Jonathan Franzen’s Novel, The Corrections, is a satiric tale of American culture, the lack of values, and the absolute obsession with consumer goods and consumption. It is told through the lives of the Lambert family, and their constant needs to “correct” various mistakes in their lives and behavior. The novel, published in 2001, comments on the social ills of American society; the dependence on world financial markets, new technologies, entitlement programs, big business, and of course, consumerism. While the novel is extreme in its commentary, and sweeping in its size, it is through the recent life of Chip Lambert that we can see parallels to the current U.S. economic situation, and the potential for further disasters.
Chip Lambert is the youngest son of the family. He was on tenure-track as a University professor, but due to the sexual manipulations of one of his students, lost his job and was disgraced. He continually borrows money from his sister, works as a part time copy editor for Warren Street Journal (his mother believing he works for the WSJ), and he has penned a horrible screenplay. As we are introduced to Chip, we see absolutely no redeeming value in his life. What was once considered a shinning academic career has spiraled downward.
As Chip picks his parents up from the airport, on their way to a fall cruise, a new opportunity begins to present itself. The boss of Chip’s ex-girlfriend introduces him to Gitanas Misevicius, a former diplomat for Lithuania. Gitanas is in New York attempting to find an American to assist in a fraudulent scheme; an attempt to sell U.S. investors on the rich natural resources of Lithuania, mainly sand and gravel. The country has experienced a collapse, coinciding with Russia...
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... are blind to the injustices of it all. The only difference that Chip could see was that in American, “the wealthy … subdued the unwealthy” (441) with gadgets, entertainment, and the all important gospel of consumerism. Chip found it refreshing in Lithuania though, because at least in that country, the one with the most guns won. There was not any ambiguity or rhetoric involved, like that of the United States.
The totality and completeness of Franzen’s The Corrections is almost too much to handle. He offers views on the “corrections” people make in their behaviors, in macro-economic and political situations, and in their imbalances. He takes on the power elite, the pharmaceutical companies, and society’s overall need to find solace and contentment in consumption of goods and it is within those comments that the true theme of his book shines brightly through.
The article “Luxury Shame,” written by Johnnie Roberts describes how and why the rich are scaling back on their extravagant expenditures. Initially, I was annoyed and shocked at how the very rich were assimilating their unfamiliar experiences of “recessionary times,” with those that experienced the emotions of poverty. Roberts explains the ostentatious life of multimillionaire Michael Hirtenstein, who would routinely and openly show off his profitable real estate collection. After the economy took a turbulent downfall, Hirstenstein and other wealthy Americans began to feel the shame or embarrassment of flaunting their wealth. Despite the “halt” to the economy, Hirstenstein became frugal with his money, even though he could have easily bought whatever he wanted.
Chris McCandless, throughout his journey across the country, performed numerous acts which are divergent from the rest of society. For example, he burned $123 in order to show that material things are of no real significance to his life (Krakauer 29). Furthermore, Chris points out in a letter to 81-year-old friend, Ronald Franz, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the i...
In the essay The Chosen People, Stewart Ewen, discusses his perspective of middle class America. Specifically, he explores the idea that the middle class is suffering from an identity crisis. According to Ewen’s theory, “the notion of personal distinction [in America] is leading to an identity crisis” of the non-upper class. (185) The source of this identity crisis is mass consumerism. As a result of the Industrial Revolution and mass production, products became cheaper and therefore more available to the non-elite classes. “Mass production was investing individuals with tools of identity, marks of personhood.” (Ewen 187) Through advertising, junk mail and style industries, the middle class is always striving for “a stylistic affinity to wealth,” finding “delight in the unreal,” and obsessed with “cheap luxury items.” (Ewen 185-6) In other words, instead of defining themselves based on who they are on the inside, the people of middle class America define themselves in terms of external image and material possessions.
In “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Peter Singer is trying to argue that “the way people in relatively affluent countries react to a situation… cannot be justified; indeed,… our moral conceptual scheme needs to be altered and with it, the way of life that has come to be taken for granted in our society”(Singer 230). Peter Singer provides striking examples to show the reader how realistic his arguments are. In this paper, I will briefly give a summary of Peter Singer’s argument and the assumptions that follow, adding personal opinions for or against Peter’s statements. I hope that within this paper, I am able to be clearly show you my thoughts in regards to Singer.
In the book’s prologue, Brands sets the stage for the rest of the story. In it, he makes comparisons between the 1890’s and the 1990’s and does so convincingly, comparing the lawlessness of Chicago in the 1890’s to that of Los Angeles in the 1990’s, or comparing Tammany Hall boss Richard Croker with former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry, both of whom being Populist heroes who rose to positions of power despite of the obviousness of their corruption. It is within these comparisons that the reader can draw on some of Brands’ conclusions: that the end of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw Populist movements gain traction, (the Progressives in the 1890’s and the conservative movement in the 1990’s,) that both those who saw America in a state of decline and those thought the country had the potential to be prosperous during these time periods were right, and that, in the end, America had and still has a resilience that can steer the country through a great deal of adversity and still come out on top.
