as “the set of mechanisms that create normative compliance, the act of abiding by society’s norms or simply following the rules of group life.”(Conley, p. 198). Now if we focus on the Divergent aspect, Tris’s character. If we look at this movie in the functionalist perspective of deviance, “Tris’s” deviance as referred in the book as “any transgression of socially established norms (Conley, p.191). Tris represents functions of deviance by promoting social unity and encouraging social change. Tris encourages social change and promotes social unity in the end of the movie by breaking down the social norm in order to do so. There government doesn’t like Divergents because they are different. The Divergents have an immense wise and bright mind that are capable of being to too strong and that worries them because they can beat the people who want to control everyone. Her defiance to not want to conform into what she is told to do or supposed to do is the deviant behavior while everyone else just conforms into the group that they are chosen into because that’s what they are supposed to do. Tris’s deviant behavior and the non-conformity she breaks the law of and social norm of doing ends up bringing society together as a whole and results in her becoming the Divergent she is and taking down the government with the help of everyone else.

[465 words]

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.