The American Dream?

The American Dream is the idea that every American has the ability to achieve and prosper no matter their circumstances if they employ work hard and dedication. It is founded on the basis of democracy and equal opportunity. The U.S. is theoretically a nation that has social class mobility, therefore any person, no matter what social class they were born into, can progress themselves and achieve whatever they set their mind to. While the idea is lovely and wonderful, the reality is a much different story. There are many studies that suggest people will most likely remain in the same social class into which they were born. As a result, the American Dream is just that, a dream, for many people.

I would define wealth as the amount of money one owns. Having immense wealth means having enough money to support all of your needs and some or most of your wants. Wealth is monetary security. Those with tremendous wealth mostly live without the fear that an emergency would bankrupt them. The wealthy live with a certain kind of comfort. There are different origins of wealth, however. As evident in The Great Gatsby, there is “old” money and “new” money. “Old” money is familial wealth that usually increases with age because of interest and investments. Examples would be the Mars family and the Du Pont family. “New” money is when a person becomes wealthy themselves. Examples would be people like Viola Davis and Mark Zuckerberg.

Americans range drastically in wealth. The U.S. is split up into 6 socioeconomic classes: Capitalist, Upper Middle, Middle, Working class, Working poor, and the Underclass (1). The majority of Americans are in the Middle and Working classes, totaling 60% of the population. 13% are in the working poor class, 12% are in the underclass, 14% in the upper middle, and 1% reside within the capitalist class. I would define the working poor and the underclass as living in poverty. The average American, someone from the middle class, most likely was born into the middle class and probably has experienced financial insecurity but never legitimate poverty. This average American probably grew up hearing the message that he/she can do whatever he/she wants to do when he/she grows up. This average American probably believes in the American Dream because there are very public examples of its success (ex. Jay-Z, Oprah, Ursula Burns, etc.). Alright, maybe this average American has resolved that he/she is not going to be some famous, wealthy celebrity, but certainly believes that he/she can get a respectable job and education and maybe they aim for the white picket fence type of American Dream. The average American probably sees extreme wealth as unachievable but believes that a comfortable amount of wealth is conceivable.

As for poverty, I would probably say that the average middle class American does not fully understand the severity and the extent of poverty in the U.S., depending on where they live. Also, I would say that many Americans reserve adjectives such as disgusting, lazy, dumb for those who are struck by poverty. Because the majority of Americans have not experienced poverty for themselves, they don’t fully understand it.

Similarly to the average American, I myself have never experienced poverty. However, because of my privilege, I have been able to travel on mission trips where I encountered those living in poverty within and without the U.S. I’ve seen extreme poverty in St.Mary, Jamaica, Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and right here in Raleigh. My opinion on poverty, especially within the U.S., is that it’s a vicious cycle and difficult to escape. Those who are born into families that have more money simply have better opportunities to succeed. I also think that education has direct effect on poverty and wealth. In my research for my extended essay, I discovered that women who received a significant amount of education in Pakistan had much higher chances of not getting caught in poverty which sometimes resulted in human trafficking. Overall, wealth and poverty are both controversial topics that I am interested in learning more about.

1. Ferraro, Gary, and Susan Andreatta. Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective. 9th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, n.d. Print.

Picture: https://ourfuture.org/20110419/the_american_dream_deferred_pt_2

Freebie

Freebie

IOC Practice

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5hAth47i1NIenhWZ3JpVDZuM0k/view?usp=sharing

Scoring:

Criterion A:

6, It is evident that I am knowledgeable about the text, but some points are not explained thoroughly and lack evidence within the novel. Also, some of the points are unorganized, which creates confusion about the novel.

Criterion B:

7, There is good awareness of the literary features used in the passage, but the significance could have been more in depth. Each literary feature includes examples and explanations.

Criterion C:

4, There was good organization of the whole commentary. It included an introduction, thesis, 3 main points with explanation, and conclusion. Within the explanations, there was organization with a general overview of the literary device, examples, and significance. However, some points seemed to be out of place.

