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    Reconsidering Worlds of Pain: Life in the Working Class(es)Author(s): Thomas J. GormanSource: Sociological Forum, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Dec., 2000), pp. 693-717Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/684979 .

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    Sociological

    Forlum,

    Vol.

    15,

    No.

    4, 2000

    Reconsidering

    Worlds

    of

    Pain: Life

    in

    the

    Working

    Class(es)l

    Thomas J. Gorman2

    Thispaper

    focuses on the

    early

    goals, past educational

    experiences,familial

    support,

    and

    current career

    goals of

    a

    sample

    of

    80 White

    middle-class

    and

    working-class

    parents

    in a

    medium-sized

    northeastern

    city

    in

    the

    United States. The

    research will

    help

    determine

    whether

    members

    of

    the

    working

    class have

    lived in or still live

    in

    worlds

    of pain.

    Middle-class

    parents

    overwhelmingly

    report

    having

    had

    high

    goals

    and

    aspirations

    in

    high

    school, positive

    experiences

    in

    school,

    and

    supportive

    parents

    and

    role

    models in

    their

    families.

    Moreover, they report

    being

    satisfied

    in

    their

    current occupational positions. The working-class parents present a more

    complex pattern:

    For

    each

    of

    the

    areas

    studied-early

    goals,

    schooling,

    familial

    support,

    and

    job

    satisfaction and

    future

    goals-some

    of

    the

    working-class

    respondents

    report better

    experiences than the

    others.

    A

    more inclusive

    sampling strategy

    proved

    useful

    in

    this

    study in

    documenting

    the varied

    life

    experiences

    and

    attitudes

    found

    among

    members

    of

    the

    working class. These

    findings provide

    support

    for and

    modification

    of

    Rubin's

    (1976,

    1994) portraits

    of

    the

    working

    class.

    KEY

    WORDS: social

    class;

    families; parental

    attitudes.

    'An earlier

    version

    of

    this

    paper,

    based on

    the author's doctoral

    dissertation

    (State

    University

    of

    New York

    at

    Stony

    Brook),

    was

    presented at

    the

    Eastern

    Sociological

    Society annual

    meeting

    in

    Philadelphia,

    PA,

    1995.

    I

    want to

    thank

    Robert

    Zussman,

    Ivan

    Chase, and

    Dana

    Bramel

    for

    their

    helpful

    comments on

    my

    doctoral

    dissertation. I

    want to

    thank

    Kenneth A.

    Feldman for

    his invaluable

    comments on

    both

    my

    doctoral

    dissertation and

    earlier drafts of

    this

    paper.

    'Joint

    Appointment,

    Department of

    Social

    Sciences,

    Queensborough

    Community College,

    Bayside, NY 11364/Department of

    Sociology, Queens

    College, Flushing, New

    York 11367.

    693

    ()884-8971/()()/12()()-()693$18.()()/()

    (?)

    20()( Plcnum

    Publishing

    Corporation

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    694

    Gorman

    INTRODUCTION

    Research on the effects of social class on families in the United States

    has produced conflicting results. Some studies suggest that members of the

    working class live in worlds of pain, experience hidden injuries of class,

    see their chances of

    upward mobility as slim, and resist the educational

    establishment. Other studies suggest that the working class-in becoming

    more like the middle class in many ways value education and are raising

    their educational

    aspirations

    in

    response to a changing economy.

    In

    Worlds of Pain-a classic sociological study Rubin (1976) reported

    that the lives and

    memories of working-class Americans were filled with

    pain: unfulfilled dreams; boring social lives; miserable jobs; and marriages

    offering

    little

    personal growth. These

    men

    and women received the short

    end

    of the

    American dream. At the same

    time, Wilmott and Young's (1973)

    study suggested that working-class lives would come to resemble the middle-

    class norm over time. As

    it

    has

    turned

    out,

    later research found indications

    of middle-class and

    working-class

    families

    living side-by-side, earning equiv-

    alent

    salaries,

    and

    frequenting

    similar

    leisure

    establishments

    (Halle, 1984).

    Although

    some earlier studies of social

    class

    in

    America (Kahl, 1953;

    Ko-

    marovsky, 1962, Howell, 1972) highlighted the differences within working-

    class

    culture, many

    later

    portrayals

    of

    working-class

    families

    and culture

    have

    taken

    either

    a world's

    of

    pain

    or

    middle-class achiever

    approach.

    The lives of members

    of the

    working-class

    are

    more complex than previous

    studies

    suggest.

    It is

    possible

    that the

    conflicting

    research

    findings

    reflect

    the

    reality

    of

    different

    segments

    of

    the

    working

    class.

    This

    paper

    will

    help clarify

    the

    conflicting

    research

    findings

    noted

    above. The

    paper

    focuses

    on a

    sample

    of

    eighty

    white middle-class and

    working-class parents

    in

    a medium-sized northeastern

    city

    to determine

    whether Rubin's

    (1976, 1994) portraits

    of members of the

    working

    class

    living

    in

    worlds of pain

    still are valid

    today.

    In

    comparing my

    research to

    Rubin's work I must emphasize that I do not explore all of the same

    aspects

    of

    family

    life

    that Rubin studied.

    This

    research

    only

    looks at

    those

    experiences

    related

    to the

    respondents' early goals; past

    educational

    experi-

    ences and familial

    support

    for

    schooling,

    and future

    occupations;

    current

    job

    satisfaction

    and future

    goals. Also,

    middle-class

    parents

    are included

    in

    the

    study

    for

    comparative purposes.

    In

    her

    research,

    Rubin interviewed

    a small number of middle-class

    respondents,

    but she did not

    report many

    of

    her

    findings;

    the

    inclusion of

    a similar

    number of middle-class

    parents

    in

    my sample helps put working-class

    culture and

    family

    life

    in

    perspective.

    Previous research of this type has been limited to highly paid men

    (Halle, 1984),

    convenience

    samples

    drawn

    from church

    registers (Komarov-

    sky, 1962),

    full snowball

    samples (Rubin, 1976,

    Sennett and

    Cobb, 1972),

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    Reconsidering

    Worlds of Pain

    695

    and

    samples with

    only

    a

    few

    cases

    (Howell,

    1972).

    Although

    my

    sample

    includes a few

    individuals who were

    drawn

    by

    means

    of

    a snowball

    technique, my sampling methodology was meant to ensure a fairlyrepresen-

    tative cross

    section of

    a medium-sized

    northeastern

    city.

    This more

    inclusive

    sampling

    strategy proved useful

    in

    documenting

    the

    varied life

    experiences

    and

    attitudes found

    among

    members

    of

    the

    working

    class.

    RELEVANT

    LITERATURE

    ON

    WORKING-CLASS

    FAMILIES

    Rubin

    (1976)

    described

    the

    working-class families

    she

    studied

    as

    living

    in worlds of pain. These working-class couples married young and be-

    came

    parents

    shortly

    after

    taking

    their

    vows, putting extra

    pressure on the

    relationships.

    According to

    Rubin,

    socialization

    patterns

    kept

    these

    men

    and women

    in their

    respective

    roles,

    hindering

    their

    personal

    growth and

    ability

    to

    explore

    new

    lifestyles.

    These

    working-class

    couples worked

    hard

    and

    expected

    rewards,

    but

    received

    few

    of

    them. The

    husband's

    job

    proved

    alienating and

    usually did not

    provide

    enough income for

    the

    family to

    escape

    its

    financial

    condition.

    Furthermore,

    the

    couples'

    interpersonal lives

    were

    marked

    by

    a lack

    of

    intimacy,

    communication,

    and

    sharing; and their

    social lives

    and

    leisure

    time were

    found to be

    mundane.

    Although Rubin

    pointed

    out that

    some members

    of the

    working class

    lived

    settled

    lives,

    she

    argued that their lives

    were

    filled with

    poverty,

    violence,

    uncertainty

    and

    pain.

