Introduction
Alfred Lubrano’s Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams is a treatise on class mobility critiques in America. The author provides a detailed description of the individuals experiencing a variety of issues in America. The book provides a summation of the blue-collar upbringing that the community has within the white-collar world. Across the diverse demographic culture, bound by race, religion, and sex, exploring the individual’s experiences and consistency in emotions presents remarkable outcomes that can influence the world today. Through Alfred’s works, it is clear that college individuals who move into the white-collar world live in limbo. The book’s central theme is to explore the triumphs and challenges people from different social backgrounds face when moving up the social ladder, from blue to white-collar worlds in America.
Book Summary
Lubrano presents the beginning of the book by providing a clear definition of both blue and white collars. According to Lubrano, the difference in blue and white-collar is based on the general level of education and the type of work they are engaged in. The author recounts that the blue-collar persons may only have an associate’s degree, trade degree, or a certification for some course. On the other hand, the white-collar minimum requirement is a bachelor’s degree, showing significant differences in educational levels. Additionally, Lubrano compares the white-collar and blue-collar persons based on their operation industry, indicating that they operate in offices. At the same time, the latter works with their hands in service industries. Therefore, Lubrano argues that the 4-year college journey is the only aspect that assists in the transition from blue to white-collar.
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The book transitions to establish the blue-collar background, mentioning the Straddlers and the overall statistics on blue-collar mobility and class. Lubrano begins to provide the unique struggles that Saddlers go through while undertaking college education. The author stipulates that blue-collar persons are taught about hard work and how it will help them achieve their goals, the high value of both obedience and loyalty to the community, forego emotions, patriotism, and the importance of proper communication. Such aspects are taught to college students, hoping they will have improved efficiency and interactivity in their service delivery, as depicted by Lubrano (Adams, & Perez, 2020). He further illustrates how the blue-collar children commence their college education, with one group of their parents advocating for the same because they view college as an opportunity to get better jobs. The others are afraid of increasing knowledge that makes their children outsmart them. However, since most parents conform with the first analogy, Lubrano states that “Straddlers’ parents have such plans for their kids. With strong hopes but scant information, many push their progeny toward the vague realm of something Better—the glorious middle class,” (Lubrano, 2005, p.39). Lubrano shows how the parents view the blue-collar degree as a unique tool to help their children succeed.
Lubrano compares and contrasts blue and white-collar cultures, mostly when blue-collar persons attend collages to develop into a straddler. The author illustrates how Straddlers start to change once they enter college. He recounts cases of changing language, dietary choices, and religious perspectives, and thus confirming that college education does change the blue-collar children, to some point (Perry, 2020). Lubrano eludes that the blue-collar children who reside in their place of learning have reduced feelings attached to their religion or the family, representing the cultural clash between the new social class the child is exposed to and their home.
Lubrano presents an interesting comparison of the white and blue-collar kids while in college. He stipulates that white-collar children are raised with more emphasis on self-esteem and presentation of their feelings if they are not fulfilled. Additionally, they do not understand the value of a dollar to the blue-collar children; thus, they do not have the urge or desire to work. The author argues that the white-collar kids navigate campus with a sense of belonging and sureness that they will guide them in achieving their career goals (Granovsky Amit, 2018). Therefore, the interaction between the white and blue-collar kids during their college-level acts as a preparation channel for the blue-collar kids in their journey. This is described by Lubrano when he comments that “, if you come from the working class, you haven’t got a clue how to conduct yourself when you first land in an office. You’re lost if you can’t navigate the landscape—if you follow blue-collar mores and speak your mind, directly challenging authority. Without
tact and subtlety, without the ability to practice politics amongst the cubicles, an executive with a blue-collar background will not rise” (Lubrano, 2005, p.143). Lubrano highlights the issues that cause the blue and white-collar kids’ cultural clash during their college level and documents both parties’ expectations in future activities. Lubrano attempts to describe the floundering that the blue-collar persons engage in while trying to adapt to the white-collar persons, often leading them into Limbo.
Lubrano further elucidates that the blue-collar personnel struggles to rise to the white-collar standards because of their inability to adopt the expected dress codes in white-collar jobs and their inauthenticity public politics. Stereotypes based on the blue-collar persons indicate that they view the boss as a person who demands loyalty from the workers. However, the white-collar culture educates its persons that the boss requires a firm’s commitment and not the coworkers. Lubrine attenuates that the white-collar personnel adapts to the organization’s desires, thus having more patience and proficiency in climbing the success ladder than the blue-collar persons (McCann & Granter, 2019). He also stipulates that people advance further through networking instead of hard work, which the blue-collar cultures have embraced. Lubrano states that “I didn’t realize that doing a job well is no guarantee of advancement and opportunity. There are
ways to get ahead that have nothing to do with hard work. But blue-collar people are taught that that’s a person’s only currency—you sell your labor and give the boss an honest eight hours” (Lubrano, 2005, p.157). He attempts to explain how hard work is not effective in ensuring the advancement of careers for the people.
Throughout the book, Lubran shows essential information about what makes the blue-collar Straddlers successful. He recounts some of the challenges he faces throughout his college course and illustrates the benefits of blue and white-collar cultures in developing their kids.
