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The phrase “perceived value” is often assigned to inanimate objects whose worth lies in the value a consumer assigns to the product. According to Adam Smith’s theory of “invisible hand”, rational individuals make decisions out of a desire to do what benefits themselves the most. Although this stimulates the economic market and benefits society as a whole, the application of this concept takes a negative toll on interpersonal relationships (Ulmer 256). When the consumer-object relationship is applied to human relationships, the accumulation of experiences and poor decisions that affect perceived value of one individual affects how that same individual will choose to treat the other. Rose Goldsen, Professor of Sociology at Cornell University, argues that “An individual bases his value on appearance, good behavior, bad behavior, and relationships” (42). These four areas directly build or destroy an individual’s self-esteem. The constant ranking of an individual that comes with daily competition influences his life through social, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects, which in turn, influence his output behaviors. Studies show that the damage to psyche begins in childhood (Cimini 13). Children innately yearn for affirmation. If a parent does not support and value his child, the child is more likely to live recklessly and desperately search for affirmation from the world. The extreme emotional behaviors lead to a lack of regard for moral code, poor treatment of others, and harm to the child. Societal flaws are paralleled in literature to act as foils of society. This concept is reflected in characters that represent caricatures of humanity in the novels Wuthering Heights, The White Tiger, and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
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Goldsen, Rose K., and Charles Morris. "Varieties of Human Value." American Sociological Review 22.1 (1957): 111. Print.
Hafley, James. "The Villain in Wuthering Heights." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 13.3 (1958): 199-215. JSTOR. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Khor, Lena. "Can the Subaltern Right Wrongs?: Human Rights and Development in Aravind Adiga's "The White Tiger"" South Central Review 29.1/2 (2012): 41-67.JSTOR. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Liebman, Sheldon W. "CHARACTER DESIGN IN "THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY"" Studies in the Novel 31.3 (1999): 296-316. JSTOR. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Ulmer, Melville J. "Human Values and Economic Science." Journal of Economic Issues 8.2 (Jun 1974): 255-66. JSTOR. Association for Evolutionary Economics. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. London: Ward, Lock, 1891. Print.
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.
Human persons are fundamentally equal in their worth and dignity. A person’s worth is not dependent on their lineage, how they fit in some utopian scheme, how much they produce or consume, their autonomy or independence, or their race, intelligence, age, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Human worth is innate and cannot be forfeited. And it is equal in each person.
"The Picture of Dorian Gray." Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 146-165. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Sep. 2013.
Schmookler, Andrew Bard. "The Insatiable Society: Materialistic Values and Human Needs." The Futurist July 1991: 17-23. J:ofsengclarklcarolyns.doc
Cunningham, Lawrence S., and John J. . Reich. Culture and Values. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.
Korsgaard, Christine M. The Sources of Normativity. Clare Hall, Cambridge University: The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, 16-17 Nov. 1992. PDF.
eyes reveals that people cared more about money and material things than their values and
Aravind Adiga’s debut novel The White Tiger highlights his views of the injustice and poverty present in India’s class system. He does this through the perspective of Balram Halwai, a fictional village boy from Laxmangarh. In this epistolary novel, Balram narrates his life in the form of a seven-part letter addressed to Wen Jiabao, the premier of China. He describes how he escaped his caste, which was thought to be impossible, and became a successful entrepreneur after killing his own master. The inequality between rich and poor is an important motive of the story. This paper will go in depth into the representation of the poor, the motivation for it and the effects it has on the interpretation of the story.
---. The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings. Ed. Richard Ellman. New York: Bantam Dell, 1982.
Liebman, Sheldon. "Character Design in The Picture of Dorian Gray." Studies in the Novel 31.3 (1999): 296-316. ProQuest. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
In the novel, The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga the main character, is Balram, one of the children in the “darkness” of India. Adiga sheds a new light on the poor of India, by writing from the point of view of a man who was at one time in the “darkness” or the slums of India and came into the “light” or rich point of view in India. Balram’s job as a driver allows him to see both sides of the poverty line in India. He sees that the poor are used and thrown away, while the rich are well off and have no understanding of the problems the poor people must face. The servants are kept in a mental “Rooster Coop” by their masters. The government in India supposedly tries to help the poor, but if there is one thing Adiga proves in The White Tiger, it is that India’s government is corrupted. Despite the government promises in India designed to satisfy the poor, the extreme differences between the rich and the poor and the idea of the Rooster Coop cause the poor of India to remain in the slums.
As a nation we value freedom, equality, and independence, but materialism has changed our views, now making consumption and wealth our primary values. Social psychologist, Tim Kasser said, "Our form of capitalism encourages materialistic values, and the research shows that people high on materialism ... are more likely to engage in unethical business behaviors and manipulate people for their own purposes."
Aravind Adiga in his psycho-social thriller, The White Tiger, explores issues that modern day India faces, ranging from social mobility to globalization, and morality to corruption. Adiga’s use of an epistolary novel allows his first person narrator to not only provide a commentary on the socio-political and geopolitical problems that India face, but also reflect on the effects of these problems on his own life. Adiga exploits the corruption in India and uses it as device to develop Balram’s character, as he journeys from “the darkness” to “the light”. It is true that Balram becomes increasingly corrupted, and at some points the reader may sympathise with him, however at other points, his actions cannot be justified. Growing up, Balram is tainted
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, New York: Academic Press, 25, 1-65.
Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. 1847. Ed. Richard J. Dunn. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 2003.