    In

    her

    recent research on

    working-class

    families,

    Rubin

    (1994) notes

    positive

    changes that have

    taken place in

    working-class

    families

    men

    and

    women

    marrying and

    parenting later

    in

    life, and

    women

    enjoying

    their paid

    employment

    outside the

    family-but

    finds

    working

    class

    families

    still

    living

    in

    worlds of

    pain. In

    fact, she

    suggests

    that

    working-class

    families today

    may

    even

    live

    a

    more

    painful

    existence-living

    on

    a

    faultline

    due to

    the

    shift in the economy from a manufacturing base to a service orientation,

    and to the

    changes

    in

    traditional

    family

    values.

    The

    one

    place where

    many

    members

    of the

    working

    class

    once

    found

    dignity

    the

    workplace

    now

    offers

    them

    low-wage

    service sector

    jobs and

    corporate

    downsizing. Ac-

    cording

    to

    Rubin, this

    downward

    mobility

    is

    the reason

    why

    we

    see a

    rise in

    white

    working-class

    individuals

    venting their

    anger at

    minorities

    and

    immigrants.

    An

    important

    study

    of

    working-class

    families by

    Komarovsky

    (1962)

    provided

    evidence

    suggesting that

    while the

    majority of

    working-class hus-

    bands and wives expected little from each other, were not close and did

    not

    communicate, some

    working-class

    couples were

    still

    happy even

    though

    they

    did not

    communicate.

    In

    addition, she

    found that

    as

    many

    working-

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    696 Gorman

    class couples described their marriages as happy as unhappy. Although

    Komarovsky found that her working-class respondents' lives were painful

    (husbands who blame themselves for their perceived occupational failure

    and who are spending most of their time with their friends while the wives

    spent most of their time around female relatives and friends), she noted

    that certain factors can make for many variations on the theme: length of

    the

    marriage, sexual fulfillment, income level, and the educational back-

    ground of each spouse. These factors, she argued, can make for a happy

    or painful interpersonal arrangement.

    Other

    research has taken

    a

    social-psychological approach

    to the

    impact

    of

    social class on families. Kohn (1969), for example, argued that parents

    know from their workplace experiences the skills and education their chil-

    dren will need; working-class parents teach traits such as conformity, punc-

    tuality,

    and

    obedience

    while

    middle-class parents try

    to

    instill other traits

    in

    their children such as independence, creativity, and self actualization.

    Working-class individuals, from this perspective, are seen as being ambiva-

    lent about the benefits of a college education. These parents want their

    children

    to have what

    they did not

    have-a

    college education (Connell

    et

    al., 1982)

    but

    disrespect

    the kind

    of

    work that the

    college degree

    will

    prepare their children for. In short, working-class parents must prepare their

    children for

    work

    the parents disrespect; this is the key

    to

    understanding the

    hidden injuries of class (Sennett and Cobb, 1972).

    Hard

    Living on Clay Streetportrayed different segments

    of the

    working

    class. Although

    Howell

    (1972) recognized

    that

    working-class

    life

    experi-

    ences

    fall

    on a continuum

    from hard

    living

    to settled

    living

    he

    focused most

    of his

    attention

    on a hard

    living family.

    He concluded that

    hard living families tend to

    be

    composed of

    seven elements:

    (1) heavy

    drinking, (2) marital instability, (3) toughness (profanity

    and

    violence), (4)

    political alienation, (5) rootlessness, (6) present-time orientation,

    and

    (7)

    a

    strong

    sense

    of individualism.

    According

    to

    Howell,

    as one moves

    away

    from the hard living toward the settled living end of the continuum

    one

    finds less

    of

    these seven

    elements.

    In another

    insightful study

    of

    the

    working class,

    Halle

    (1984) argues

    that there

    are

    elements

    of

    a

    distinct

    working-class

    life

    experience job

    opportunities,

    educational

    level, family origin,

    leisure tastes and

    self-

    esteem but

    he

    feels that

    the dissimilarities between

    the

    middle

    class

    and

    the

    working

    class

    have been

    exaggerated. Although they

    are

    proud

    of

    being

    ''working men, the highly paid

    blue-collar workers

    he

    studied

    lived

    in

    middle-class

    neighborhoods

    and earned as

    much or more

    money

    as their

    white-collar,

    middle-class

    neighbors.

    One

    of the

    problems

    with

    earlier

    stud-

    ies of this research

    topic,

    Halle

    argues,

    is that

    they

    have

    included

    families

    where the wife

    stayed

    at

    home with a

    young

    child.

    These tend to

    be

    the

    hardest

    years

    of

    marriage, thereby exacerbating

    the

    pain.

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    Reconsidering Worlds of Pain

    697

    Stacey

    (1991)

    has

    argued

    that

    working-class

    families,

    battered

    by

    an

    economy that now

    requires them to have at

    least two

    (low)

    wage

    earners

    combined

    with the

    drug

    and alcohol

    abuse that

    ensues,

    may

    be

    heading

    toward

    a time when the

    permeable

    boundary

    between

    'hard' and 'settled'

    blue-collar

    family

    life

    threatens to become

    more of a

    one-way

    street

    (p.

    257). She

    found that

    many

    working-class women seek

    safety

    in

    these

    turbulent times

    by

    retreating

    to

    patriarchal

    marriages

    and/or to

    evangeli-

    cal

    religious

    movements,

    but

    noted that

    the

    postmodern

    family form

    does offer

    hope

    to

    working-class

    women for

    egalitarian

    gender

    relation-

    ships.

    Husbands and

    wives

    in

    working

    class

    families have had to

    (re)negoti-

    ate their

    prospective

    gender roles under

    intense

    pressure

    in

    a

    changing

    economy.

    In focusing on the different educational experiences of middle- and

    working-class

    women,

    Finley

    (1992)

    shows that

    these women

    differ little

    in

    their

    goals and

    aspirations,

    but

    they

    do

    have

    different

    educational out-

    comes

    based on their

    family resources.

    Working-class

    women,

    she

    argues,

    want

    to attend

    college after

    high school-even

    with a

    history of painfill

    educational

    experiences-but have to

    delay

    that

    decision for

    lack of

    ade-

    quate

    transportation,

    tuition,

    and

    room and

    board.

    Furthermore, once re-

    moved from the

    competition,

    women

    from the

    working class find it

    increas-

    ingly difficult to

    return to

    college at

    a later

    date due

    to those

    same

    financial constraints.

    The

    data from

    my (intensive

    and

    lengthy)

    interviews

    suggest

    support

    for and

    modification of

    the

    findings

    in

    the

    relevant literature.

    DATA

    COLLECTION

    The

    sample

    for

    this

    study was drawn

    from an

    old,

    medium-sized,

    northeastern

    (U.S.A.) city

    (population:

    approximately

    100,000). Old

    City

    (name changed to protect confidentiality) had been a magnet for immigrants

    during

    the 19th

    century;

    industries such

    as

    trade,

    transportation,

    foundries,

    lumber, and

    railroads

    dominated

    the

    landscape.

    These

    immigrants

    built

    and lived in

    ethnic

    enclaves

    that,

    to

    some

    degree,

    still

    exist

    today. (A

    few

    of these

    neighborhoods are

    part of

    the

    present

    study.)

    Some

    of the

    neighborhoods

    remain stable

    demographically while

    others

    are in

    flux.

    Many

    of

    the

    respondents

    are

    worried

    about

    crime,

    drugs, and

    racial

    minorit-

    ies.

    Today, the

    area's three

    main

    employers-the

    public,

    service,

    and

    wholesale/retail

    sectors

    keep the

    unemployment

    rate

    relatively low

    (ap-

    proximately 5%). The

    county boasts a

    vast and

    prestigious

    higher

    educa-

    tional

    system and has a

    large

    number of

    Ph.D.'s

    per

    100,000

    residents. The

    large number

    of

    students

    in

    the

    area

    give parts of

    the city a

    college town

    atmosphere

    (as

    well as

    pumping up

    the

    local

    economy).

