ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the "temporality" of status passages, and talks about already collected data which might pertain to temporal aspects of American social mobility. The difficulty of accurately predicting phase and motivation is compounded by an additional one: the degree to which the mobility enterprise was successful. The models for both mobility routes were equally visible to the boys. Decisions in favor of immediate money and prestige often led to prison and downward careers, but sometimes they paid off handsomely and over the long haul. After all there was, and is, a sustaining social structure for such illicit mobilities. Rates of mobility vary in degree from very rapid to exceedingly slow. The consequences of sudden, unexpected, and often undreamed of great mobility are suggested by the careers of celebrities, stars, and heroes. Their quick ascents are due less to their personalities and skills as to the efficacy of promotional campaigns or the unpredictable but passionate reactions of mass audiences.
