What is a myth? Well to most it’s a concept or idea that are adapted to lead someone to believe a certain idea or concept. America is full of myths, tons. As a society they are lead to believe that if they put in the effort and work hard successes will come their way. If they want to succeed creating their own opportunities is a must. Our society feeds into these myths when in fact race and gender play a huge role in the successes they achieve. Heaven forbid the employee that works hard and puts in the time and effort should receive the rewards that are deserved, not based on whether they are male or female, black or white. Society and the media sensationalize the idea that a happy life is a wealthy and lavish life. Material possessions are …show more content…
This suggests that life has nothing to do with race, gender, class, or sexual orientation. They may exist however, they do not play a role in how he or she is evaluated. Each person has a chance at their own true potential as they all start out equal and have the ability to create their own opportunities (261). This myth implies that the opportunities that are presented were created solely by their own potential. One can simply say if they didn’t succeed they didn’t try hard enough. Alger goes on to say, that being committed to merit-based decision making and the existence of standards to measure merit must not unfairly favor one person over another (262-263). However, the standards must come from somewhere or be decided by somebody. Alger’s myths suggest that the pecking order is maintained, to overlook the racial barriers that are so prevalent in American society (264). Horatio Alger’s myths are a falsehood that clearly does not resonate with how society conducts itself …show more content…
The media portrays the upper class as something to strive for. Obtaining wealth and material possessions will bring you a happy life. The only way to get ahead is to emulate the rich and powerful and to live vicariously through them (Kendall 316). The media’s emphasis on the upper class takes away from people living life for themselves. Instead, they are persuaded to obtain a lifestyle that is realistically out of their means. Kendall states, “Largely through marketing and advertising, television promoted the myth of the classless society, offering on one hand the images of the American dream fulfilled wherein any and everyone can become rich and on the other suggesting that the lived experience of this lack of class hierarchy was expressed by our equal right to purchase anything we could afford”. Exaggerated views of the rich and successful in America are largely portrayed via television. Which gives a false idea of what happiness, wealth and material possessions can bring (Kendall 317). The poor and homeless are at the bottom of the class structure and are often overlooked, ignored and only portrayed as deserving of sympathy. They are stereotyped to be people who have problems such as drugs or alcohol (Kendall 318). Kendall goes on to explain that the middle class is considered the “working class” and are
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
According to Gregory Mantsios many American people believed that the classes in the United States were irrelevant, that we equally reside(ed) in a middle class nation, that we were all getting richer, and that everyone has an opportunity to succeed in life. But what many believed, was far from the truth. In reality the middle class of the United States receives a very small amount of the nation's wealth, and sixty percent of America's population receives less than 6 percent of the nation's wealth, while the top 1 percent of the American population receives 34 percent of the total national wealth. In the article Class in America ( 2009), written by Gregory Mantsios informs us that there are some huge differences that exist between the classes of America, especially the wealthy and the poor. After
Shipler, in his essay quotes “The American Myth still supposes that any individual from the humblest origins can climb to well-being” (250). He is referring to the American Dream by saying American Myth, this is because every
Society has developed throughout history into a seemingly equal, segregated commonwealth. In general, humanity may seem to have broken the nineteenth century class structure, nonetheless, there are situations today that still have deep roots in discrimination and apartheid. Advancement in both extremes can result in catastrophe, therefore, it is inevitable that a balance must be reached. In the short stories “Totem” by Thomas King, and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, the theme of overdeveloped social beliefs has proven to be the most significant. In both stories, the author is trying to say that society is either too equal, such as in “Harrison Bergeron” or too contrasting, such as in “Totem.”
“Harrison Bergeron” features a society that emphasizes some fundamental problems of total equality. While it is human nature to want to be accepted and up to par with others, there has to be a distribution of achievement for the sake of achievement itself. We wouldn’t be human without our differences in aptitude. We just have to celebrate that diversity in order to
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
In "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios says that "when politicians and social commentators draw attention to the plight of the poor, they do so in a manner that obscures the class structure and denies any sense of exploitation." Based off our readings, class discussion and films, income inequality is known to be erased or ignore. Our society frowns upon the expression of income in our daily conversations, as it could be seen braggy or a complaint depending on your status of income. Because it's frowned upon to talk about, the topic of income inequality becomes erased or ignored. In addition, income inequality in America's class structure can affect people's ability to reach their American Dream.
