Blog Post #3

This week, the lecture focused on class; class divides and ranks members of society. I thought it was extremely interesting that in the United States, “we now have the highest income inequality among first world nations and it’s increasing sharply.” By learning about historical examples relating to class, it’s easy to grasp the concept and understand how much class impacts society.

            I believe that the lecture tied in well with the novel, Peyton Place, because social class was one of the main themes in the novel. The beginning of the novel focuses on the people in this “picturesque” town in New England. Members of the upper class, middle class, and lower class are discussed throughout the novel. Leslie Harrington, a mill owner, is an example of a member of the upper class. According to the novel, “Harrington, who was the owner of Cumberland Mills and a very rich man, was the chairman of the Peyton Place school board. The Harrington house, screened by the tall trees and wide lawns, was the largest in town.” Constance Mackenzie and Allison Mackenzie signify members of the middle class. Constance opened up a small apparel shop in town in order to provide for herself and her daughter. On the other hand, Selena and her family symbolize poverty and the lower class. Selena lives a completely different life than others in the novel and lives in a shack.

            Not only does the novel focus on class, but it also focuses on topics such as incest, rape, abortion, violence, and death. The first sentence in the novel signifies drama. The first sentence reads, “Indian summer is like a woman. Ripe, hotly passionate, but fickle, she comes and goes as she pleases so that one is never sure whether she will come at all, nor for how long she will stay.” The novel relies on controversial and scandalous topics that were seldom mentioned in prior novels due to the time period. Therefore, the novel was a bit of a shock to readers. When reading the novel, the first thing that came to my mind was the show “Desperate Housewives.” In both the novel and the show, a seemingly perfect town turns out to be not so perfect. Secrets and scandals lie behind closed doors. Scandals range from Constance’s affair with a married man, to Selena’s pregnancy with her stepfather’s baby, to Rodney’s death.

            The event that shocked me most in the novel was Selena’s pregnancy. Selena was raped by her stepfather, Lucas. It was apparent to me early in the novel that Lucas was an angry and violent man. In chapter 13, when Selena simply told Lucas to throw his trash away, he became violent. As the novel states, “Lucas Cross slapped his stepdaughter a stunning blow on the side of the head.” Was I surprised to read that Lucas raped Selena? I was not. However, I think it is awful. When Selena becomes pregnant, the doctor faces a tough decision. Should he take away a life or save Selena’s? Because of the circumstances, the doctor decides to save Selena’s. Abortion is an extremely controversial topic in our society. In high school, I took a class titled “Quest” that focused on issues in our society; issues that we continually focused on were rape and abortion. Should women be allowed to abort a child because she chose to have unprotected sex? Should a woman be allowed to abort a child if she was raped? After analyzing the history lecture, I think it’s amazing how far women have actually come. Because of Roe v. Wade, women now have the right to an abortion. Despite this right, whether an abortion is right or wrong is continually debated in society today.