Criterion D:

3, Appropriate language is used, with an adequate degree of accuracy and grammar. Some of my pauses and mistakes hinder the understanding of the commentary. The literary devices could have been more detailed. For example, I just used dialogue, point of view, and chronology without a descriptor attached to each.

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover, or Should We??

The first and second covers are both bright while the third and fourth covers are darker. The first cover and second cover also both have a girl on the cover. The fourth cover has what looks to be a human with some organs outlined. The first and second cover are intended to portray Kathy and her friends as humans, while the fourth cover more defines them as the whole of their parts, not simply a human. I think the intended purpose of the first cover is just to characterize the main character, Kathy, and give a face to the name so that the reader feels more connected to her as a human. The second cover has a similar purpose: the girl dancing makes her seem very human and innocent, which makes the reader sympathize with her. The purpose of the second cover is to show a desolate land that represents the dystopia in the novel. There is obviously something wrong in this landscape, and it is a dark and sickly color. Cover four is intended to show the purpose of Kathy and her friends, to be organ donors. The cover is very dark and scary-looking. I think this is to set the mood for the novel.

Cover 4:

(https://www.behance.net/gallery/1613117/Never-Let-Me-Go-(book-cover))

The first words that come to mind are organs, autopsy, dead, harsh, and wicked. It’s obvious that the figure on the cover is human, but with very negative connotations. The head and arms are cut off, which makes the figure look like a gory murder victim. If I hadn’t read any of the novel, I honestly would probably stay away from it. This cover makes the book look like it belongs in the horror genre. Now that I’ve read some of the novel, the cover seems very fitting. I think that the barbed wire and faded bars around the body signifies the inescapable life that has been set out for Kathy and the other clones. They have been created to donate organs, which is represented through the distorted drawing of organs on the body. I think that the rest of the body is not shown/cut off because it is useless to the society. They only need the clones’ vital organs, and any other part of their bodies have no use in their society. The viewpoint of this cover is from the people who decided to create clones for use by regular people. As stated earlier, the only purpose for these beings is to take their organs. The creators of the clones will not see the intellectual capital or emotional capacity of the clones. The people who would read this probably are interested in the science fiction genre, because the figure on the cover resembles a human but there is obviously something out of order. I think the cover is very fitting for the plot of the book, however the book portrays a much darker mood than what I have read so far. So far, it’s evident that this is a dystopia, but the day to day lives of the clones are not bad at all, not anything like what you would expect from looking at the cover. The cover makes them seem like slaves who are suffering, which may surface later on in the novel.

Cover 2:

(http://www.patricktreardon.com/book-review-never-let-me-go-by-kazuo-ishiguro/)

The first words that come to mind when I look at this cover are dancing, child, playful, and light. The cover is most likely displaying the scene in the book where Kathy is dancing with her pillow to the cassette tape she has. If I hadn’t read any of the book, I would think that the book might be about a young girl and her life. The bright colors on the book make it look like it would have a light tone. Now that I’ve read part of the book, I understand the context of this cover. Kathy is being portrayed here, and it is most likely from the viewpoint of Madame. When Kathy is dancing to the cassette tape, Madame sees her and starts crying. I think that this was because she was sad that Kathy will never have the life of a normal human. So while the cover makes her look like a happy, healthy young girl, we know that Kathy is actually a clone who has a very dark and devastating life ahead of her. The cover does remind me of the ignorance of the clones in the book. It seems to be that they don’t even know that their life is a sad one. They are aware of their job in the society, but don’t know what makes them so different than everyone else. The cover signifies the ignorance within the book. I do think the cover is misleading if you don’t know anything about the plot. It definitely doesn’t look like a science fiction book.

