Essay Instructions: Read the narrative about a fictional town named McMinden. This story was written to include or allude to several concepts covered in sociology. Identifies at least 3 concepts about sociology that are alluded to in the fictional narrative. For each concept, clearly identify the passage in the narrative that you think exemplifies this concept. Also, you must identify the concept by as many of the following as possible:
· The name of the concept using sociological terminology
· If the concept is associated with a particular theory or theorist, include that information
· A brief description of the concept, in your own words
· Statement about how the concept relates to your life or to your city, state or country.
Finally, give your opinion as to whether the concepts you note are related to each other. If they are related, say how. If they are not related, then explain why.
Fictional Narrative: Living in McMinden
I’m a reporter for the Beacon-Register, writing a feature story about small town living. Today, I am walking around McMinden asking people to tell me a little about themselves and their lives here. First, let me describe the history and demographics of McMinden.
History and Demographics
McMinden is a small city in the farm belt, with a population of 20,000, along the Gilligan river. German immigrants began populating the Gilligan river valley beginning in the 1880’s, along with other white settlers moving west from Kentucky and Indiana, as well as a few black settlers from the South. The racial composition of the community has remained fairly steady over the past 130 years, except that there has been a significant increase in the Hispanic population over the past 25 years. As of the last census, the racial composition of the community breaks down as follows: 75% White; 12% Hispanic; 8% Black; 3% Native American; 2% Asian.
Twenty miles north of McMinden, there is a meat packing plant that employs a large work force, including many immigrant workers. There is also some light manufacturing which provides employment for unskilled workers. Given that McMinden is surrounded by farmland, there are quite a few businesses that provide agribusiness goods and services. For instance, there are dealerships for tractors and agricultural implements, chemical dealers, and grain storage facilities where farmers can sell commodity crops such as corn and wheat. Retail sales have always been a significant part of McMinden’s economy, as it serves as a regional center for commerce, drawing shoppers from smaller rural communities within a 70 mile radius. Some of that business has dried up, however, as adjoining areas have lost population. Yet business from workers at the packing plant makes up for those losses, so far.
The richest part of the town is a subdivision built around Lake Elmo. Most of the owners in the Lake Elmo district are bankers, business owners and professional people. A similar demographic also makes up the less ritzy district known as Apple Hill. The main part of the town is primarily middle class or working class, a mix of persons in various white collar, blue collar, retail, service and agribusiness employment. The oldest part of town, which lies north of the Gilligan river, is primarily blue collar, including a large number of people who work at the meat packing plant.
I’ve talked with seven people so far. Here is what they had to say about life in McMinden.
Junior Meyer, happily married family man, who has worked as a salesman at Baxter Tractor Sales and Supply for the past 20 years. This is a great place to raise a family away from the distractions and temptations of city life. I’ve raised three kids here. We’ve not wanted for anything. My biggest worry right now is my youngest son. He went to McMinden Community College for a year, then he dropped out and worked for a year, then he went to the trade school. Now he wants to be a musician. It seems like he just keeps trying on different roles without settling down into a particular role. It worries me. Why can’t he just pick one thing and stick with it?
Father Regis O’Connell, Roman Catholic priest of Sacred Heart Church. About half of my parishioners are Hispanic. Many of them are Mexican immigrants. Many of them work at the packing plant, or have family members who do so. My biggest concern is the way that these workers are exploited at the packing plant. Conditions in the plant are very bad, but workers are afraid to complain. The company knowingly hires undocumented workers, despite what their spokesperson says. Supervisors know who is documented and who isn’t. They are very cruel to the undocumented workers, who are afraid to complain for fear of being deported. Also, it isn’t just undocumented workers who are afraid. Angel Gouveia, who has his green card, was fired after complaining about not getting paid for overtime. The attitude of the company is that if you don’t like the work, there are ten people willing to take your place. In some respects, these Latino workers represent the latest wave of a vulnerable immigrant work force, following in the footsteps of the Irish, who were once consigned to the least desirable manufacturing jobs, and the Chinese who helped build the transcontinental railroad.
Suzanne Diedrich, a divorced mother who works at McKain Grain Company. One of the best things about this place is that kids can play sports in high school. What I mean is that in Saint Louis, where we lived before, the schools are so big that only the best athletes can make the varsity team. Here, the average student-athlete has a chance. That’s really important because I don’t want my boys to grow up to be wimps. Sports, especially varsity team sports, really help boys get tough. It is a rough world for both men and women, but men are supposed to be tough. I want my boys to be tough, like my Daddy was.
Jenny Rodriguez, a junior at McMinden high school. In a year, I’ll be gone from here. The people around here are so far behind the times that they won’t accept new things. Even the young people are negative. The school is very cliquish. The kids from Lake Elmo and Apple Hill treat the rest of us like a lower caste. Everyone hangs out in their own clique. There’s not much crosstalk ??" though young people are slightly less racist than their parents. When we first moved here, before the packing plant opened, we were the only Hispanic family in town. When I was in the first grade, we had people coming by our house yelling stuff, cussing my Mom out. They’d yell “Get out of town”. Nobody would talk to us. It hasn’t really changed ??" not really.
Sam Votapka, a retired factory foreman. Historically, this is one of the few places in this part of the farm belt that actually grew ??" at least initially ??" with the mechanization of agriculture. If you drive out of here in any direction, you’ll see the remnants of abandoned farm houses. When this region was first settled, farming was done with horses and manual labor. The region needed a fairly dense population to support farming. When tractors replaced horses, the population started to thin out. Farm jobs disappeared. Young people moved to cities. When the little communities around us had thinned out to the point that they could no longer support a variety of businesses, people started coming to McMinden to buy things. We became a regional magnet for commerce. However, the depopulation trend has continued to the point where McMinden can barely support a variety of businesses. If it wasn’t for the packing plant, this place would become a ghost town. I saw this coming thirty years ago. My daughter is a neurosurgeon in Chicago. I told her: “get out, there’s nothing around here worth staying for”. That’s what I still tell any young person.
Letisha Jones, a married working mother of three. I took paralegal studies at McMinden Community College, then got a job working for an attorney in town. It is interesting work, but it can put a big strain on me. I’m expected to stay late, if needed, but someone has to take care of my kids. My husband is manager of a business, so he can’t take care of the kids after school. The difficulty of being a professional worker and a good mother is much harder than I ever imagined.
Manuel Mendoza, a married officer with the McMinden Police. People talk about small town America as if it was some kind of Mayberry, but we have a lot of problems around here. Driving while intoxicated on alcohol is probably the biggest problem for law enforcement. Drunkenness is a major pastime. Then there’s drugs. Drugs are rampant around here. Drug abuse cuts across racial, ethnic, and class lines. White, Black, Hispanic, whatever ??" all the teenagers are doing it ??" and drugs are in plentiful supply. One thing I take a lot of pride in is figuring out what kind of drug a perpetrator is on. I can smell marijuana a mile away, but with other drugs I look at the person’s face. With methamphetamine and cocaine, the person is twitchy; with opium ??" yeah we got it here ??" the face is relaxed and the pupils constrict. You can be fooled though. One guy was acting weird down at the courthouse square. I picked him up for vagrancy, sure that he was either a dope head or mentally ill. The psychiatrist talked to him and said that there was nothing wrong with him. Go figure that one.
