Kyle Lewis

Professor Erica Richardson

BLS 3085 Essay 1 Prompt 1
1 Mar, 2021

Integral to society in life are the respective and differentiating lifelong experiences of

every individual human being, and this is especially relevant for black and latinx people and

other people of color historically. “Class” is a strongly impactful and prominent part of that

which affects the respective livelihoods of all socially and economically; what makes “class”

impactful and prominent is that it is a status of identification that a demographic of people are

apart of relatively to others above and below them (worth of owned property and the amount of a

commodity personally accessible economically, and how well a of living and capacity of

influence on the surroundings socially). The Chip Woman’s Fortune (a play) by Willis

Richardson functions as a great example because of the living condition of the black family in it,

the home they are living, and their overall life experience.

The family in The Chip Woman’s Fortune is a poor family. They live in a considerably

inexpensive household of deficient quality, which is detailed at the very beginning of the play

when the scene is being set up. According to the text, "The scene is the very plain dining room of

a poor colored family. The floor is without covering and the walls are without pictures. At the

center of the floor is a rectangular table with a couple of chairs near it. [And] In the rear wall is a

fireplace in which a low fire is burning.” (Richardson, Willis 1). With a bit of description of the

house, the indication is visually provided that the family’s home is not luxurious in the slightest

and is mostly barren of decoration and other furnishings. This is the kind of home that the class

of poor people inhabit, especially more so for black people given that they especially have lived

in inferior neighborhoods (rundown homes and apartment buildings, cheaper furniture which

they sometimes did not have, and less sanitary streets), and this aspect of poverty especially with

the racial disparities, persist in contemporary times. This also conveys that these kinds of
environments have tended to be more dangerous (due to relevant factors) like there being more

criminal activity, and those who are apart of upper classes (middle and up) would avoid these

neighborhoods since they can afford to live in more luxurious areas.

In addition to how the home of the family was visualized, they do not have much

regarding money and the value of the property they own also would not amount to much. Silas

(one of the characters who is a member of the family and is the husband of Liza) mentioned

having been unable to make payments on his vehicle since the first one and was asking around

for money to pay for the Victrola. According to the text, Silas says “Well, you know we ain't

paid nothin' on that Victrola since the first payment…” with Liza responding “Yes, Ah know

that. But you been promisin’.”, and then Silas follows up by saying this with further dialogue

soon after, “Ah been doin’ a lot o’ promisin’ and no payin’… The man said he was goin’ to send

here and get the thing if we didn’t pay this month… Aunt Nancy’s got to start payin’ for her

room and board… We can’t keep her around here as high as everything is.” (Richardson, Wiilis

7-8). This is also demonstrative of the family being apart of the poor as Silas had to resort to

asking Aunt Nancy for a sum of money to manage a payment towards to the Victrola. Much later

on in the play, Jim gets home and hands over $15 to Silas although he needs $50, and then Aunt

Nancy gives Jim some money which he then gives half to Silas so he can finally pay for the

Victrola (Richardson, Willis 20-21). It is only at this part of the play that Silas is able to keep the

vehicle when he finally gets some money from Aunt Nancy. Financial instability is another

challenge for poor people on top of poor living conditions (as aforementioned) and even often

leads to it, as they have very little money and the property in each of their possession is not of

much worth, thus they end up falling below the poverty line. This would also entail various
symptoms of undergoing economic hardship such as not being able to afford numerous necessary

services for living, food and water, clothes and falling behind on bills.

In conclusion, the existence of “class” is significant not only historically but in

contemporary times as well. This hierarchical stratification is how different demographics of

people are categorized on a basis that is socioeconomical, which involves how much money do

each of them have and the quality of how well they live. In Willis Richardson’s The Chip

Woman’s Fortune, the poor black family lives in a cheap home having little decoration and

furniture, and Silas has not been able to keep up with the payments for the Victrola which has led

him to ask Aunt Nancy for money and is only able to keep the vehicle when Jim and finally Aunt

Nancy gives him money, which exemplifies “class” and its socioeconomic influence. The system

of class in every real-world society functions as separation between different groups of people

based on their social and economic status and is importantly involved in many various relevant

topics and issues (especially race).