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Ryan Chambers
English 102 – Professor Drogy
Critical Reflection Paper 2
Progress, being defined as a “forward or onward movement toward a destination”, has been, and still is a continuous theme seen in America driven by a multitude of motives – a predominant motivation being “greed” (Andy Buckle 1), and the lust for power and success. In Paul Thomas Anderson's film There Will be Blood, and through Andy Buckle’s critical analysis of the movie, the theme of a perpetual desire to gain success due to greed is evident through the main character Daniel Plainville, a man of “gritty determination” who goes “extreme lengths to become a success” (Buckle 1) by displaying a false image of a family man through his “presentation of self” (Erving Goffman 101) in which he exhibited for the soul purpose of manipulating others around him to make money by drilling up oil. “Greedy and ruthless business tyrants” (Buckle 1) such as Daniel, who will stop at no cost for the progression of money and success, are still present in American civilization today, such as businessmen behind advertisements whom sacrifice the health of models and viewers of society, just to make a dollar.
Daniel Plainville is accurately represented through Buckle’s analysis as a man who personifies “greed” (1), and cockiness that shares a “hatred” (1) for everything but money and himself. This description of a money hungry man is evident through Plainville’s actions such as “risking his life seeking samples” of silver “in self-constructed chasms into the earth” (Buckle 1) with an injury to his leg caused by the explosion of a dynamite, and through his manipulations of individuals to gain power over land. Findings that lead to money and prosperity, such as oil and silver, in Pl...
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...life threatening issues, such as developing an eating disorder, advertisers do not share a concern because they are making money. This is similar to how Plainville treated H.W and the residents of Little Boston. Plainville did not care if he broke any promises to the residents, such as the guaranteed share of wealth among the town or recognitions to Eli, after buying the town’s land, nor could he have genuinely cared about H.W or he would have been more engaged in his whereabouts instead of his work, which could have prevented H.W’s hearing loss. Like Plainville states in the film, “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people”, advertisers are also competing against rival advertisers, increasing the production of these “women objectifying” (Bordo 211) ads to sell products through the attraction and desire of thinness (Kilbourne).
Throughout Saunders’ stories: “ Pastoralia”, "Brad Carrigan, American”, “Jon”, and "In Persuasion Nation"; are themes of violence, dependence, and fate. With these themes Saunders is relaying how money and power are reflected in everyone unconscious mindset: from the higher ups to the “people at the bottom of the heap”. Saunders points out that with that type of mindset is how America is declining not just economically, but as people of morals. We may be trying to “keep positive/think positive” but maybe money is the reason why we’re sinking so low into idleness, impatience, selfishness, and whatnot (Saunders).
Larson uses this metaphor to send a message that the ruthless drive to succeed is harmful to the wellbeing of a civilization. The direction in which Larson is “pushing the world” towards is away from materialism and power. He views ambition as destructive to the morality of the people it inhabits, and to the people affected by those goal-obsessed civilians. Larson’s ironic statements and comparing and contrasting of people and places serve to show that you cannot have immense fame, power, and success without
Ever since meeting Dan Cody, his fascination for wealth has increased dramatically. He even uses illegal unmoral methods to obtain hefty amounts of wealth to spend on buying a house with “ Marie Antoinette music-rooms, Restoration Salons, dressing rooms and poolrooms, and bath rooms with sunken baths.” (88) His wardrobe is just as sensational with “ shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine fennel.” (89) Gatsby buys such posh items to impress Daisy but to him, Daisy herself is a symbol of wealth.
Carnegie’s essay contains explanations of three common methods by which wealth is distributed and his own opinions on the effects of each. After reading the entire essay, readers can see his overall appeals to logos; having wealth does not make anyone rich, but using that wealth for the greater good does. He does not force his opinions onto the reader, but is effectively convincing of why his beliefs make sense. Andrew Carnegie’s simple explanations intertwined with small, but powerful appeals to ethos and pathos become incorporated into his overall appeal to logos in his definition of what it means for one to truly be rich.
From his hat to his shoes there is this feel of class and style that is related to having money. The only issue with this representation is that tobacco does not create mass amount of money for the people smoking it and growing it. For the colonists, “blacks were too costly for most of the hard-pinched white colonists to acquire.” Even the people who making the money off of the tobacco were not making enough to buy slaves. It does not create this wealth illustrated.
