African-Americans and Puerto Ricans, for instance, have a long history of racial tensions. The other maids celebrate Marissa's promotion by doing an improbable dance of joy to show her success is a success for all of them -- in real life, they might be happy for her, but maid work is hard work that doesn't leave a lot of energy for dancing on the job. It is only one step above cleaning people's houses for a living and only better because there is a place to go up and a chance for advancement at a hotel while there is no place to go when working in a private home. But it still involves cleaning the toilets and scrubbing the floors.
Marissa is very intelligent, as pointed out to her by the butler who quit when she got fired. He gives her a little speech in which he says, "To serve people takes dignity and intelligence." He goes on to explain, "They are only people with money and we are not their servants because we serve them," indicating that class is more than one's occupation. He can say that because he isn't Puerto Rican or an immigrant. Marissa has class in the sense that she is honest, attractive, hard working, intelligent, well-spoken, polite, etc. But as she tells Chris during the break-up scene, "Half the time I'm some stereotype they're making fun of; the other half of the time, I'm just invisible," indicating that she experiences discrimination. This came out clearly in an early scene, too, when the white clerk at the dry cleaners ignores her. When Marissa comes behind the counter to speak to her, she orders, "Step away! Away! Away!"
Later, she says, "Get out -- out!" She would never say that to a person she didn't consider marginalized. It expresses, too, the attitude of mainstream America toward marginalized people -- they don't want them around. Marissa's Puero Rican mother understands this and is alarmed by her daughter's relationship with an upper class person: "You want to end up back in the projects? Keep dreaming dreams that will never happen."
Alleyne (2005) states, "...understanding the complexity...
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Neighborhood Comparative Analysis One the island of Manhattan, each neighborhood contains a distinct demographic makeup and the character of a neighborhood can change almost by the block. To see how the relationship between these highly disparate neighborhoods functions, one can compare two neighborhoods in order to reveal the symbiotic interaction between them. By comparing census data from one postal code of the Upper West Side, 10025, with that of its next
These elements of suffering and true friendship contribute to Clarissa's ultimate spiritual survival, despite her society and her own tendency towards flippancy. Clarissa's illness brings with it a number of results. Her personality and outlook become altogether deeper than might be expected. She for example surprises the reader with her awareness of her own flawed nature. Perhaps her illness has brought her into contact with the flaws of the society
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