    The

    housing

    ranges

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    698

    Gorman

    from single-family ranch and

    colonial style homes in the middle-class neigh-

    borhoods to two- and three-story (multi-family) row houses, many with

    top and bottom porches, in the

    working-class neighborhoods.

    A

    stratified cluster sampling

    strategy allowed me to use United States

    Census

    Tract

    data

    (indicating years of schooling completed and occupation)

    to select the

    census tracts

    in

    Old

    City that optimized my chances of finding

    middle-class and working-class

    respondents. The Primary Sampling Units

    (PSU) were composed of census

    tracts of comparable demographic charac-

    teristics from which I randomly selected enough city blocks to complete

    my sample; I visited every

    census tract and spoke to Old City residents

    about census tract socioeconomic

    characteristics. When I did not attain the

    desired yield (five respondents) for a designated block, I resampled the

    balance of that block until I reached a yield of five respondents or ran out

    of

    dwelling

    units.

    I

    left an

    introductory

    letter at

    each dwelling unit and

    returned a few days later to ask

    the occupant whether s/he, or any other

    parent

    in

    the

    household,

    would like to

    participate

    in the

    study. (I

    achieved

    a

    response

    rate of

    approximately 56%.)

    In order to minimize

    bias,

    I

    approached

    the

    respondents

    and conducted

    the interviews at different times

    during

    the

    week, and,

    as

    much

    as

    possible,

    interviewed the respondents

    privately, free from the distractions of family

    life (a few interviews were

    conducted with the spouse present).

    I

    interviewed

    only one parent from each family. Interviewing both parents simultaneously

    presents the potential problem of

    one person contaminating

    the

    other's

    responses, while returning a

    second time to interview the other parent

    assumes

    that one

    partner

    has not

    spoken

    to the other

    in

    the interim.

    Al-

    though

    I

    was not able to determine differences

    in

    attitudes between

    a

    husband and a wife, I was able to

    sample men and women who had different

    life experiences. (The sample

    was

    composed

    of

    equal

    numbers

    of

    men and

    women) Furthermore,

    I

    kept

    track

    of the

    respondent's spouse's (significant

    other) social

    class

    and educational attainment

    to

    determine

    if

    a

    respondent

    whose spouse differed on the social class indicator had different attitudes

    and

    life

    experiences

    from

    a

    respondent

    whose

    spouse

    had

    a similar social

    class indicator

    (see

    Komarovsky, 1962; Oppenheimer, 1982; Halle, 1984;

    and

    Stacey, 1991).

    Twelve

    working-class

    and

    three

    middle-class

    respondents

    had spouses

    who

    differed

    on the social

    class indicator.

    Although

    I

    acknowl-

    edge

    the

    importance

    of

    investigating

    the intersection

    of

    race

    and

    class,

    I

    focused

    on

    one

    segment

    of the

    population-White working-

    and middle-

    class

    parents.

    I

    did, however,

    include

    a few

    non-White

    respondents

    because

    they

    were

    randomly selected.

    Halle

    (1984)

    has

    argued

    that much of

    the research

    on

    working-class

    families has looked at

    families

    in

    the

    early stages

    of the life

    cycle,

    a

    proce-

    dure

    that

    almost

    guarantees

    a

    sample living

    in

    worlds

    of

    pain. My

    re-

    search-with

    equal

    numbers

    of

    middle- and

    working-class parents (who

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    Reconsidering

    Worlds

    of Pain

    699

    had at

    least

    one

    child

    in

    either

    elementary

    or

    high

    school)

    at a

    similar

    life-

    cycle

    stage-was intended to

    address

    this criticism.

    (See

    the

    Appendix

    for

    a

    breakdown

    of

    the

    demographic characteristics

    of

    the

    sample.)

    Each interview took

    approximately two hours to

    complete

    and was

    tape recorded. All

    quotations

    in

    the text are

    verbatim,

    but some have

    been

    condensed for

    easier

    reading.

    At

    the end of each

    quotation

    in

    the

    text,

    a

    notation lists

    the

    respondent's

    age, gender,

    educational level, and

    occupa-

    tion

    (a

    few

    respondents'

    occupations

    were

    changed

    to

    equivalent

    occupa-

    tions

    to ensure

    confidentiality).

    My

    definition

    of

    social

    class

    is

    fairly

    consistent with much

    of the work on

    social class

    differences

    (Halle, 1984;

    Lareau, 1989).

    I

    coded the

    respondent's

    social class on the basis of

    his/her

    occupation.

    Working-class parents

    in

    the

    sample held the following Blue-Collar/Lower-White-Collar Occupations:

    Skilled,

    Semiskilled,

    Unskilled

    Laborers;

    Transportation

    Workers;

    and

    Lower-Level

    Sales,

    Clerical,

    and Service

    Occupations. Middle-class

    parents

    in

    the

    sample held the

    following

    White-Collar

    Occupations:

    Professionals;

    Middle and

    Upper-Level

    Managers; High-Level

    Civil

    Servants;

    Academics;

    High-Level Sales

    and

    Administrative

    Positions; and Small

    Business

    Owners.

    Wright's

    (1978)

    conceptual

    model was

    utilized

    when an

    occupational status

    was

    ambiguous. Social class

    in

    this model is based

    upon

    economic ownership

    and

    the

    amount

    of

    control over

    the

    physical

    means

    of

    production and the

    labor power of others.

    Some caveats should be

    kept

    in

    mind.

    My

    research was

    conducted

    in

    a

    city;

    suburban

    residents

    were

    not

    included.

    Many

    of

    my

    respondents

    liked

    the

    city and the

    multicultural

    experiences it offers. I

    am quite

    certain that

    I

    would not

    find this

    attitude

    prevalent

    in

    the

    suburbs. It

    should also be

    kept

    in

    mind that

    the interviews

    were conducted

    during the 10-month

    period from

    November

    1991

    through September

    1992.

    During this time

    the

    United

    States

    was

    in

    the

    midst of

    economic

    recession-affecting both

    blue-collar

    and

    white-collar workers which

    prompted the media

    to carry

    stories extolling the benefits of riding out the recession by going to college

    or

    graduate

    school.

    It has been

    argued

    that

    these

    changes

    in

    attitude

    could

    be an

    outcome

    of

    deindustrialization

    (Weis, 1990).

    In

    addition, the economic

    conditions and

    media accounts

    might

    also have

    influenced the

    attitudes of

    particular respondents toward the

    future.

    FINDINGS

    Early

    Goals

    What

    did the

    respondents

    want for

    their future

    when

    they were

    in

    high school? How

    did

    they envision

    the coming

    years?

    Were the dreams

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    700

    Gorman

    of middle-class respondents

    different from the dreams of working-class

    respondents? The working-class

    respondents that Rubin (1976) interviewed

    painted a depressing picture of youthful goals and aspirations. Faced with

    poverty

    and a lack of positive role models, working-class males did not

    look beyond their automobiles, while working-class

    females dreamed only

    of

    marrying princes.

    Consequently, working-class

    youth did not think about

    college

    or

    professional

    careers: the men went

    to work in low level blue-

    collar

    occupations; the

    women got married. These are the only paths, Rubin

    (1976) argued, that can give working-class youth

    a sense of control over

    their

    lives, independent

    living quarters, and an

    adult identity. Middle-class

    youth, meanwhile,

    are

    surrounded by professional parents

    who

    can

    offer

    not only the dreams of a bright future, but who can also offer the social

    reality and financial

    means to support those dreams.

    In

    the present

    study approximately a quarter

    of the working-class

    respondents report

    that either a job or marriage was utmost in their minds

    at the time of

    high

    school

    graduation.

    For women of this subgroup, marriage

    preoccupied their thoughts:

    At that

    age

    I

    just

    wanted to

    get

    married and

    have

    kids, and (laughs) that's what

    I

    thought.

