Our social class system kind of looks like a wedding cake. The lower class is the largest, and each higher class gets smaller and smaller until you get to the 1% at the top, looking down on everyone like a cake topper with fake smiles permanently stamped onto their plastic faces. It all depends on perspective. From the top, the bottom layer looks awfully grimy, all close to the ground and stuff. Ick.
In Mortal Engines, the great traction city of London is also described as looking like the tiers of a wedding cake, with the smog-filled lower layer powering the city, and with gleaming white buildings at the top, where the ruling class lives. The thing is, that lower layer supports everything. Why aren't they taken better care of?
Questions About Society and Class
- What are the different social classes, where do they live in the great traction city of London, and which jobs are done by which classes?
- The Lower Tier of London is the largest, and the Top Tier is the smallest. Structurally, this is logical, but symbolically what do the sizes of the tiers represent?
- London would be unable to function without the hard work of the Lower Tier. Why do they put these people in such harsh conditions with little-to-no healthcare?