As we have been discussing the American dream during class, something didn't sit right with me. Someone mentioned that the American dream must involve the transition from rags to riches, and therefore someone that already starts out rich in the United States simply cannot achieve the American dream.
However, I do not believe that becoming rich is the most defining aspect of the American dream. According to the CBS article titled Who Lives the American Dream, most Americans say 'freedom and opportunity' is the most important aspect of the American dream to them.
I believe that even a poorer person could define themselves as 'living the American dream' as long as they can do what they want and they are free from oppressive rule. To me 'freedom and opportunity' don't necessarily involve money.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Looks are Everything
Today in class, we looked at ads from the 1920s and compared them to ads from today. One particular ad we looked at for Paris Garters (above), made me think of a certain difference between old ads and more recent ad. I noticed that this ad is meant to attract its audience by making people realize what they don't want to be as opposed to what they do. For example, when I look through magazines, the ads I see show beautiful faces and flawless models. These ads cause me to stop by making me think I want to look like that. The ad for Garters is supposed to catch my attention by making me think of what I don't want to look like. I don't see many of those types of ads today. What might this suggest about changing American culture?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Let there be LIGHT
Throughout my reading of The Great Gatsby, I have noticed the reoccuring theme of light. One of the most interesting parts, in my opinion, was when Nick described Gatsby's house on his way home on page 81. He described in detail how Gatsby's house was "lit from tower to cellar," (pg 81). A little later, Gatsby and Nick discussed how Nick would do Gatsby a favor and invite Daisy over for tea the next day. I thought it was interesting that Gatsby lit his house up that way on the day he made an effort to reach out to Daisy. It was as if he was reaching out to her and beckoning to her. Similarly, on page 113, Nick talks about how there was a period of time that the lights "failed to go on" at Gatsby's house, which was a pretty significant and unusual thing. Gatsby said that during that period of time, Daisy was over a lot, which explains why he wouldn't feel the need to light up his house. It is as if Gatsby uses his lights almost as a form of communication to Daisy, and I am curious as to what his use of lights will mean later in the book.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Price or Culture?
I would have never expected something as seemingly basic as train stations to be an indicator of social class. When we talked about this during class, I began to wonder what other typical things could possibly be markers of social class. As I began to brainstorm, the indicators seemed endless. For example, the other day I picked up a magazine at the dentist's office in my area. The magazine had ads for clothes that cost thousands of dollars. In lower income areas, it would seem pointless to have ads, and therefore magazines, like this because no one would be able to afford these things. Similarly, just the type of shampoo and toothpaste someone uses, for example, can be an indicator of social class. However, in the case of magazines and movies, it is not exactly the price that is the deciding factor. It is, in fact, the culture that the product represents.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A Controversial Decision
The killing of Osama Bin Laden gave my fellow classmates with very different reactions, which left me interested to find out what my parents thought of event.
At dinner last night, my mom shocked me with an angry reaction. She went off, saying how we should've captured him and made him pay for the thousands of lives he took. According to my mom, "killing him was the nicest thing we could have done." I think by this, she meant that Bin Laden had recently been living a less than ideal life, what with him having to hide and him being in poor health. I suppose that my mom thought that by killing him, the US was 'putting him out of his misery'.
While I see where my mom is coming from, I also had to remind her that we would gain absolutely nothing by capturing him. By trying to squeeze information out of Bin Laden, this would clearly lead to torture which is an extremely controversial idea. So what should have been done? Was killing Bin Laden really the only reasonable option?
At dinner last night, my mom shocked me with an angry reaction. She went off, saying how we should've captured him and made him pay for the thousands of lives he took. According to my mom, "killing him was the nicest thing we could have done." I think by this, she meant that Bin Laden had recently been living a less than ideal life, what with him having to hide and him being in poor health. I suppose that my mom thought that by killing him, the US was 'putting him out of his misery'.
While I see where my mom is coming from, I also had to remind her that we would gain absolutely nothing by capturing him. By trying to squeeze information out of Bin Laden, this would clearly lead to torture which is an extremely controversial idea. So what should have been done? Was killing Bin Laden really the only reasonable option?
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