    I

    wasn't interested

    in

    any type

    of

    career

    or

    anything

    like

    that

    back

    then.

    (Sad laughter)

    I

    don't know

    why

    I

    thought

    that. Didn't think

    I

    would

    have to

    support myself.-Age: 32, female, cashier,

    HS

    plus

    secretarial

    school.

    Another woman

    explains

    why

    she

    was

    preoccupied

    with

    marriage:

    No. No.

    I

    figured things

    were

    going

    to fall

    into

    my

    lap. (Laughs)

    We were

    more

    or less raised

    that education was not

    important

    for

    the female.

    My

    mother

    never.

    She

    was

    always

    the one home with the kids. She didn't start

    working

    until

    we

    were

    in

    High School.-Age: 34, female, pharmacy clerk,

    HS.

    Basically, these working-class

    women are saying that their traditional gen-

    der role socialization did

    not

    prepare

    them for

    any particular

    educational

    or

    occupational goals.

    One

    working-class

    woman,

    whose husband has

    a

    four-year college degree and is a middle-level manager in a government

    office,

    thinks that he would

    have been a better candidate to

    interview

    about matters

    such as education

    and careers. The self-esteem

    problems

    that she

    displays

    in her comment

    may

    well have their

    roots

    in

    traditional

    gender

    role socialization.

    For the

    men of this

    subgroup

    of

    the

    working class, working

    and

    making

    money

    were the main attractions. One

    man,

    who was

    making

    more

    money

    than

    his

    dad

    at the time

    of

    high

    school

    graduation,

    remarks:

    I

    knew

    I was destined

    to

    be

    a worker. I worked

    in a

    gas

    station two

    years during

    high school and three years after that I went to work at the airport as a mechanic.

    I

    thought

    about

    going

    to

    college

    for

    psychology,

    but

    I

    already

    had bills

    coming

    in.

    So I wanted a

    car. So

    along

    comes

    responsibility.

    I

    guess

    (I had) responsibility

    too

    early (said sadly).-Age:

    35,

    male, carpenter,

    HS.

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    Reconsidering Worlds of Pain

    701

    This

    man is

    upset that he had to

    shoulder

    responsibilities

    at

    such an

    early

    age.

    Although

    adolescent boys

    of

    both

    classes

    face

    cultural

    expectations,

    financial constraints seem to present distinctive problems for working-class

    males. In a

    consumer

    culture,

    the

    lack of financial resources

    available to

    working-class

    children

    puts extra

    pressure

    on their

    time

    for school

    work

    and

    their plans for

    college;

    they

    are

    not

    permitted what

    may

    be seen

    as

    the

    extended

    adolescence that

    many

    middle-class

    children

    enjoy.

    Another quarter of

    the

    working-class

    sample

    reports

    that

    they

    did not

    have

    any goals. For

    one

    woman,

    the

    idea of

    having a future

    goal at

    that

    point

    in her life

    seems

    almost

    ludicrous:

    I

    was

    going

    to

    [the state

    high school vocational

    educational

    program]

    for

    hairdress-

    ing, and that's when I got pregnant. I didn't finish. I stayed in school for a while.

    I

    really

    didn't

    think much back

    then-no

    goals-What

    did I see

    myself

    doing?

    Nothing

    (incredulously)-Age: 35,

    female, p/t

    secretary/clerk. GED

    She seems

    to

    be

    asking

    whether

    she was

    supposed

    to have a

    future

    goal.

    The

    meaning of

    concepts such

    as future

    goals

    and

    success are

    class

    specific. It is

    obvious that some

    members

    of

    the

    working

    class are

    not

    thinking about

    future

    goals,

    or,

    if

    they

    are,

    they

    are

    defining them differ-

    ently

    from

    middle-class individuals.

    Other

    working-class

    respondents see

    their lack

    of

    goals

    in

    high

    school

    tied to

    different

    problems:

    I really didn't have (any goals). There are some personal reasons that went on in

    my

    childhood

    that

    kept

    me

    back

    from

    being

    motivated: I was

    very

    into

    alcohol

    and

    drugs

    at that time. I

    was a full blown

    alcoholic

    all

    through high

    school.

    I'm a

    recovering alcoholic

    for

    ten

    years.

    I wanted to

    play;

    I wasn't

    motivated at

    all.-Age:

    35,

    female, LPN, HS

    plus

    LPN

    school-now

    taking

    community college courses.

    This

    respondent

    continues, with tears in her

    eyes, to

    say

    that most of

    her

    friends were

    into alcohol

    at

    that time.

    Alcohol and

    drugs

    are more

    prevalent

    in

    these

    working-class life

    histories

    than

    for

    the

    middle-class

    life

    histories;

    childhood

    memories for some of

    these

    working-class

    respondents

    are

    painful:

    (In

    the)

    ninth

    grade

    my

    life went

    nutso. I was a

    juvenile

    delinquent, basically.

    After

    high school

    drug

    abuse

    and alcohol

    abuse

    took

    off.

    (Goals?)

    No. I

    did not.

    I

    was

    extremely confused. I

    went the

    rebellious

    route.-Age: 36,

    female,

    resident

    counselor,

    now

    taking

    college

    courses.

    It is

    interesting to note

    that the

    above

    three

    respondents are

    female.

    Al-

    though adolescents of

    both classes

    doubtlessly face

    self-esteem

    problems,

    working-class adolescent

    females

    may not have

    the

    opportunity

    to help

    improve their

    self-esteem

    through higher

    education

    (Finley,

    1992).

    One

    working-class

    male

    recounts

    that when

    he

    was

    in

    high school a

    person did not have to think about goals and aspirations:

    I

    really

    didn't think

    much

    about

    it.

    I

    didn't care

    then. You

    could

    walk down

    the

    street and

    get

    a

    good

    job,

    pay you good

    money.

    If

    that

    didn't

    work out, you

    could

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    702

    Gorman

    walk to the next door and they

    would give you a job

    there.-Age:

    49, male, truck

    driver,

    1

    year of college.

    He is angry that the rules of the game have changed. He remembers a time

    when

    one did not need a

    college education for a good job. The women

    who only wanted to get married

    after high school sounded a similar theme:

    they did not think they needed a college education back then. Although

    it probably was not as easy to

    acquire a good job as this man makes it

    sound, fluctuating market forces

    may influence the goals and aspirations

    of

    different generations (Stacey,

    1991; Weis, 1990).

    Several (13%) working-class

    respondents had some goals and aspira-

    tions, but lacked the confidence to pursue them:

    Believe it or not, I wanted to become a nurse. I know you had to have an education,

    you had to go to college. You

    know, I wasn't the type

    of

    person . .

    .

    that could

    see

    myself going to college.-Age:

    43, female, waitress,

    less than

    HS.

    A

    truck driver recalls an unfulfilled dream:

    I wanted to

    be

    a

    veterinarian. It's

    almost

    like

    being

    a

    doctor. God, I

    would

    love

    to do that.

    I thought I'd go

    to . .

    . take

    the

    two-year animal husbandry course at

    Cornell

    and start

    that

    way

    but . .

    .

    I kind of

    felt that I'm not college material. So

    I didn't

    go

    to

    college (voice

    fades).-Age: 47, male,

    truck

    driver,

    HS.

    The relative lack of

    self-confidence among the working-class parents is a

    key to understanding the difference between the lives of working-class

    parents

    and the

    lives

    of

    the middle-class

    parents. Indeed, previous

    research

    (Rubin, 1976; Sennett

    and

    Cobb, 1972)

    has

    suggested

    that the material

    conditions dealt to the

    working

    class

    in

    a

    capitalist society

    undermine the

    working class person's feeling

    of

    self-worth. Throughout

    this

    paper many

    of the

    working-class respondents

    talk about their

    low

    self-esteem

    in

    light

    of

    socio-cultural

    constraints:

    gender

    socialization;

    limited

    resources;

    lack

    of information

    concerning

    careers

    and

    higher education;

    lack of role

    models;

    and cultural

    expectations

    regarding higher

    education.

