The Dispossessed

Deresiewicz bluntly states his own definition of the working class in is essay. He believes those who work an hourly wage belong to this class of people. He elaborates on our culture's tendency to attribute negative qualities to out lower class denizens. We can often see them as lazy, uncleanly, and uneducated, and often ignore the positive qualities that they often bear. Growing up in the working class leads to a greater understanding of values. These families can often be stronger than those who only know the privileged teachings of the bourgeois.  He also claims that American culture seems to ignore these facts, even going so far as to point out that our television programs often play their depictions of the working class for laughs.
I believe that Deresiewicz intended to speak directly to the working and middle classes of America. While one might assume that the working class might already know the truth behind his words, Deresiewicz believes that our society as a whole isn't aware of hoe dominant the working class is. He picks out shows that most middle and lower class Americans can relate to, without feeling the need to give any information beyond the title. He wants the working and middle class to reflect on their own lives, think about the people they encounter daily, so that they might be gain some added perspective.