...prosperity. It does not allow for emotional and ideological growth, as money-oriented assets do not always acclimate to physically intangible desires. Hamilton’s work stresses the notion that the capitalist media disillusions the American dream; Fitzgerald is more so certain it stems from human elitism and social pressures. Showcasing that ideologies should be questioned as to the legitimacy of its source and function, serve to inform our current society that we must watch what we chase. The accumulation of opinions leads to revelations. The unrest and discomfort voiced by both are societal stimulation, had they stayed quiet perhaps society would have gone about living lavishly and selfishly. The pressures regarding the importance of epiphanies create change. Modern society is itself due in part by educated deductions realized and voiced during the 20th century.
At first, the narrator conforms to the uneventful and dull capitalist society. He fines success in his work at an automobile manufacture, has obtained a large portion of his Ikea catalog, and has an expansive wardrobe. He is defined by his possessions and has no identity outside his furniture, which he remarks, “I wasn’t the only slave of my nesting instincts” (Palahniuk, 43) and “I am stupid, and all I do is want and need things.” (Palahniuk, 146) For the narrator, there is no fine line between the consumer [narrator] and the product. His life at the moment is a cycle of earning a wage, purchasing products, and representing himself through his purchases. “When objects and persons exist as equivalent to the same system, one loses the idea of other, and with it, any conception of self or privacy.” (Article, 2) The narrator loses sight of his own identity; he has all these material goods, but lacks the qu...
What seems to go unnoticed by many Americans is the evident and growing wealth gap. According to Pew Research Center, the current U.S. income is at its highest since 1928. This large dispersion of wealth can be attributed by the “fall [of the] routine producers” (Reich). Where jobs that were once attainable during the 70s are declining due to advancing technology and corporations finding workers in poor countries who are willing to work at half the cost of the routine producers. What also drives this wealth gap is the power of corporations in an age of extravagant consumerism. Through media, the demand to buy what we want is unavoidable. Corporations are able to gain revenue while people go unemployed because of America’s vast opportunities to buy what we want when we want it.
Coming from an “unconventional” background, George Saunders is readily able to relate to the circumstances the everyday working laborer goes through (Wylie). However, Saunders has an advantage to spread out his ideas and concerns about life in the U.S. via his short stories and novellas. Because of neoliberalism and capitalism and its correlation to the huge wealth gap in the U.S. Saunders focuses his protagonists’ view from a proletariat standpoint, allowing the reader to see the life of consumerism has impacted our society. Saunders does not use conventional methods to portray this reality. Instead, Saunders emphasizes on the “absence” of certain moral human characteristics in order to take the reader away from viewing into a hero’s looking glass— to set a foundation of a world where our morals become lost to our materialistic and inherent need of money (Wylie).
“, he uses logos to appeal to his readers. He goes on to say how Americans over confidence in their country caused them to believe that they are superior to the rest of the world and that America established and achieved the notion of freedom, making our lives to be superior and better than everywhere else in the world. Then, he pulls the rug under the readers feet by saying well this is not true. He cites multiple sources that suggest otherwise. For instance, America being placed as sixteenth on the international quality of life ranking, America’s murder ,other violent crime, and incarceration rates greater than most of the cultivated world. While there education and technical literacy is so low it’s humiliating. Some Americans having trouble really critically thinking when it comes to most of the social issues and act irrationally with no justification of their actions. For instance, after justice did not prevail at first during the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore and other following altercations, many young African Americans began to riot, loot, and destroy their own community. Due to the lack of education provided to their community to give them the tools and ability to think rationally, they let their emotions and animalistic nature to
Americans have come to the “resolution” of borrowing money to pay off debt. This also comes into play as what gas lead Americans to stop saving all they have earned, and spend both what they receive and borrow, These “resolutions” have brought Americans to an end stage crisis. It then leads to requirements of corrupt capitalism (3).
Upon reading more closely, the story is revealed to present a tragic journey of a man who has lost his sanity but seeks solace in the materialistic comforts of his old life. The story succeeds in making a number of statements about human nature: that wealth is the most powerful measure of social status and anyone without it will face ostracization; that denial of one 's mistakes and unfortunate circumstances only leads to more pain; that even the most optimistic people can hold dark secrets and emotional turmoil inside them. All of these themes compel the reader to ponder their real-life implications long after the story is
During the prologue, it is described that a financial analyst, Meredith Whitney, made national headlines for successfully predicting that Citigroup firm needs to “slash its dividend or go bust.” This book makes gives the impression that Whitney started the beginning of the economic collapse. This seems unlikely; Whitney only made the prediction that she made based off of her analysis of the markets. Fortunately, she gained the nation's ear. She called out all Wall Street firms and told them that their investments and mortgages were worthless. She was bold and truthful when the everyone else doubted her.
Prison was designed to house and isolate criminals away from the society in order for our society and the people within it to function without the fears of the outlaws. The purpose of prison is to deter and prevent people from committing a crime using the ideas of incarceration by taking away freedom and liberty from those individuals committed of crimes. Prisons in America are run either by the federal, states or even private contractors. There are many challenges and issues that our correctional system is facing today due to the nature of prisons being the place to house various types of criminals. In this paper, I will address and identify three major issues that I believe our correctional system is facing today using my own ideas along with the researches from three reputable outside academic sources.
... can carry out the task of a prison administrator. This position is key as there are the drivers to improving the facility and treatment of prisoners.