Boundary Lines

Ruby’s, at the end of the Oceanside Pier, illustrates a boundary line which separates the middle-class from the lower-class citizens. During my time spent at the pier I took note of a variety of locals, among them were people of lower-class and middle-class status. There were men of various age groups as well as families outside, fishing for their dinners, who were obviously of a lower-class. Less than an assumption, this was an obvious indication made by the clothing they wore, which was unwashed and weathered. One man, wearing an old hooded sweatshirt and dirty jeans, spoke to us about the lobster dinner he and his buddy were going to catch. He, longingly, spoke of full bellies and wine as he puffed on his cigarette. He was cold and his moral was down as a result of his lack of success and the empty belly he possessed. A family of five sat outside of Ruby’s because they had a coupon, but no money to buy anything to redeem it. However, the people exiting Ruby’s were middle-class citizens. Their clothing was not dirty, yet was still casual and affordable looking. They too wore hooded sweatshirts, yet theirs were clean and displayed the name of a sports team of university. Some wore shorts, with Ugg boots, while others wore clean denim. They left talking and laughing with their families, with the full bellies that the fisherman had spoken of and pined for. The lower-class fishing families did not enter Ruby’s, though the higher-class citizens would dine there and then walk around the pier. Plantation owners and slaves lived with similar boundary lines. While the lower-class slaves were confined to slave quarters and work areas, the higher-class slave owners had their mansions and as well as run of the plantation.