"Who are you?" The Devil asked him.
Source: Smirnenski, Hristo “The Tale of the Stairs.” 1923.
Available at [🔗].
current affairs
In the Financial Times article “Why changing class comes at a price,” Janah Ganesh explores the emotional costs of rising on the social ladder.
links
Janah Ganesh “Why changing class comes at a price.” Financial Times, 10 May 2019. [🔗]
questions
This story makes heavy use of metaphors. What do the stairs and the loss of different senses represent? What is the moral of the story?
When rising on the social ladder, is it possible to feel fully at home in the culture that you grew up in as well as in the new culture that you gain access to through social mobility?
Why might it be difficult for high level professionals who came from modest origins to cater to the needs and speak out for the interests of the social world that they grew up in?
What emotional costs does Janah Ganesh envision for social risers? Do you think that social risers experience more mental health problems than people who stayed at the same rung of the social ladder as they moved from their families of origin to their professional lives?