18 author, the readers could collect facts about the authors personality and life. It can
help the readers to appreciate the authors literary work. The last approach is the socio-cultural historical approach. This approach
focuses on the social, culture, and history background of literary works. It implies that the social, culture, and history background of literary works will influence the making of
the literary works
2.3 Review of American Modern Social Life
This section reviews American modern social life, American culture, and adoption in the United States. According to Gabrenya Jr., social class plays an
important role to classify human’s position in society. In American society, the level of social class influences someone’s pride. The American culture explains
the influence of American culture in modern Era. The adoption in the United States explains the statistic of child adoption in the United States.
2.3.1 Society in American Modern Social Life
According to Gabrenya Jr. the society in the United States is determined by social class. Social class is described as a combination of wealth, educational
attainment, income, occupational prestige, and membership of social network. Each class in United States’ society has different lifestyle, consumption pattern,
and values. The social class leads American to gain self esteem in their society. There are three classes in the American society. The first class is the upper
middle class or the capitalist class. This class consists of highly educated and wealthy professionals. The second is the middle class. The members of this social
class are more educated people with better jobs and leisure time to travel than the
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19 working class. The lowest class is the working class or the poor. This class
consists of highly routine workers. This class is divided into the working poor and the unemployment underclass.
Most social roles are not gender-restricted by law. It can be seen in the year 2000 the women have entered the workplace is 46.6 , increase 18.3 from
1900. Even in military, women have close equality position. The notable restriction is not placing women in direct combat. Nowadays, men also work in
feminine area such as receptionist and nursing. Gabrenya Jr., 1-15 2.3.2
American Culture The American culture is a western culture. The culture is originally
influenced by European cultures. However, the culture has been developing into unique social and cultural characteristics. The development cultures are dialect,
music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore. Nowadays, America has a large number of ethnics and races diversing as the result of immigration from many
different countries. There are five popular cultures in United States. The most popular culture
is fashion. Cowboy hats, leather motorcycle jackets, and blue jeans are the icons of American fashion. Second is theater. Theater of the United States is based in
the Western tradition. Third is film and television. The cinema and television are major mass media in the United States. Fourth is music. Today, American music
can be heard all over the world. Fifth is dance. The variety of dances in the United States has been increasing greatly. www.culture_of_the_united_states.htm
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20 2.3.3
Mass Media in United States’ Modern Era According to Elton, media is everywhere in modern society and it is
almost impossible to avoid. In his journal, Americans spend an average of twenty- eight hours per week watching television. Americans also periodically spend their
time to read newspaper, listen to the radio, and go to the movies. Mass media have become part of human live. Mass media also influence society, politic, economic,
and ideology. Mass media, therefore, play an important role in the way we vote, the things we buy, the way we act, the values we hold, and the way we perceive
reality. Elton, 1 2.3.4
Adoption in the United States In the last decade, domestic adoption is the most popular way for
American families to expand their family. More than seven hundred thousand children are domestically adopted by prospective families. In Washington DC,
more than
two thousand
children are
adopted annually.
http:www.infoplease.comusstatistics total-adoptions.html
In the United States, the adoptive parents may adopt children via public and private agencies or independently by attorneys or facilitators. The adoption
includes both infant adoption and older child adoption. An older-children domestic adoption costs nearly free to ten thousand dollars after the help of
federal or state subsidies. An infant adoption costs five thousand dollars to forty
Year Washington
National Percentage
1999 2,448
118,138 2.07
2000 3,025
127,630 2.37
2001 2,748
127,407 2.16
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21 thousand dollars or more. An infant adoption is more expensive because it is
categorized as a private adoption. The stepparents must hire attorneys of private agencies to process the infant adoption. Moreover, infant adoption is more
complicated because it requires a variety of factors such as services provided, travel expenses, birthmother expenses, requirements in the state, and other factors.
In the United States, adoption is also common for public figures. The Oscar winner, Sandra Bullock, adopted a three-half-month baby from New
Orleans namely Louis Bardo Bullock. Sandra Bullock and Jesse G. James, her ex- husband, planed the adoption four years earlier but the process finally
accomplished in January 2010. Several months later, Sandra Bullock became a single
parent after
declaring her
divorce with
Jesse G.
James. http:www.people.compeoplepackagearticle.html One of the most famous
adoptee is Steve Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc and also a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company. Steve Jobs
was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs in 1955 in San Francisco, California. http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiSteve_Jobs.htm
2.3.5 Baby-Brokering in the United States
Adoption in the United States is a sensitive issue, especially for infant adoption. The adoptive parents should hire private attorneys to complete the
processes. Since all of the processes will be handled by their attorney, including giving the compensation to the surrogate mother, the adoptive parents are asked to
pay in a lot of amount. Based on article in www.adoption.org, most of adoptive
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22 parents refuse to publish their identity when they adopt a child. Hiring private
attorneys, therefore, will also keep their secret safe. Private infant adoption in the United States is often the target of attack,
and the motivation is usually the amount of money. Here are some scenarios of brokering babies in United States.
2.3.5.1 A consideration between save or sell the baby Some of poor families have more children than they can feed. An agency
or private attorney comes to offer the replacement for the children. Mostly, the agency or private attorney promises to relocate the children to more suitable
parents and give them a good compensation. It is costs around fifteen thousand dollars.
2.3.5.2 A consideration between a social and business practice There are a lot of agencies which have several domestic infant adoption
programs. It costs vary widely depending on the babys racial or ethnic background, and reasons given include a greater difficulty in placing the children
in the lower cost program. 2.3.5.3 A consideration between a rightful parent or higher bidder
An infant adoption in United States costs around forty thousand dollars. A private attorney will arrange all of the requirements for the adoptive parent. Since
the contract agreement has not been signed yet, the attorney may rearrange the adoption to the highest bidder.
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23
2.4 Theoretical Framework
