Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Inequality socioeconomic status essay
Socioeconomic inequality essay
Inequality socioeconomic status essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Being optimistic may be our greatest friend or our biggest enemy. In the Janny Scott and David Leonhardt’s article “Shadowy Lines That Still Divide”, the authors argue about the difference between low-income and high-income individuals in America. Furthermore, low-income individuals believe that upper-class has more opportunity to success than the low-income people due to their power and benefits that upper-class have. Moreover, many Americans are very positive that someday they would have the opportunity to become rich and improve their social class as they work hard. Therefore, being optimistic is one of the key components that help individuals to keep being motivated in order to achieve their desires, extend their point of view of probability, and increase productivity to get a better result and success. Firstly, optimism increases an individual’s motivation in order to accomplish their goals. Additionally, people who encourage themselves to accomplish what they want, tend to be successful in life. Therefore, …show more content…
Not only having more chances to success, but also to have a more clear vision for their plans. Thus, having an idea about their plans would benefit people to succeed more. Due to this, individuals would encourage themselves to be more hopeful about their desires. To illustrate, a person who only sees things in one way, will never see the other side effects of the different steps to accomplish their goals. As a result, they will be disappointed at themselves and the individual would give up to their next objective. As Scott and Leonhardt states “more Americans than twenty years ago believe it possible to start out poor, work hard, and become rich” (4). In other words, being optimistic would help a person to have a positive result to obtain their desires. For this reason, being optimistic has a benefits to have more than one point of
The pool of opportunity has grown smaller from what it once was, and it seems that opportunity parallels the wealth in capitalist America—a small number of individuals are successful in their endeavors, and the rest must settle for less with disappointment and disillusionment. While hard work and perseverance may push individuals to new heights, the power of optimism and positive thinking can only take a person so far. The great American dream and frontier is only available to those with certain circumstances, and those circumstances are becoming less available to the new generation coming into the
Optimism was an attractive to many because it answered a profound philosophical question: if God is omnipotent and benevolent, then why is there so much evil in the world? Optimism provides an easy way out: God has made everything for the best, and even though one might experience personal misfortune, God (via your misfortune) is still helping the greater good.
Although most Americans continue to believe working hard is the most important element for getting ahead, they no longer believe that it guarantees success (Hanson 2010: 570). "Lack of thrift, effort, ability, motivation, and self-control are the most popular explanations for poverty among Americans. Thus, inequality is justified and the Dream can stay alive in the context of one of the wealthiest nations with one of the greatest wealth divides" (Hanson 2010: 571). Instead of one undifferentiated American dream to collectively strive towards, there are several interpretations which pertain to differing social locations. This is because of the inequalities of advantages and disadvantages across generations produced by cumulative institutional processes and an unfair opportunity structure (Pallas 2008:
There’s optimism in all literature known to man if not optimism then it would be pessimism. They are the basis of any literature work. It’s found in many books and poems today. In the novel Fahrenheit451 by Ray Bradbury evaluates the theme of optimism. The author Ray Bradbury writes about a guy named Montag who is in a society where firemen burn houses instead of putting fires out. Montag seeks out the good in the books which are banned in this dystopian society where knowledge is forbidden to rise from society. He and other literature seekers pave the way for him to learn knowledge and the freedom of thinking which is against the law in this society. Montag falls in love with books so much that he tries to find someone who can teach him about the books and how important they are to life. The world would fall apart without knowledge no one would have a clue on what to do or how to eat since they don’t have that knowledge at hand. Optimism can also be found in the William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus”, Freedom to Breathe” by Alexander Solzheitsynand and in the speech “The Nobel acceptance by Elie Wiesel.
