The film “The Pursuit of Happiness,” directed by Gabrielle Muccino, chronicles the real-life experiences of Chris Gardner as he faces many difficult obstacles. He struggles to overcome these obstacles to create a better life not only for himself but also for his son after his wife leaves him. He finds himself evicted from his home and has a small amount of money in his pocket for his daily expenses due to an unpaid internship. Despite the series of challenges Chris faces in his daily life, he continues to be persistent and determined to achieve his goal of becoming a stockbroker. Gardner's life can be viewed from a sociological perspective with concepts such as the theory of functional analysis, social mobility, and the theory of symbolic interactionism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Analysis of Chris's Life Struggles Through a Sociological Lens Class division has been a part of American culture for several centuries. Society forms a social stratification among individuals depending on their access to resources and power. This concept is demonstrated in Chris's work environment. In Dean Witter Company, we can see that more educated people hold a higher and more important position, for example Jay Twistle who served as a manager for the company. Mr. Twistle repeatedly ignores Chris whenever they meet. He didn't believe Chris had what it took to be good with numbers and good with people. When they share a taxi ride, Mr. Twistle is impressed by Chris's ability to solve a Rubik's Cube in a short amount of time. She finally offers him an interview for the Dean Witter training program. The internship was a path to help Chris have the opportunity to gain knowledge in a new form of trade with the hope of receiving a job as compensation otherwise the opportunity would have been useless. The Dean Witter Company served as a functionalist theory because only the best intern would receive a job considering the program only chose one out of twenty applicants. In the film, Chris shows the transition from one social class to another. Social mobility is demonstrated by the experiences Chris went through from moving down the social ladder to reaching its highest point. He went from being homeless to having a job where he is financially stable. Social class is based on an individual's efforts. Chris wanted to improve his social class, so he was determined to do whatever it took. An example of his commitment would be when he waited for Mr. Twistle outside the company just to have a word with him so he could show his true interest in joining the company. During his internship he suffered from poverty. There's a scene in the movie where he finds his things outside his motel room. He has absolutely no money and no place to stay. As a result, he becomes desperate, so he goes to a clinic to have his blood drawn in exchange for money so that he and his son can survive another day. There is a change in social class when he earns a job position for the company which leads him to be at the top of the ladder overcoming life on the streets and achieving what he wanted by working hard for it. Today he is a millionaire who serves as a businessman of his investment company "Gardner Rich and Co" and as a motivational speaker. The representation of symbolic interactionism is represented by Chris trying to chase the American dream throughout the entire film. Relationships between individuals within a society help each other, which means that the.