Limbo: Blue-Collar

Roots, White-Collar
Dreams
Frankie Tilley
PS 4003-TC3
 Alfred Lubrano, a
features writer for the
Philadelphia Inquirer,
was born and raised in
Brooklyn, New York to a
blue-collar family.
This book compiles his
Introduction own personal story and
hundreds of
interviewees examples
of the struggle in
transitioning from one
social class to another .
V
S
The Straddler Experience
and Living in Limbo

Straddler generally refers to people

who were raised in a working class
background, but over the course of
their lives, move into the middle. Often
this is due to a higher education.
Limbo is a figurative place that
Straddlers live in while trying to hold on
to their customs and cultures of origin
whilst fitting in to their new social class.
 The Great Divide is Lubranos description of the
differences in the Straddlers upbringing and their new
existence. Some of the focused challenges were:
Higher education
The Great Being book-smart was never considered a compliment
Communication and language
Divide Learning to filter when to provide opinions and knowledge
Questioning beliefs and theories
Racism, religion, old wives-tales, etc.
Social customs
Questioning authority
Work ethic
Proper dress
 Lubranos novel takes an in-depth look at the internal
conflicts experienced by individuals born into blue-
collar homes but now living and breathing white-collar
status and how their lives and relationships have
Conclusion been effected by that trajection.
With their legs dangling on either side of the fence,
not quite assimilated into either class, these
Straddlers are struggling to find balance in both their
old and new worlds.