    Even when working-class respondents had high aspirations and goals

    (slightly

    over one

    quarter) they

    had trouble

    reaching

    them

    due

    to hurdles

    and roadblocks that either have been

    planned

    for or

    are not encountered

    in

    middle-class

    lives:

    I wanted to

    go

    on to

    college

    but

    my

    father had two heart attacks and there

    was

    no

    way

    we could afford it. I wasn't that

    knowledgeable

    about student loans at the

    time.-Age: 34, male, unemployed

    bridge painter,

    HS.

    Some members

    of the

    working-class,

    such as this

    man,

    have

    aspirations

    that are similar

    to the

    aspirations

    of

    many

    middle-class

    individuals,

    but

    extra hurdles and roadblocks-either planned for or not encountered in

    middle-class lives-make

    them harder to attain.

    Most

    (82%)

    middle-class

    respondents,

    male and

    female, report

    that at

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    Reconsidering

    Worlds of Pain

    703

    high school

    graduation

    they

    had

    high-level goals

    and assumed

    they

    were

    going to attend college:

    I

    think

    I

    was

    thinking

    along

    the

    lines

    of a social worker.

    It

    was

    always

    assumed

    that I would

    go

    to

    college.

    I don't think it was talked about. There was never

    any

    question

    that I was

    going

    to

    go

    to

    college.

    I'm sure

    it

    was

    my parents.

    It was the

    way the family was

    structured. I never remember ever

    considering

    that when

    I

    turn

    18 I'll go

    get

    a

    job.-Age: 44, male, accountant, BA.

    College

    probably

    will not be an

    issue

    for

    his children either. This is

    quite

    a different

    story

    from the

    working-class

    parents

    who

    not

    only

    did not

    assume

    they

    were

    going

    to

    attend

    college,

    but

    actually

    assumed

    they

    were

    not

    going to attend

    college.

    The

    seed

    of

    the idea that one has a

    chance of

    attending college must be planted before the roots of success can grow. It

    is

    interesting

    that the

    middle-class

    parents

    in

    this

    study

    tend to feel that

    they

    had assumed

    they

    were

    going

    to

    attend

    college

    because of the

    way

    they

    were

    raised;

    written

    between the lines

    is

    a belief

    that families are at

    fault when their children do not

    go

    to

    college.

    Even

    so,

    middle-class women

    are not immune from

    cultural

    expectations:

    I look

    back. I'll tell

    you

    a

    disappointment.

    No

    one told me when

    I

    was

    younger

    that I could have

    gone

    to law

    school. No one

    suggested

    that

    to

    me;

    it never dawned

    on

    me and

    I'm very sorry about that. But

    my parents

    wanted my brother to go to

    law school. My brother is two years younger than me.-Age: 56, female, retired

    teacher,

    MA.

    In fact,

    many of the

    middle-class women

    complain that women from their

    generation

    had to

    choose from

    only

    two

    careers-nursing

    and

    teaching.

    Newman

    (1988) has made note of

    the tendency for succeeding

    generations

    of

    women to have

    different

    perceptions of their

    occupational

    options.

    A

    small

    percentage

    (15%)

    of

    middle-class

    respondents had

    experiences

    that resembled the

    working

    class

    pattern of

    having had

    few

    goals

    at the

    time of

    high

    school

    graduation;

    there are

    no clear-cut distinctions between

    these

    two

    groups.

    Interestingly,

    these tend

    to be the

    middle-class

    respon-

    dents who have some of

    the

    lowest-level

    occupations

    in

    the

    middle-class

    sample

    and whose

    parents

    are

    working

    class:

    No. I

    really didn't. I didn't have an

    educational goal at

    all because I was just .

    I

    wasn't nuts

    about school.

    I

    didn't

    have a desire for college at that

    time. As far

    as

    education,

    I have to

    start

    doing

    something.

    We

    just went through

    a forced

    management

    plan

    and one of the

    criteria

    they

    focused on

    was education.-Age:

    39,

    male,

    lower-level

    project director

    (started

    in

    mailroom), HS.

    Again, this respondent realizes that the rules of the game have changed,

    acknowledging

    the

    impact

    a

    college degree would

    have

    for

    his career. He

    is

    considering following his

    company's

    requirements.

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    704

    Gorman

    Schooling

    Intensive studies of

    working-class families, whose members have usu-

    ally indicated an aversion to discussing unhappy

    experiences, have only

    scratched the surface

    of the deep feelings associated with memories of

    schooling (Halle, 1984;

    Sennett and Cobb, 1972). An individual's early

    school

    experiences can

    lay the foundation for his or her future attitudes

    toward education; and

    a

    parent's current attitude

    toward education may

    have an effect on his or her children's decision to

    attend college. In her

    research, Rubin (1976)

    noted the discomfort that

    members of the working

    class experience

    when

    looking back at their schooling;

    they were reminded

    of all they didn't learn, making them feel inadequate

    and deficient (p.

    127). Working-class respondents in research recall four times as many

    negative accounts of schooling

    as compared to the middle-class respondents.

    But, more important for this study, my working-class

    respondents are split

    in their assessment of their

    schooling; some accounts

    are more favorable

    than others.

    Many

    working-class respondents focus on problems they

    had

    with their self-confidence:

    I was one of

    your

    lower

    nobodies-I

    had

    very

    little self-esteem-didn't

    learn

    much

    of

    anything.-Age: 35,

    female, unemployed clerk,

    HS.

    A

    few respondents

    cannot decide whom to blame.

    For

    example

    one

    work-

    ing-class woman said:

    (School)

    was

    boring.

    I

    couldn't sit still for six hours. I

    felt

    I

    could deal with life

    without

    an

    education

    which

    I found

    out was

    wrong.

    I

    just

    didn't

    like school-no

    one took the

    time (to

    explore her learning problem )-wanted

    to be out there

    getting

    that

    job.

    I didn't want to hear it. I

    felt a little low

    seeing

    kids

    graduate

    and

    making

    a little

    better

    life than I had. I felt I was

    lower

    class.

    My

    father told me

    if

    you

    want

    something you

    have to work. I can't blame them because

    I was

    stupid.-

    Age: 43, female,

    waitress,

    less

    than

    HS.

    In

    this account, one

    can hear the hidden injuries of class-a

    class

    system

    that makes

    some

    feel a little

    low. A

    class

    system

    that cloaks its

    impact

    on

    individuals;

    this woman does not

    know where to

    place

    the

    blame

    for

    her

    life

    situation-the schools,

    her own lack

    of

    intelligence

    and lack

    of

    deferred

    gratification,

    or her father.

    Some

    working-class respondents

    vent

    their

    anger directly

    at

    the school

    system:

    I

    hated

    school because I couldn't

    stand

    sitting

    there. I

    was a

    depressed teenager.

    School didn't

    fare me well. I never had

    anyone

    in school behind me

    pushing

    me.

    Never went

    to class-went to one class.

    Nothing

    was ever done about

    it. In

    high

    school

    we never had

    clothes,

    kind of

    wore the

    same

    pants every day-very

    de-

    pressing. (The academic)

    track kind of made

    you

    feel not

    important.

    Learned

    about

    drugs.

    Learned how to

    skip school, drop

    out.

    And

    that's

    what I

    did.-Age: 35,

    female, p/t secretary, GED.

    It is hard to

    stay

    in

    school faced

    with

    shabby

    clothes, drugs,

    low

    self-esteem,

    and

    uncaring

    teachers

    and administrators.

    This woman

    did, indeed,

    live

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    Reconsidering

    Worlds

    of

    Pain

    705

    in

    worlds

    of

    pain.

    This is the

    working-class

    existence that Rubin has so

    elegantly portrayed.

    Still, just

    over half of the

    working-class respondents

    had

    positive experi-

    ences to

    report; they

    loved

    reading, studying,

    and

    learning:

    I

    liked reading.