Critical Review
The dominant theme in Lubrano’s book is to explore the triumphs and challenges that people from different social grounds face when moving up the social ladder, from the blue to white-collar worlds in America. Throughout the book, Lubrano attempts to distinguish the cultural differences between the blue- and white-collar groups and challenges that the Straddlers go through as they try to climb the social ladder. He recounts situations such as changes in language, family attachment, religion, and money-spending behaviors that the blue-collar children adopt while in college. Lubrano further illustrates blue-collar personnel’s attempts to copy the white-collar individuals’ actions and cultures, which fails because they do not share similar values. As a result, he documents how these differences affect blue-collar individuals when they obtain white-collar jobs, including the issue of proper dress codes. Therefore, through elaborating such elements, Lubrano achieves his purpose and informs the audience about the disparities existential between the blue- and white-collar persons and their social lives.
Lubrano is biased in his accounts to explore what and how the blue- and white-collar cultures differ. His social perspectives, philosophy, and cultural positions are among the key elements that show his bias on the subject matter. Lubrano’s arguments and conclusions are inclined to show the negatives of the white-collar cultures, showing that he has a soft spot for the blue-collar culture.
Lubrano’s presentation of the book, its characters, setting, and overall information flow is impressive. He provides a clear description of how American society has had variations in demographics, race, sex, and cultural practices, which affect the outcomes of the persons. Through the book, various strengths are notable in Lubrano’s Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams. One of these strengths is that it creates an environment for self-evaluation, assisting people in determining the value brought about by their culture to their lives. Another power of the book is that it does not compare racial factors and is thus not discriminative. Therefore, it means that any person who reads the elements presented will identify with the general cultures of either blue- or white-collar, helping them to adjust to their environment more effectively.
The book’s primary weakness is that it does not explore other environmental and biological factors that can influence the overall change in behaviors and character for the blue-collar individuals. Other than the influence of the white-collar personnel’s lifestyles, general growth, adolescence, personal preferences, personal goals and objectives, and changing school dynamics can affect how the blue-collar individuals develop. Therefore, the book fails to consider this perspective in its evaluation. However, the author correctly supports the thesis, ensuring it is adequately positioned for contemporary culture. However, the book is limited in that it fails to explore the perspectives mentioned above that can effect changes in behavior and overall preferences in college kids.
The author draws claims from the material being presented. He explicitly states that the blue-collar people are left in a limbo state when they associate and adopt the white-collar limbo. Lubrano says, “They are Straddlers in limbo, still attached to their working-class roots while living a new kind of life in the white-collar world” (p.14). His claims are presented in the statements which show that the blue-collar culture is at a disadvantage against the white-collar culture. However, the former attempts to copy the latter, and their lives are disrupted, thus living in a state of Limbo.
The author does not have to suppress contrary evidence in the book. The claim is presented effectively, and evidence from the author’s interviews further illustrates the thesis’s credibility. Therefore, Lubrano’s book stipulates the differences between the two cultural groups, suggesting that one of the two is limited and tries to adapt to others’ lifestyles. The claim is supported through the narratives and interviews, eliminating contradictory evidence that might otherwise interfere with the thesis.
The author’s case is proved in a variety of ways. One of these proofs emanates from Lubrano’s use of interviews as evidence to show the issues he expresses among the different cultural groups. The use of interviews helps improve the validity of his claims and thus ascertains how these claims are proved. Additionally, Lubrano focuses on stipulating the existential challenges in climbing the blue-collar personnel’s social ladder, contrasting his ideologies to the white-collar people. Therefore, he readily proves his claims and supports the same with evidence from the book and narratives about the Struddlers.
Conclusion
The book’s primary theme is to explore the triumphs and challenges people from different social backgrounds face when moving up the social ladder, from blue to white-collar worlds in America. Lubrano attempts to argue that the blue-collar persons are at a disadvantage, illustrating some of the challenges they face while in their careers. I would recommend this book to many people, including students in colleges, teachers, and parents. This is because the book provides a mixture of essential information that can guide them on cultural conflicts and clashes while at the campus. Reading the book will provide such personnel with important information about social lifestyles and the importance of abiding by one’s cultural setting.
I have learned a lot from the book, especially on social class issues. Through the book, I have understood the social ladder concept and the difficulties involved when attempting to compete with individuals from different social and cultural backgrounds. Knowledge is helpful to me in many ways. I will apply the information I have gathered to my life, especially in leadership and career roles. I will use the knowledge to understand the differences in social and cultural viewpoints, which can help develop proper rapport with teams. I will also utilize the gained knowledge to improve my communication with others, employing emotional intelligence concepts, especially when dealing with a diverse community.
References
Adams, J. M., & Perez, R. J. (2020). Straddling Class in the Academy: 26 Stories of Students, Administrators, and Faculty from Poor and Working-Class Backgrounds and their Compelling Lessons for Higher Education Policy and Practice: Ardoin, S., & martinez, b.(2019). Straddling class in the academy: 26 stories of students, administrators, and faculty from poor and working-class backgrounds and their compelling lessons for higher education policy and practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus. 215 pp. ISBN: 978-1-62036-740-7
Granovsky amiT, T. (2018). Israeli fashion between individuality and national identity: Reflections on the exhibition White-Blue Collar. Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, 9(1), 87-107.
Lubrano, A. (2005). Limbo: Blue-collar roots, white-collar dreams. John Wiley & Sons.
McCann, L., & Granter, E. (2019). Beyond ‘blue-collar professionalism’: continuity and change in the professionalization of uniformed emergency services work. Journal of Professions and Organization, 6(2), 213-232.
Perry, M. (2020). Degree Completion in Blue Collar STEM Associate’s Degree and Certificate Programs at Community Colleges in a Mid-Atlantic State: An Exploratory Analysis of Three Critical Factors for Educating African American Students (Doctoral dissertation, Morgan State University).