The Grey Area

https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_ronson_strange_answers_to_the_psychopath_test#t-1046118

This talk was about psychopathy and whether it’s appropriate to diagnose someone based on a checklist. Jon Ronson, the speaker, told about his encounter with a man named Tony. Tony committed assault then faked madness to get out of serving his sentence. Instead, he was sent to Broadmoor, a mental hospital that houses those with mental disabilities that cause them to kill and rape and commit other serious crimes. When speaking to Tony’s clinician, he discovered that they have accepted that Tony faked his mental disorder but as a result they have diagnosed him with psychopathy. This then interested Jon in what qualifies someone to be a psychopath. He discovered the checklist, and learned that about 1 in 100 people are psychopaths. Tony spend 14 years total in Broadmoor, the whole time trying to convince them that he was sane. He said the doctors there just looked for ways to prove his madness. For example, the said he was aloof and grandiose because he tended to stay in his room and not mingle with the other patients. They basically took every chance they could to check off another item on the psychopathy checklist. Ronson then decided to become more educated in psychopathy and eventually dubbed himself a ‘psychopath spotter’. He learned that the number of psychopaths rises among CEOs and business leaders. The reason behind this is that capitalism encourages psychopathy by rewarding things such as lack of empathy, glibness, and a cunning and manipulative behavior. Ronson decided to interview an asset stripper from the 90s named Al Dunlap, known for reducing some businesses’ workforces by more than 30% in some cases. He observed that Dunlap fit only some characteristics of psychopathy. He concluded with saying that we live in a world that loves to put people in boxes, loves to check the boxes on the checklist. Ronson saw that everything isn’t black and white, the grey area is where you find the complexity, like Tony and Al.

This TED talk was interesting because the speaker utilized visual and auditory aid to tell his story. There were drawings on the screen behind him that went along with his narrative. Also, there were sounds that highlighted important points in the story. He explained his authority on the subject by stating that he took a psychopath spotting course created by Robert Hare, the maker of the checklist. He researched this topic for two years and has written multiple books on mental disorders.

Ronson used two big examples to support his argument. He walked through the story of Tony, a patient in the Broadmoor institution, and Al, a former capitalist king. What he uncovered is that it is not easy to name someone a complete psychopath. He called Tony a “semi-psychopath”. It was interesting that he led with a personal experience. He said that he flipped through a copy of the DSM in a friend’s house and found that he had 12 mental disorders. He uses comedy like this throughout multiple points in the narrative. His argument was easy to follow. He may have a bias on the subject because he is also a journalist. He stated that because of this, he was able to notice that he was sometimes only using the information that he wanted for the book he was writing. This is what led him to the epiphany that eventually became his argument.

Ronson used visual and auditory aspects to evoke emotions from the audience. Also, his story was personal, and he let the audience hear what his thoughts were throughout the entire process. Using personal experience to evoke emotion was effective in his case. For example, the mental disorders that he diagnosed himself with from the DSM were all very relatable: generalized anxiety disorder, nightmare disorder, malingering, and parent-child relational problems. Another example he used pulled at the heart-strings of the audience. He said that we’re so eager to diagnose mental disorders these days that there are cases of children as young as 4 being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Appealing to emotion was very effective in this talk.

Ultimately, the purpose of his talk was to convince the audience that mental disorders are not black and white. Each case is special and different. I chose to write about this TED talk because I have watched it before and I thought it was very interesting how he conveyed his information. I originally chose to watch this because, just as Ronson stated, we love to discover what’s wrong with us. I recently watched a Brain Games episode in which they gave you a mini test to discover if you were a psychopath or not. This then increased my interest on the subject of mental disorders which led me to watch this talk. Also, we’ve been studying human nature in class with Jekyll and Hyde. Ronson and Stevenson actually support the same idea, it’s impossible to be exclusively one thing or another (good vs. evil, normal vs. psychopath). I find it to be very true that we, as a society, tend to categorize people in multiple ways. Ronson really challenged the validity behind that. Overall I thought this talk was very interesting and challenged my thinking on the subject.