    I would read

    anything.

    I

    learned

    that there

    was

    a lot out there to

    do-doctor, lawyer-whatever.

    There is a

    possibility

    of

    doing it.-Age: 29,

    female,

    clerk, presently

    in

    college at night.

    I was

    always

    confident.

    I

    never felt

    I

    would

    fail;

    I

    mean

    my

    dad

    taught

    me

    in the

    sixth

    grade

    to read

    books when

    I

    get

    them. There were times

    when

    you

    don't have

    anything to do, you pick up a history book and read it. He told me in

    two

    weeks

    you'll be doing your homework without referring

    to the

    book.-Age: 35, male,

    carpenter, HS.

    Note how these respondents do not talk about the success they achieved

    in

    school,

    but the love of

    learning they acquired (Gorman, 1998a).

    These

    are a few

    examples

    from

    the

    sample illustrating

    the

    working-class

    lives

    (and

    outlooks on life) that Rubin did

    not

    emphasize. (She mentioned that some

    members

    of the

    working

    class

    lead

    'settled'

    lives.) Indeed,

    these

    are a

    series of

    positive working-class narratives, although nothing

    like the

    glowing

    reports of most (67%) middle-class parents.

    Most middle-class parents' memories

    of

    schooling are associated with

    all the social amenities that can

    bolster

    self-confidence:

    getting good grades

    and

    perks ; being

    in the advanced

    track; participating

    in

    extracurricular

    events; having academically oriented friends; and having caring teachers

    and administrators. A chemist remarks:

    I liked school a lot as a kid.

    I

    always

    did well.

    It

    was a

    college prep high

    school. I

    got

    teachers who

    were pretty

    innovative

    (in elementary school). I

    knew

    I

    was

    going

    to

    college.

    I

    think I learned a lot-a

    pretty

    broad education.

    Always got good

    grades

    and

    I

    did extracurricular: ski

    club,

    math

    club,

    student council. I was also

    in

    the national honor

    society.

    I can't think of one

    person

    I associated

    with in

    high

    school that didn't

    go

    on to

    college.-Age: 34, female, chemist,

    BS.

    A nurse

    studying

    to be a teacher

    comments:

    I found a real nice group of friends to be with. They tended to be the intellectual

    crowd in

    school;

    I needed

    that,

    so the

    intellectual stimulation in the

    classroom

    carried over into the

    social life. Color

    guard,

    that was a

    big thing

    for

    me, eventually

    got promoted

    to

    captain. I (belonged to)

    the

    National Honor Society, the Russian

    Club,

    the

    German

    Club,

    and a

    social

    justice

    club.

    I

    was

    considered

    a

    good student;

    in

    high

    school

    I

    was in

    Regents (track), I think it was an Honors Regents. I was

    expected

    to excel.

    (I was) exposed

    to

    more

    opportunities

    than kids in other tracks.

    In

    elementary

    school

    (I had)

    a

    certain amount of self-confidence

    probably

    bolstered

    by

    the

    grades

    I would

    get,

    the

    perks

    I would

    get,

    the stars

    on

    the charts and in

    high

    school there was

    enough

    self-confidence to know what I didn't want to

    participate

    in.-Age: 37, female, religious

    education coordinator

    (previously a nurse), BA,

    studying

    for

    MA.

    She had

    enough

    self-confidence

    to

    stay away

    from the

    debilitating

    effects

    of

    peer pressure.

    The school

    experiences

    of

    most

    middle-class respon-

    dents-college track, high grades, clubs,

    and honor

    societies-are

    in

    stark

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    706

    Gorman

    contrast to the school

    experiences

    of many working-class

    respondents-

    shabby

    clothes, low self-esteem,

    uncaring

    teachers and administrators, and

    dropping

    out. These

    accounts suggest that social

    class still is a

    major force

    in the

    lives of these

    postmodern families.

    While

    working-class

    respondents complain

    about events that left

    their

    basic

    educational needs

    wanting, some

    middle-class respondents view

    their

    schooling

    through

    a critical

    lens,

    feeling

    that a better

    education could have

    supplemented

    their

    current

    prestigious occupation or

    specialized skills:

    I

    don't think it was very

    good on the whole. I'm critical

    of it. I don't feel

    I walked

    away

    from high school

    particularly well equipped either

    to handle college or just

    equipped with the type

    of knowledge to

    get on in the world. I think it

    could have

    been more

    intensive, could have

    been better steeped in

    fundamentals.

    To this day

    I

    still have a hard time

    with grammar. I have a good feel

    for it-I'm a

    lawyer-but

    formal grammar: I don't know a participle from whatever. I wouldn't know it to

    give you a

    definition of it. I just think

    that my generation

    as a whole was the victim

    of the

    changing educational

    philosophy.-Age:

    35,

    male, lawyer, law

    degree.

    To lament not

    being able to define a

    participle, while

    understandable,

    is quite different from

    the

    anger expressed by a

    couple

    of the

    working-

    class

    respondents

    who

    complain

    that

    they did not receive

    help

    with

    the

    drug

    and

    learning problems that

    contributed to their

    decision

    to

    drop

    out

    of

    high school.

    Family Support

    for

    Schooling and Future

    Occupations

    What kinds of

    support

    were there from other

    family

    members

    for

    the

    working-class respondents and to what

    degree did their

    parents

    influence

    their career and

    educational

    goals?

    Did

    they

    live in

    worlds

    of

    pain,

    or was

    their world more

    settled? Rubin

    (1976, 1994)

    has

    reported

    that the

    working-

    class families she encountered did

    not

    push

    their children to

    go

    to

    college

    because

    they

    did

    not

    want

    to lose their children to an

    alien

    way

    of

    life.

    Again,

    there were

    as

    many working-class

    respondents

    who

    remember

    hav-

    ing parental

    support

    and

    positive

    role models as those who

    remember

    having

    little or no

    support

    and

    negative

    role

    models.

    I

    am

    not

    placing

    the

    blame

    on

    working-class

    families for their

    children's

    problems.

    Members

    of

    these families are battered

    during

    their

    search

    for

    dignity (and

    self-esteem)

    in

    a socio-economic

    system

    that

    often

    excludes them from the

    resources

    that

    would form

    a basis

    for

    that

    dignity;

    sometimes that

    struggle

    takes its

    toll

    on

    the

    family.

    Was hearth and

    home conducive to educational excel-

    lence?

    For

    a little over half of the

    working-class respondents

    the answer

    is,

    no:

    No. The common phrase was: Whatever makes you happy. Their whole life was

    an

    example

    to me of

    things

    not to

    do,

    not to

    get into,

    from

    watching

    them

    I

    knew

    not

    to do the

    alcohol,

    the

    drugs;

    and

    get

    an

    education.-Age: 23, male,

    health

    aide,

    1 1/2

    years

    of

    community college.

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    Reconsidering Worlds of Pain 707

    Other working-class respondents

    also

    say

    that

    watching

    their

    parents

    taught

    them

    what not to

    do. This

    may

    mean that these

    respondents'

    children will lead

    lives devoid

    of

    alcohol and

    drugs

    while

    being

    full of

    academic

    achievement.

    Many

    of

    those

    working-class respondents

    who did receive

    positive

    support

    from their

    parents report they

    rebelled

    against

    their

    parents'

    wishes:

    My

    father wanted

    me

    to

    get

    involved in

    computers.

    When I was

    eighteen

    I started

    to rebel

    against my

    father. It didn't seem fair

    that he

    was

    deciding

    what the rest

    of

    my

    life

    was going

    to be. I

    guess my way

    of

    rebelling

    was to

    put

    off school

    (college)

    for

    a

    year and then I just

    didn't

    go back.-Age: 34, female, clerk, HS.

    They always

    wanted me to

    go

    to

    college,

    but

    I

    don't think the

    support

    was there

    (although)

    the

    money

    was there. I was

    rebelling

    and

    always fighting

    with

    them.

