In the 1830s-1850s, Irish-Americans, simply because they were Catholic and "peasants," were discriminated against at every turn and in every way. They were always placed in the lowest skilled jobs, lived in the worst areas, and were paid less than any other worker. This went on for all of the middle 19th century until attention was turned to the Italians, or Greeks, or Polish immigrants (Doran, 2005, p. 3). And

The lowest-ranking had to jingle a little bell in warning of their polluting approach. In much of India, Dalits were prohibited from entering temple" (India Caste system, ancient India Caste System) There have been indications since 1450 of changes and a questioning of the caste system. For example, in 1469, the guru Nanak, 1st guru of Sikhs, "...refused to accept the caste system and the supremacy of the Brahmanical priests

While war is often a major factor in changing the nature of property ownership, much as major depressions, such as that of 1920 to 1940, another factor can be large increases in competition, such as that in industrial production that has risen in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan since the Vietnam War (Capitalism pp). All such developments "put stresses on the ability of individuals to finance and mange their operations (Capitalism

Those individuals that are at the low end of the spectrum when it comes to earning wages would be happy to see more money in their paychecks as well, and many of the women that were in the workforce during that time were able to perform the jobs just as well as the men could but they were generally not allowed the opportunity (Frager & Patrias, 2006). Even for

'" (Voltair, Ch. 1) This is a perspective which seems increasingly ludicrous in the face of war, carnage, inequality and exploitation, and indeed, encounters with such extreme pessimists as Martin do reveal this to be something of a farce. To the point, we come to view this as something of a template for the complacency which had allowed the inequality of feudalism to persist. The notion that there was some connection between a divine abolutism and

Social Inequality in Trifles Literary works of fiction are common modes of presenting social issues. For instance, Susan Glaspell's play, Trifles, examines gender issues in society, presenting a story of a woman who killed her husband as a result of her decision to end the mental and physical abuse she suffered at his hand. Through the symbolic use of physical elements, such as the canary and the cage, the quilt, and