Identity Crisis

In chapter 2, Mr.Hyde is characterized through his conversation with Mr.Utterson. He responds to Mr.Utterson’s call with “a hissing intake of the breath”(Stevenson 9). This action makes Mr.Hyde seem animalistic. His appearance is not described by the narrator, adding to the mystery of who Mr.Hyde is. Mr.Hyde’s tone was guarded and skeptical of Mr.Utterson. He says, “He never told you...I did not think you would have lied” (Stevenson 10). Mr.Hyde is unfriendly and unwelcoming. Mr.Utterson reacts to this by saying “this is not fitting language” (10). While Mr.Utterson is appearing to be friendly and harmless, he is also guarded and skeptical like Mr.Hyde. He does not trust him and believes he has the wrong intentions.

Conversely, Dr.Jekyll does have a description in chapter 3: “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness” (Stevenson 12). This description gives the reader a fond image of Dr.Jekyll. He seems to be the opposite of Mr.Hyde, who is scary and untrustworthy. Mr.Utterson’s interaction with Mr.Hyde is similar to that with Dr.Jekyll. Mr.Utterson said to Dr.Jekyll, “You know that will of yours?” (Stevenson 12). Mr.Utterson is not afraid to ask the uncomfortable question. Just like he asked Mr.Hyde to uncover his face, he asked Mr.Jekyll to discuss the will. He recognizes that both of these men are suspicious.

Poem:
The purpose of this poem is to show the characterization of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde. It is intended to show the conflict in power between the two identities.

Sources:
http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/d6/d6cb40ad18b51c48017f8eadf511c48a6a4a25334e0905a4e8b028fdeb0e05a3.jpg
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 1991. Print.

Netflix and Kill

Miss Representation

This is a documentary about how women are typically portrayed in the media. It shows multiple examples of how the power that a woman has is in her beauty, youth, and sexuality; not in her ability to be a leader. It also explores the implications of this, citing many facts about how women are underrepresented in leadership roles in the government, large corporations, and other areas. I think that Lady Macbeth would watch this because she totally believes in #girlpower. She would think this is interesting because she has experienced the difference between what she is capable of and how she is portrayed to others. She would probably look to this film to get inspiration on how she is expected to act, which would be helpful to her because she is not what you would consider to be “normal”.

Making a Murderer

This is a documentary following Steven Avery, a man who was wrongly convicted of a crime that he spend 18 years in prison for. He then was put on trial for the murder of Teresa Halbach, whose remains were found on his property. The documentary goes through every step of the trial. I feel that Lady Macbeth would watch this because she is a murderer. She would be interested to see how Avery got away with the murder, if he did it. Avery blames the Manitowoc County sheriff’s department for the murder. He says that they framed him for this crime. Lady Macbeth probably watched this before the murder of Duncan and came up with the idea of blaming his guards for the murder.

Quantico

This show is about an FBI training program, specifically Alex Parrish. She is framed by one of her FBI trainee peers for a terrorist attack. The tv show uses flashbacks and flashforwards to tell the story. Lady Macbeth would watch this show because she enjoys adventure shows. She can relate. In the show, Alex does not know who she can trust. This is similar to how Lady Macbeth does not know if she can trust anyone by the end of the play. Her only confidant, Macbeth, has appeared to lose his mind. Lady Macbeth would be able to resonate with Alex Parrish because they both have to keep secrets in order to stay safe.

Brain games
This is a series that studies social phenomena and how your brain works. They often make the viewers participate in games then explain why you answered the way you did. Lady Macbeth would watch this show because she would be interested in how the human brain works in order to deceive others into thinking she did not plan Duncan’s murder and the overthrow of the government so that her and Macbeth would have power. We would now understand that she is deliberate about the decisions she makes to make people believe that she is innocent. She is asserting power not only over Macbeth but also the other people she comes in contact with.

Sources:
https://missrepresentationdenver.wordpress.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Murderer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantico_(TV_series)
http://brainblogger.com/2016/02/01/new-brain-games-exclusive-preview-times-square-mass-mind-reading/