1) Both readings show that social class is not a straightforward concept, and they both highlight the disconnect between perception and reality. In reading 4.1, people often label themselves as “middle class” even when their income doesn’t really match that category. Reading 4.2 also shows this gap between belief and reality by pointing out that most Americans think wealth is more evenly distributed than it actually is thus resulting in categorizing themselves in the wrong bracket. The difference between the two readings is that reading 4.1 looks at self-identity and how people see themselves while reading 4.2 goes more into depth about the actual statistics of inequality.

2) The station that is closest to me is the F train- 179th street. Based on Reading 4.1, I would say people in my neighborhood are majority working class with a small percentage that actually identify with middle class. My reasoning behind this inference is because of the mix of public housing, apartments and family homes. The demographic of my area leans more towards ethnic backgrounds and those who are immigrants that tend to work more entry-level positions locally. The actual cost of living in this area compared to what people earn makes the middle class idea feel more like a perception rather than a reality.

3) Based on Reading 4.2, NYC shows the inequality of wealth through the many divisions through the city based on residence. In Manhattan, such as the Village, upper East side, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg and Queens with areas like Bayside or Forest Hills a commonality of higher earned income is more prevalent compared to areas such as the South Bronx, Jamaica Queens or East New York- where you can clearly see the economic contrasts between each area through our transit system. NYC tends to group together those alike to preserve social class divisions.