For millennia, there have been constant conflicts between the upper class and the lower class, characterized by the upper class’s sense of superiority towards those less economically prosperous. Mansfield, Gordimer, and Orwell describe these conflicts between the upper and lower classes to propose that completely transcending class prejudices is impossible and suggest that societal values have greater impact than individual values as they degrade both a person’s behavior and morality.
Despite all the criticism, of racism and other questionable material for young readers, Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is a superbly written novel, which in the opinion of this reviewer should not be remove the literary cannon. Twain’s novel is a coming of age story that teaches young people many valuable lessons and to some extend makes students reexamine their own lives and morals. The most common argument for its removal from the literary canon is that the novel is too racist; it offends black readers, perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes, and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves. However one must ask if Twain is encouraging traditional southern racism or is Twain disputing these idea.
As Kendall notes, “the media portrays people who produce goods and services as much less interesting than those who excessively consume them” (429). Viewers want to be entertained, and simply just don’t care about the struggles of the working class. They overlook “low wages (and) lack of benefits” (429) because through caricature framing the media sways people to believe works to be stupid and reckless. Using this frame, they created people such as Homer Simpson, showing people that the working class doesn’t deserve raises, better healthcare, or any such luxuries because they can’t think for themselves. If that wasn't bad enough, the media often characterizes all workers as wanting to transcend their class (429). Through shows such as Extreme Makeover, they depict people who want to spice up their life and improve themselves as people, and that they need help to get to the next level. The media has undercut all of the hard work of this class, and has made people believe that the working class is unavailable, dumb and needs help to be their best self when in fact they are what allows for the success of
Divisions within the social stratum is a characteristic of societies in various cultures and has been present throughout history. During the middle ages, the medieval feudal system prevailed, characterized by kings and queens reigning over the peasantry. Similarly, in today’s society, corporate feudalism, otherwise known as Capitalism, consists of wealthy elites dominating over the working poor. Class divisions became most evident during America’s Gilded Age and Progressive era, a period in time in which the rich became richer via exploitation of the fruits of labor that the poor persistently toiled to earn. As a result, many Americans grew compelled to ask the question on everyone’s mind: what do the rich owe the poor? According to wealthy
Nevertheless, our social structure isn’t a brick wall were individuals are trapped in there social class. We are still able with education and the opportunities to shape our lives and achieve our full potential. Harlon L. Dalton emulates the possibility within his story about Horatio Alger, “neither Alger nor the myth suggests that we start out equal. Nor does the myth necessarily require that we be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Rather, Alger’s point is that each of us has the power to create our own opportunities.”
The American Dream is the idea that everyone is able to prosper and achieve success through a system of equality and hard work. The American Dream is very attainable; at least that is what America would like the general public to believe. America has built this image of a promise land filled with unlimited resources and endless opportunities, which portrays an equal society where almost everyone is guaranteed to succeed. In reality this American Dream promoted by America is a lie for many Americans. For average Americans it is possible to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps”, work hard, and achieve the American Dream but only to a small extent because of the inequality in America which is attributed to America’s systems of socioeconomic
This idea is that talented people are more successful than even people with money and privileges. This idea projects that people get what they want in life just because of individual characteristics and attributes. The reality is that this is not true because people get better in life because of their class privileges and wealth. The myth is the American dream that if a person juts works hard enough they will make it in life and get the resources they want to live a good life. It is to say that if a person does the right thing at the right time then they will achieve high success. It is a myth because it does not work that way. The system does not work the way the people actually think it works. Wealth is shared unequally amongst individuals in the United States. For instance some individuals get inheritance while others do not. It would not be fair to say that the individuals with no inheritance are not talented enough. The idea is also seen in race. A white person not as talented as the black person may get ahead because of their color. In the United States, people assume since it is the land of freedom that they get to where they want in life by hard work and talent but it is a myth. People get ahead in life because of their economic or social status. Background, education, wealth and race are all examples of what makes a person get ahead in
In the 1920’s, people lived life however they felt like. Coming off a colossal war, many of the citizens believed they had this right. Examining humanity during this time period shows that groups of people fell into a hierarchy. By living life recklessly the high society class hurts others along the way. The people in the Valley of Ashes have lost all optimism. And the middle class which is portrayed as straightforward hard workers is left with self pride. After further social examination, the ranking of humans is purely based upon their wealth and status; breaking down into three classes of people. A high class made of money; a lower class in desperation … And a middle class is that the only societal group to have balance between work and play.