Andon 1

!
Katia Andon
Professor Malvin
English 115
22 September 2016
L.A. Social Class Division: Stereotypical or Accurate?
In Los Angeles, residents and tourists make up the every day population. Whether it is
going to see the Hollywood sign or going to class, locals and sightseers have their own
impression of the city. The visual difference between the two is almost undetectable, but their
ideas of Los Angeles and its people are very different. It seems to be a common belief that
everyone in the city is either wealthy and famous or poverty-stricken and struggling. From
Beverly Hills to Skid Row, Los Angeles has many high and low parts that not only define
territorial lines, but indirectly define the people that dwell in that certain area. This reoccurring
theme of stereotypical class distinction can be seen in Los Angeles literary works today, such as
Gary Snyders Night of the Los Angeles Basin. In his poem, Snyder suggests that due to the
popularity and reputation of Los Angeles, outsiders perceive the population of L.A. as drastically
separated by social class. These perceptions are described through mythological imagery and the
personification of animals.
There are many stereotypes about Los Angeles that newcomers consider to be true. An
example of this is that the entire wealthy population of the city is made up of celebrities and the
lower class population is made up of homeless individuals. In Snyders poem, he justifies that
these stereotypical ideas of social class in Los Angeles are from a non-resident by having the
poem written in first person by an observant narrator. In the beginning and end of the poem,

Andon 2
!
Snyder describes the experience of entering and leaving the city, implying that the narrator was
just visiting or driving through Los Angeles. Swirl of light strokes writhing knot-tying light
paths, calligraphy of carsThe calligraphy of lights on the night freeways of Los Angeles will
long be remembered (Snyder 710-712). Snyder uses the many lights and roads of L.A. to
describe the freeway entrance loops and street lamps leading to the city. Towards the end of his
poem, memories of the city that will never be forgotten are recalled, implying that the narrator
wasn't a resident, but simply an observer of the city itself. He also uses their lack of orientation
when the poem states, checkered with street waysthe freeway express and exchange
freeways of carslights on the night freeways of Los Angeles (Snyder 710-712). This evidence
exemplifies how Snyder uses the perspective of an outsider in order to describe their perception
of the social classes in Los Angeles. The stereotypes regarding social status in L.A. are how
outsiders perceive the general population of the city. Their unfamiliarity proves their ignorance
of Los Angeles and its people, and can be seen more thoroughly in their idea of the high and low
class rankings.
In Los Angeles, outsiders may consider the upper class as wealthy and worthy of worship
because of the idea of their perfect lives. In Snyders poem, he compares the stereotype of the
upper class of L.A. to mythological immortal beings with lavish lifestyles, due to the typical
wealthy population in the area being perceived as celebrities. Snyder states, The Goddess in tall
rain dress tosses a handful of mealGold bellies roilgodlings ride by in Rolls Royce (Snyder
712), to describe how the privileged population is perceived in everyday life. Considering their
immense wealth, people idolize them as though they are gods, and they obviously have no issue
filling their gold bellies. When Snyder describes the god-like beings throwing scraps of food

Andon 3
!
down, presumably to the poor, the impression that is given is that the mythological presences
look down on the lower class.They are also idolized and adored by others because of their
collection of expensive and luxurious consumer products such as cars. This reflects how the
upper class is perceived as self-idolizing and seem to be worth more than the rest of the
population.
On the other hand, the lower class of the Los Angeles Area always seems to give off the
impression that turmoil and struggle is unavoidable. Snyder expresses their supposed struggles
through personification when he says, The place of the moment of trembling and gathering and
giving so that lizards clap their hands therecome pray saying, please give us health and long
life (Snyder 711). As a result of the lower class members being perceived as unclean,
economically disadvantaged, and struggling, Snyder describes the lower class through animal
personification when he portrays the lizards, or lower class, as trembling, possibly due to
fear of the unknown, or due to being cold. He also says how they pray for health and a long
life as if those privileges cannot be attained, which can be from their economic disadvantage.
The lower class is labeled as always gathered together, such as the population of Skid Row,
which is possibly why they are perceived as beggars and in need of giving. Snyder creates a
connection when comparing the lizards and the lower ranked through the similar traits of always
being closest to the bottom or ground, being cold (blooded), and thin.
The received idea of the different class distinctions in Los Angeles are exactly what they
are: a stereotype. Although there are people who live in each opposite extreme, these two very
different social aspects of Los Angeles do not define the whole city and its entire population.
Tourists and visitors do not know what the real Los Angeles is like. Everyone here is not a

Andon 4
!
famous actor or singer, and we are not all millionaires. However, we are not all so-called
vagrants that lurk the streets searching for food and shelter. Whether one resides in Beverly Hills,
lives down the street from Skid Row, or is visiting Hollywood for the weekend, each person has
their own impression of the city and its people. Clichs seem to be never ending and constantly
changing everyday, but the Los Angeles natives know the truth about their own city and its
people.

Andon 5
!
Works Cited
Snyder, Gary. Night of the Los Angeles Basin. Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology,
edited by David L. Ulin, The Library Of America, 2002, pp.710-712.