A local look at Rank&Status

As I prepare to go downtown for Mardi Gras I thought that I would reflect specifically on some of the conversations that took place during Tuesdays Cluster Convos. I thought that this time of year specifically relates to my topic of rank and status and how it influences the way we treat others and how New Orleans is an interesting mesh of all different people.

Comparing this specifically to the way Shakespeare combines people of all different ranks and statuses of a society to show audiences how they look and interact with people who are different than themselves.

Rank and Status influences every aspect of our lives from language to specifically looking at Shakespeare the way he wrote a character's lines. One's of a higher class Shax wrote in poetry. Specifically looking at Merchant of Venice while Portia and Nerissa may be friends Shax wrote their initially introductions with Nerissa speaking in prose verse while Portia spoke in poetry.

Mardi Gras is a particularly unique event in which all people regardless of social class come together. It is much like the festival of Saturnalia where people wore masks and dressed up as someone different than themselves. Actors and average people get to play kings and throw gifts to their peers. It is one of the funnest times of the year because there is an immense amount of freedom that comes from being someone other than yourself.