Optimism is a hopefulness for the future. People who are optimistic generally expect the best from situations. Overall, optimists tend to be healthier than pessimists. Optimism can aid in maintenance of psychological health when faced with physical health problems. This claim is evident with Bob Salvini in the Young at Heart film. Bob, having looked death in the eyes multiple times, managed to pull through when the odds were against him. Bobs strong will and optimism for live and his situation helped him live happily for as long as he did, before he unfortunately died in May of 2006. While still in the ICU, Bob stayed positive and was determined to make the show in less than three weeks. Sadly, Bob passed away the night before the show (Walker & George,
Society is often broken up into different social groups by their economic status. Those of lower classes believe that their problems will go away if they can gain enough wealth to reach the upper class. Many people believe that the American Dream is this joining of the upper class, and once reaching that point, not having to be concerned about money at all. The logic behind this is that being poor keeps people from being happy, a...
Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, our culture has naturally valued prestige and luxuries. We admire fancy items and often judge other individuals by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the schools that they attend. The “American Dream” serves as a motivational factor for people; believing that hard work and dedication can bring “success” to ones’ life. Although this is partially true, it is difficult for individuals in the middle class and lower class.
Firstly, people who show an optimism bias feel more happy and satisfied with their life. These people are also more in control of and engaged in their life’s goal, they will not just think about happy thoughts and wait for life to pass, instead they will be engaged in a meaningful life and do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. They are also less likely to give up on a difficult situation and will cope with it. These are people who will not wait for the rain to pass but who learn to dance in the rain in order to fulfil their life’s goal. Unrealistic optimism shows an increased well-being and happiness. With this increased well-being, unrealistically optimistic people are also more able to pick themselves up after a major life
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.
Optimism is represented by Voltaire’s Pangloss, seen mostly as an idiot for his beliefs. He believed that all if always for the best, ignoring any bad that has happened. He idiotically continues to believe this idea even though he himself has suffered through slavery, syphilis, and once death. Voltaire’s feelings
In 2016, “3.5 million Americans were able to raise their chins above the poverty line last year (Cohen).” This fact demonstrates how people are trying to make better lives for themselves and their families. People are not just sitting around waiting for some good luck, they are going out and making something for themselves. Just like the new rich who built their wealth, as shown in characters like Gatsby. Another positive sign for the future is people today are making more than people made thirty years ago specifically college students, “Notably in 2016, most college graduates still earn more than their parents did, including student debt (Cohen).”
Also showing that optimism can be obtained by hard work and effort and striving for a goal. As a result being optimistic can help them strive for the American Dream and for
Throughout American history, there have been a number of people who have exemplified and supported Adam’s idea of the American Dream (Meacham np). One of these was Benjamin Franklin with his “way to wealth.” Another was Franklin D. Roosevelt, the great symbol of hope to the American people during rough years. Calling the nation toward a more positive mindset, Roosevelt declared, “The great fact to remember is that the trend of civilization itself is forever upward, that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks and the valleys of the centuries always has an upward trend.” (Meacham np) Roosevelt was right, though people fail, it doesn’t mean their chances of succeeding are over. They can still achieve the American Dream if they stay positive about it and really work toward it.
Being optimistic is a choice, not everyone is able to be one because it is a personal characteristic. Optimism is believing that good things will happen in the future, or feeling confident that you will succeed. Optimistic is a term that I hope will be used to describe me as a person because I am confident about myself, my education, and my future. I am optimistic about myself. I have come a long way trying to understand who I am and how others should describe me.
These phycologists have wondered if there are more optimist or pessimists in the world. They have made an attempt to find out what approach is greater or better. There are some advantages to optimism because it makes people feel better about life, however, there are also some advantages to pessimism in that looking at the unfortunate side of things can help some pessimists cope better with the world. Both optimism and pessimism have important roles to play the lives of everybody. Being optimist permits people to go after their goals in a positive way, to dream bigger and better dreams, which they can strive to work towards. Optimist also tend to respond better to positive feedback, and a part of being an optimist may be producing this feedback for themselves, example, thinking positive thoughts. While on the other hand, being pessimistic may help people to better acknowledge negative feedback and reduce their natural anxiety to perform better. Once again, part of the reason why pessimist generates negative thoughts is that it helps them perform a lot better. People tend to utilize both optimism and pessimism in order for them gain out of their advantages. People who are mainly concerned with growth or advancement often manifest an optimistic view, whereas those who are concerned with safety and security, or avoiding negative outcomes, focus more on pessimism in order to improve their