    So,

    I

    don't think there was

    much

    direction as far as what do

    you

    want to do when

    you

    grow up.-Age: 35, female, LPN, HS plus

    LPN

    school.

    For the most

    part

    these

    respondents

    learned

    the hard

    way, ending up

    in

    jobs and

    in

    lifestyles similar to their parents. Even

    though sociologists

    have

    studied

    working-class

    resistance

    at the school site between

    middle-class

    teachers and

    working-class students (Willis, 1977), resistance

    to

    the educa-

    tional

    system can, conceivably,

    take

    place

    within the

    family (Gorman,

    1998b).

    The overwhelming majority (65%) of middle-class respondents have

    glowing reports of parental support. Some recall never having to be told

    about their

    parents expectations; they got

    the

    message by observing

    their

    parents:

    I'll tell

    you

    a

    funny story. (My parents) said, 'you can be whatever

    you want,

    even

    a

    garbage man,

    as

    long

    as

    you're happy7-I

    don't believe that

    (laughs) because

    I

    remember

    when I

    came home with

    a

    degree

    in

    philosophy and

    they

    said

    what can

    you

    do with a

    degree

    in

    philosophy.

    I

    never

    remember them saying we want you

    to

    go

    to

    college. Maybe

    it was

    just generally

    understood

    that we would

    go

    to

    college

    or I was

    just

    raised with the

    expectation

    that I was

    going to college. My dad went

    to

    college.

    So

    college

    was

    viewed,

    even as a little

    kid,

    as

    education doesn't stop at

    high school, you go

    on to

    college.

    When

    I

    would

    be doing my

    homework,

    he

    would

    be doing his homework-(It was) osmosis.-Age: 40, male, director state mental

    program,

    MA.

    It has been noted elsewhere (Deverson and Lindsay, 1975) that middle-

    class

    parents

    have the

    option

    to be more flexible

    in

    their professed attitudes

    toward their

    children's future. It

    may

    be easier to

    say

    I

    don't care what

    my

    child does as

    long

    as s/he is

    happy

    when

    you are a successful lawyer

    as

    opposed

    to an

    unemployed bridge painter.

    For

    some middle-class respon-

    dents

    (and

    not heard

    in

    working-class interviews) there was no option, no

    choice,

    but to surrender

    to their parents' wishes. A

    retired teacher recalls:

    (My parents

    felt

    that) you

    were

    going

    to

    go to college and get a

    job that was going

    to

    sustain

    you

    for

    the rest of

    your

    life.

    (They said)

    we

    prefer you be a teacher or

    nurse. You

    had to

    go

    to

    college, that was the only road open to

    you.-Age:

    56,

    female,

    retired

    teacher,

    MA.

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    708

    Gorman

    Some

    middle-class respondents report giving their own children

    the same

    choice. Parents who have a college degree may be good role

    models for

    their children, but when parents feel their children will not succeed, or be

    complete without a college degree, a heavy burden is

    placed on the

    children.

    As

    an example, one respondent's father was

    devastated when

    one

    of

    his sons did not go

    to college. It is still believed, based on Kohn's

    (1969) research, that

    working-class parents instill in their

    children values

    such

    as obedience and

    conformity,

    while

    middle-class parents

    instill in their

    children values such as flexibility and creativity. These are

    the values,

    argues

    Kohn

    (1969) that

    parents know their children will need for their

    respective positions in the

    occupational hierarchy. (Rubin makes

    a similar

    argument in Worlds of Pain.) By contrast, the present research suggests

    that it is

    middle-class children who are

    socialized to be conformists in order

    to fit into bureaucratic

    occupational slots (for supporting evidence see

    Anyon 1980).

    Only

    for

    middle-class

    respondents

    with lower-level

    occupational posi-

    tions (and working-class

    parents) did

    I

    find

    unfavorable accounts

    of their

    parents' support:

    My

    father wanted us to

    go

    as

    high

    as

    we

    could-he

    wanted

    us

    to

    at least

    finish

    high school,

    then

    it was your choice. He was

    basically,

    the

    more years

    in

    school,

    the less

    money you're going

    to earn

    in

    a lifetime. If

    you

    flunked a

    year

    that

    meant

    that you are going to lose $6,000 because it was one more year not working.-Age:

    38, male,

    benefits administrative

    supervisor, AAS.

    This man seems to be

    caught between two worlds-working

    class and

    middle

    class. This research has shown that

    many years

    after the

    working-

    class

    respondents

    left

    school, they

    still often had

    painful

    memories

    of

    their

    experiences; they

    often felt that their

    long-term

    interests

    had been

    damaged

    by

    their

    stunted

    educational careers.

    Current

    Jobs

    and Future

    Goals

    In Rubin's

    study

    most

    working-class family

    members described

    their

    current

    jobs

    and future

    goals

    in

    bleak terms:

    boredom; resignation;

    and

    alienation. When asked about their current

    occupation

    and future

    goals

    and

    aspirations, working-class respondents

    in

    the

    present study

    provide

    a

    wide

    range

    of

    responses.

    On occasion

    I did hear

    outright despair:

    I

    go day-by-day.

    I'm

    a believer in

    here

    today, gone

    tomorrow.

    My philosophy

    on

    life is really bad. I look at life as you are put on earth to wait your turn to die and

    while

    you're here, you basically just get

    a

    job

    to make

    your

    life easier while

    you

    wait

    your

    turn to die. That's the

    way

    I

    feel.-Age: 40, male,

    maintenance,

    HS

    plus

    some

    college

    in the

    Army.

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    Reconsidering Worlds of Pain

    709

    One man

    struggles

    with his level of

    accomplishments:

    (I) just

    go along doing

    what I'm

    doing.

    I've

    got

    no

    regrets.

    I'm

    doing

    all

    right.

    I've

    got to stick with (the railroad), I don't want to, but I've got to, nothing else to

    do.-Age: 49,

    male,

    truck

    driver,

    1

    year

    college.

    Although

    this man

    is doing all

    right,

    having

    nothing else

    to

    do

    is

    a

    sad comment on the

    perception

    of

    the current and

    future

    job

    market

    opportunities for

    blue-collar

    workers. Ehrenreich

    (1989)

    has

    noted that

    blue-collar workers

    are more

    likely

    to

    experience downward

    mobility

    than

    any other occupational

    grouping.

    A

    working-class

    woman

    talks

    about the

    future for her

    grandson:

    (Confidence

    in

    the

    future?)

    Not

    if

    it

    keeps going

    the

    way

    it is. I

    mean

    what

    are

    they going to do when they get up into their twenties and thirties. My grandchild,

    what is

    he

    going to

    do

    as far as

    education; what's

    going

    to

    be there for

    him.

    Inflation,

    price of

    education,

    I

    don't see how

    young

    kids

    can

    go

    to

    college. There are

    grants

    for

    those

    who

    can't afford

    (it). Fifteen

    thousand dollars

    for

    the

    first

    semester;

    how

    can

    anyone

    afford to

    go.-Age:

    43,

    female,

    waitress,

    less than

    HS.

    This is

    another

    indication

    of

    the

    perception

    of the

    possibility

    of

    upward

    mobility

    through higher

    education

    for

    members

    of

    the

    working

    class.

    The most common

    response involves a

    desire

    to return

    to

    school

    to

    finish a GED, to

    learn a

    trade,

    or to

    take

    college-level

    coursework. But

    as

    an

    unemployed

    bridge painter claims:

    I've

    always

    talked

    (about) going

    back

    to

    school,

    but

    with

    the

    baby

    and

    getting

    laid

    off

    the last

    couple

    of winters-no

    way. Intentions

    are

    all well and

    good,

    but when

    it

    comes

    right

    down to

    it

    you can

    find a

    hundred

    ways

    to

    spend

    the

    money

    somewhere

    else.-Age: 34, male,

    unemployed bridge

    painter,

    HS

    degree.