(Clark, page 241). He feels that "everything he has" is at risk with the greed
William Faulkner's three novels referred to as the Snopes Trilogy submerge the reader into the deepest, darkest realms of the human mind. The depth of these novels caused the immediate dismissal of any preconceived notions I had toward Faulkner and his writings. No longer did his novels seem to be simple stories describing the white trash, living in the artificial Yoknapatawpha County, of the deep South. The seemingly redneck, simple-minded characters of the Snopes family, when examined closely, reveal all the greed, guile, and brilliance in the human heart and mind. The means by which the Snopes family lives, the means by which it survives, causes the reader to contemplate the boundary between survival and stealing, between necessity and evil. Is it wrong for a greedy person to manipulate another greedy person, using his or her own greed against them? Can evil swallow itself up, consuming an evil person by means of another evil person? The Snopes Trilogy reveals the consuming effect of deceit combined with ambition and displays the genius of the human mind despite an outward disposition that seemingly denies any intelligence at all.
The idea of the American Dream is it began as an idea people could thrive from, but became detrimental through corruption. Society’s necessity for material goods and money for personal happiness distorts the American dream. One’s morals will be compromised once one decides to live a life for the sole purpose of following a corrupted ideal. In Hunter S. Thompson’s literary work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his viewpoint of the American Dream is expressed. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by Hunter S. Thompson, expresses the decline of society’s morals due to materialistic needs. Thompson proves through symbolism and characterization that society‘s corrupted perception of the American Dream provokes an individual’s morals to decline.
Since the beginning of mankind, it has been the need to attain a specific goal, which has driven humans to work hard. Without any ambition, humans would not be inspired to overcome adversities and challenge themselves to become increasingly adaptable. When one is motivated by certain factors in their environment, the probability of them being satisfied with the results of their deeds depends on the moral value of their inspiration. If the individual is aware of the fact that their deed is immoral, then no matter how dire their circumstances which forced them to perform the actions, they will not be content. The irony establishes itself in the fact that those characters who are motivated by a cause bigger than themselves, tend to be happier,
The author demonstrates how one can lose sight in life and become corrupt through focusing only on wealth, supremacy and materialistic possessions
coming in search of gold and everlasting youth, there has been a mystique about the land to which Amerigo Vespucci gave his name. To the Puritans who settled its northeast, it was to be the site of their “city upon a hill” (Winthrop 2). They gave their home the name New England, to signify their hope for a new beginning. Generations of immigrants followed, each a dreamer bringing his own hopes and aspirations to the green shores. The quest was given a name – the American Dream; and through the ages, it has been as much a symbol of America as the lady in the harbor, a promise of America’s riches for all who dare to dream and strive to fulfill their ambitions. Dreamers apotheosized fellow dreamers like Rockefeller and Carnegie, holding them to be the paradigm from which all could follow. But behind the meretricious dream lies the cold reality. A country built upon survival of the fittest has no sympathy for those who serve as the steppingstones for others’ success. For every person who reaches the zenith, there are countless others trapped in the valleys of despair by their heedless dash to reach the top. Playwrights Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry memorialize the failures in their works Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun. Their central dreamers, Miller’s Willy Loman and Hansberry’s Walter Lee Younger, like children at a candy shop window, are seduced by that success which can be seen so clearly, yet is so unreachable. Ardent followers of the hype of America, they reveal that, far from being a positive motivator, the Ame...
Bordo’s essay shows the way that women are constantly being bombarded with commercials. Advertisements portray the idea that you are what society envisions you being, if you don’t make a certain choice regarding to the kinds of food you eat, and the amount of food you eat. They say that if you don’t eat a certain kind of cereal, that you will be fat, or that you look unattractive eating that thick, burger, and instead, you should have some
The early 1800’s were an unusual time in the history of the United States. A country in its infancy, growing, turbulent, and filled with intrigue where political and economic fortunes were made and lost overnight. While the country was founded on noble ideas---and no doubt these powerful ideas were taken seriously---how such ideas were to be put into practice created fertile ground for personal ambition and interest to be a stronger motivator than the “common good”. In fact, at times it appears that the ideas were little more than vehicles for the personal ambitions---and in the case of this story---the personal vendettas of powerful personalities.
Klein, whose models “[look] like runaway teenage junkies” (Goldberg 1), almost seems to promote anorexia. When Klein made an icon of Kate Moss, posters of her in Manhattan were “defaced with graffiti reading ‘feed me’” (Goldberg 2). A group called the Media Foundation made a parody of one of Klein’s commercials. In the commercial, “a naked woman heaves and groans. The camera pans around to reveal her vomiting into a toilet. A caption reads, ‘The beauty industry is a beast’” (Goldberg 2).
The male American dream is most often interpreted as moving your family up in society by increasing your wealth. With this comes the need to purchase items that are on par with one’s income level and therefore showing off wealth and status. This need for items is not particularly because of usefulness or practicality but to distinguish oneself in society as a part of a particular class level, coming from the pressure to keep up with one’s peers. This film shows that society has taken over the definition of our needs and men no longer think for themselves but rather turn to see what others have and from that interpret what society sees as acceptable and standard. The male American dream can be interpreted as a never-ending cycle to prove oneself to others and appear to the standards that others define. According to Tyler Durden, “Advertising has us chasi...