My Attempt to Impose Order

First of all, I don’t know how in the world I am supposed to “impose order” over Silas Lapham. Like I said last week, the narrative frustrates me to no end. So, imposing order may not actually happen. I’ll do my best though.

If there is anything in this book that is unordered that should be ordered it’s the social statuses represented. In a perfectly ordered society, each person in a specific social class would only mix with other people who are a part of the same social class. Aristocrats would only marry other Aristocrats which would eventually lead to problems with descendants later on down the line. But in a perfectly ordered world this wouldn’t be an issue, at least not in the minds of those who follow the rules of this world.

In Silas Lapham however, those not born into the upper classes are able to mix with and marry into the upper classes. There is no order of classes. There is instead chaos, though the chaos makes sense to those living within the boundaries of these chaotic rules. In some cases this works well. In other cases problems arise. The way the Coreys’ speak versus the way the Laphams’ speak is just one example of the wide gap that exists naturally between those born into the upper class and those who work their way up from the lower class to the upper class.

To be completely honest, the non-ordered way of things is the one that I would choose if I had any control over the way the world was ordered. But in reality, there’s a mix. The upper classes and lower classes do in fact mingle, mix, and intermarry. But for a lot of those born into the upper classes, there is an innate want for things to be perfectly ordered and to stay that way. However, if the world is going to continue to progress, this semi-archaic way of thinking must be stopped.