    As these

    respondents

    vividly

    convey,

    it

    is difficult to

    go

    back to

    school

    when

    married, with a full-time

    job

    and

    young children.

    A

    common

    lament

    among

    the

    working-class

    respondents

    is

    that

    they

    did not

    attend

    college

    before

    marriage.

    It

    usually

    sounds

    simple:

    take a few

    years

    off

    after

    high

    school

    graduation to make

    some

    money,

    and

    then

    return

    to

    college.

    But

    as we have just heard, to go back to college is difficult; college is easy to

    defer.

    How does

    the

    unemployed bridge

    painter see his

    future:

    Tough

    one.

    It's

    going to take a lot of

    change

    in

    this

    country

    to

    make

    for

    an

    easier

    one. I don't see it

    happening. They

    should start

    spending more

    money

    on

    education

    rather than

    foreign aid. It's all screwed

    up.

    I'm

    scared. I can

    just take it a day at

    a

    time and

    hope

    for the

    best.-Age: 34, male,

    unemployed

    bridge

    painter, HS.

    With

    this man's

    comment

    in

    mind

    it

    is not

    difficult to

    understand why some

    of

    the

    working-class

    respondents hesitate

    before

    responding

    to

    my

    question

    regarding future

    goals. These

    respondents did

    not have

    many

    goals in

    high school, these respondents do not have many goals now. There is a

    segment

    of

    the

    working class,

    however, that has

    the

    same future

    goals

    as

    the

    middle

    class,

    although

    usually burdened

    by

    problems that

    either

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  • 8/18/2019 Zivo Trad Nici Sad

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    710

    Gorman

    have been

    planned for or are

    not encountered

    in middle-class lives.

    One

    poignant case concerns

    a woman who had

    to drop out

    of college, putting

    off her goal of becoming a lawyer because she got married and became

    pregnant.

    Oh

    I

    know I'm

    going to reach (my goal) at the cost

    of not paying so much attention

    to

    my

    kids. I really

    feel

    bad about that. That

    hurts. I hope

    in

    the long run

    it will

    work

    out for them and myself; I'll

    be happy

    with what I'm doing and I can

    help

    them

    with

    what

    they're doing.-Age:

    29, female, clerk, currently

    attending college.

    Recently divorced

    and unhappy in her position

    as a

    clerk, she is trying to

    finish

    her Bachelor's

    Degree at night while

    working a full-time

    day job.

    She hopes to go

    on to law school. Thus, another

    injury due to the

    delays that plague members of the working-class who attempt to pursue

    higher education.

    Several working-class respondents,

    however,

    are

    proud

    of their accom-

    plishments

    and are

    satisfied with their current

    situations:

    I want

    to

    keep

    on

    working (as

    an) electrician, eventually

    to own some

    property.

    I

    don't want to wear a shirt and tie

    to work, not have stress on

    me. I make $27 an

    hour.-Age: 34,

    male, electrician, some college.

    This

    comment suggests

    that this

    man is proud

    of

    working-class

    (skilled)

    labor. His union may lose members, his income may go down, and he may

    lose his house,

    but they

    cannot take away

    his

    trade.

    The

    skilled

    blue-

    collar

    occupation

    offers

    a defense

    against

    the hidden

    injuries

    of class. Some

    other

    working-class

    respondents,

    while satisfied

    with

    their

    current

    situation,

    want

    to

    go

    further

    in their field.

    A

    few examples

    of such

    persons

    are

    a

    carpenter

    hoping

    to become

    a foreman so

    he

    will not have to do

    heavy

    lifting when he gets

    older,

    a truck

    driver

    wanting

    to

    become a

    dispatcher,

    and a

    firefighter

    dreaming

    of

    becoming

    an officer

    in the fire

    department.

    Those respondents

    who

    experienced

    fewer hidden

    injuries

    of

    class-either

    as a child or an adult-tend to have a more optimistic outlook on the future.

    The middle-class

    response,

    time-after-time, especially

    among profes-

    sionals,

    is one

    of contentment:

    Well,

    I've reached my occupational

    goal;

    I'm a

    partner

    in a

    fairly good

    law firm.

    I

    guess

    I'll continue

    to

    practice

    law and

    improve

    my standing

    in the law

    firm,

    improve

    my

    abilities as an

    attorney.-Age:

    35,

    male,

    lawyer,

    law

    degree.

    Well,

    I

    really don't, actually (have

    an

    occupational

    or educational

    goal). My

    occupa-

    tional

    goal

    had been

    for

    many years

    to work

    on the

    city

    desk

    at the

    newspaper

    in

    (this)

    city.

    The

    city

    desk is

    the

    main

    newsroom;

    and

    having

    reached

    that

    goal

    I

    haven't

    set another

    one.-Age:

    35, male, reporter,

    BA

    plus graduate

    courses.

    Three middle-class

    respondents

    from

    academia,

    including

    two

    professors,

    are

    also

    very happy

    in

    their field:

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  • 8/18/2019 Zivo Trad Nici Sad

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    Reconsidering

    Worlds of Pain 711

    (I want to be) doing

    what I'm

    doing right now-same thing-research,

    consultation

    work, working

    on

    meaningful

    studies

    and

    research in the field that I

    enjoy.

    I'm

    very content with what I'm

    doing.-Age: 41, female, academic/applied research,

    MA, working on Ph.D.

    All these comments come in

    the context of careers [see Bellah

    (1985),

    Bledstein (1976), Ehrenreich (1989), and

    Mills

    (1951), for a social

    history

    and

    analysis

    of

    the

    emergence

    of

    the middle-class

    career].

    The

    middle-class

    career provides

    the

    satisfaction and

    opportunity

    for advancement that

    many

    working-class jobs cannot.

    It is probably safe to say that most of

    the

    working-class respondents

    in

    the sample, especially those

    who

    recently lost

    their jobs,

    would find it hard

    to

    believe that

    relatively young people

    could

    say

    that

    they

    have reached their

    life

    goals.

    Interestingly,

    those middle-class

    respondents

    most

    content

    with

    their

    positions

    are somewhat

    pessimistic

    about the future

    of this

    country,

    al-

    though

    not about their

    children's future:

    I think it's

    going

    to

    be

    very

    competitive,

    and I will do

    anything

    I

    can

    to make

    sure

    my daughters

    have

    a

    competitive

    edge

    because

    I

    don't think

    it's

    going

    to

    be

    easy.

    I'd like to be

    optimistic

    but

    I

    have

    grave doubts;

    it's

    going

    to

    be

    a

    more difficult

    place

    to

    live

    then it is

    now,

    and one

    way

    I can assure

    my

    children's

    well-being

    is

    to

    make sure they are well-educated

    and

    well-grounded

    so

    they

    can deal with what

    challenges

    come

    up.-Age: 35, male, lawyer,

    law

    degree.

    This man believes that a good education will ensure his children a competi-

    tive

    edge;

    a

    belief that

    will

    compel

    him

    to

    push

    his children

    to

    get

    a

    college

    degree.

    The attitudes of the middle-class

    parents

    in

    the

    sample

    are driven

    by

    what has been called the culture of

    professionalism (Bledstein

    1976)

    where the

    pursuit

    of

    higher

    education and a career are

    central

    to increas-

    ing

    one's social

    standing

    and wealth.

    A

    professor

    commented:

    I'm

    not

    so

    confident

    about

    the future

    in

    the

    aggregate

    because I think the

    country

    faces some hard

    problems

    which will

    impinge

    on

    (my children)

    whether

    they

    like

    it or not. On the other

    hand,

    I

    would have to

    say

    in

    the

    case

    of

    my kids, they're

    bright kids, well-educated, good

    work

    habits. I think

    they

    have

    quite bright

    futures.-

    Age: 47, male, college professor, Ph.D.

    A

    lawyer reflecting on the current economic/political situation

    sounds a

    more ominous note:

    I am

    very

    concerned about

    what

    the future

    will

    be like in

    America. We ar