Consumerism In Raj Bohemian

Consumerism has become the major priority in the human lifestyle due to a lack of privacy that social life online has brought. More and more people desire to boast about materialistic items and blindly compete against each other in possessing the best clothing, vehicles, or real estate. Those individuals intensely drink what others drink, wear what others wear, or in other words, they detect a necessity to not stand out of societal norms. Therefore, they purchase whatever is trendy, fashionable, expensive, or rare. In the fictional short story, “Raj, Bohemian”, Hari Kunzru discusses the inability to reject consumerism, resulting in loss of privacy in everyday life. Similarly, in the nonfiction article, “Teen Haulers Create a Fashion Force”,

Consumerism occurs everywhere, whether it is an abandoned factory, between a group of friends or in a warm, loving middle class home. Through the eyes of the protagonist Kunzru presents how popular consumerism is by noting,“Sasha was telling me that the sushi at Bar Fugu was “to die for” because he meant it or because it was a snappy slogan. Vikram started talking to me at nauseating length about tires.”(Cite) The statement proves that anyone and everyone is a consumer or a person attempting to advertise some sort of product for a reward whether it is money or free stuff. Chang states “Bethany is one of them. In June, JCPenney flew her and five other haulers from around the country to Texas and gave each girl gift cards worth $1,000 to shop the department store's back-to-school selection.”, to show the readers how money and free stuff motivates individuals to advertise and sell anything. Kunzru and Chang are advising readers to not be willing to purchase anything that is advertized, because it does not mean the product is great or of good quality. They despise to have a materialistic society where people only focus on what other people are wearing or driving. People judge others based on what assets they possess rather than the qualities they contain as individuals. Chang and Kunzru want the audience to focus on other people’s character traits rather than wondering if a person is wearing expensive clothing and if they can afford