The Age of Miracles: How Is Social Ranking Portrayed in Young Adult Literature?

  In everyday life we observe people getting treated differently based on social ranking. Modern society has made it so that social classes and ranking is based of money and status. I have found that social ranking is depicted a little differently in my reading book. One of these books being The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. The Age of Miracles is about a girl named Julia and her life in Arizona, as the Earth's days start becoming longer and longer. Sylvia, her piano instructor, is an outcast in society because of her lifestyle, which affects her social ranking. She lives freely and on real time, not the time appointed by the government. In this book I believe that the author wants to show the reader that in some communities social ranking is based off of whether people fit in.
  In the book Julia's mother treats Sylvia like she's lesser than her because she lives a different, freer lifestyle. This displays unfair treatment due to someone disagreeing with her lifestyle. She lives in a different way than  most in her community and because of this everyone places her lower in social ranking. It's unfair to her because she's being herself and is penalized even more because people are disgusted by her. Julia's mother shows her distaste even more for Sylvia by trying to stop interactions between Sylvia and her family. She tries to stop Julia's piano lessons and doesn't want to bring her cookies when Julia presents the idea. This shows exclusion all because she has a low social ranking. It's disappointing to see someone go at such great lengths to detach themselves from someone else who's different.  
  This claim makes me think deeply about humanity because it shows how mean people can just because of one appointed trait. It makes me evaluate the people carrying out these actions because they have no right to be putting other people down. It's upsetting because a lot of discrimination comes out of social ranking. People feel the need to make others feel bad because they're not as good as a higher class. I believe that we become infatuated with the idea that a higher social ranking or class makes you almighty and this stops us from treating people equally, with respect. Just because you have a lot of money or you're cool doesn't mean you have the right to put people down because you're better then them. Social classes were established, but not made to set people apart.