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The impact of materialism in society
The impact of materialism in society
The impact of materialism in society
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The Right to Fail “The Right to Fail” is a short essay written by William Zinsser, an accomplished film critic and author. In Zinsser’s essay he describes how failure is not inherently bad and success is not inherently good. He supports himself with various real life and fictional examples. In his essay he discusses his beliefs on materialism and the corruption of the American dream. He continues with how having a goal oriented society is not suited for everyone; however, that failing just to fail is also bad. I agree with Zinsser in regards to his beliefs on the American Dream and materialism and his belief that not everyone is suited for the society set up today; however, I do not agree that having a goal oriented society is necessarily a bad thing and that telling …show more content…
a child that failure is always an option. The American Dream of manifest destiny has already come to an end; people now seek a new American Dream. That dream is materialism and commercialism. M.L. states that “the ‘American Dream’ has also changed into concepts based on greed, wealth, and materialism” (2013, p1).
Like Zinsser and M.L. opinions’ on the American Dream, I too believe that society focuses way too much on how to look “cool” by having more monetary possessions instead of the advancement of society as a whole. I believe instead of focusing on the newest model of cars we should be focusing on advancing the medical and educational systems that have been falling apart in recent years. Zinsser says that telling your child failure is never an option and that having a goal oriented society is a bad thing. He uses the words “dropping out is a form of dropping in”. I think that telling a child that failure is always an option is a bad thing and could create “quitters” and not allow children to develop to their fullest potential. For example, Ben Carson grew up in a relatively low income family. When he first started medical school his mother had made his favorite meal for him. She turned to him and told him how proud she was. He entered the classroom and sat front and center eager to take everything in. After everyone was seated, the teacher entered the classroom. Upon seeing Ben, the only African American in the class, he approached ben and told him something along
the lines of “you do not belong in this class and I don’t want to waste my time with you people. Leave”. He told Ben this after class too. Ben was extremely disheartened by his professor’s words. On his way home he decided that he would never go back and quit the medical field. When he arrived home, his mother greeted him with his favorite meal again and went on about how proud she was of him. This made Ben extremely happy. It gave him the strength not to quit and go back the next day. The next day on his way out his mother packed him his favorite lunch and told him how proud she was of him. The teacher surprised to see him, approached Ben again and sternly said “you do not belong in this class and I don’t want to waste my time with you people. Leave”. This happened every day, before and after each class, and every day his mother would go on about how proud she was of him. This supplied him with confidence for the next day. Ben Carson is now one the world’s most renowned and successful neural surgeon. He is the only surgeon to be able to perform one the most complicated brain surgeries which he developed. If he had given up, there would have been no one to discover the techniques he uses to save so many lives. If his mother had told him in the beginning of his career that it was okay to fail, all of his great accomplishments would never come to fruition. As Wong explains how having immense goals that can cover years of a person’s life takes away the fun and makes life dry. He suggests that making goals on s day to day basis is more efficient and will not cause the thought of failure (2014, p1). This is an example, in my opinion, of how “dropping out” is not necessarily “dropping in” as Zinsser puts it. I switched schools twice in my life. Once when I was entering second grade and once when I was entering eighth. I had switched the first time because I had a terrible experience with my morning teacher who would humiliate and make fun of me in front of the whole class. I recall an incident where I was called up to the blackboard to try and translate a Hebrew word into English. The teacher turned to me and asked me for the answer. I did not know so I shrugged. The teacher then said “what does this mean” and copied my shrugging motion. I said it means I don’t know. She then said began to laugh at me as I returned to my seat. I decided that this was not for me and asked my mother to transfer me to a new school that had recently opened. From reading Zinsser’s essay and reflecting upon my own opinions throughout this essay, I realize that there is a serious problem with our societies take on the American Dream. Also, that failure is an option but “failing” does not always lead to success.
Herb Clutter, a man of described virtue, was blessed with respect from his peers and financial stability. Within the concept of the “American dream” virtuous people are always rewarded with financial stability. Conversely, Dick and Perry, who Capote depicts as the embodiment of the “American nightmare,” do not exhibit virtuous behavior and therefore, never experience the stability and respect that the Clutter’s experience. The distinction between the “American nightmare” and the “American dream” is easy to see. Capote argues, however, that these concepts do not hold true all of the time and that tragedy strikes even those who are the most virtuous. Thus, we must understand that life is fragile and no one is impregnable to tragedy.
After reading Failure is Not an Option by Nathan Wallace, we ponder whether failure is beneficial or not. However, after reading the passage, we stumble upon a quote where Wallace says “Failure is always an option. Failure can lead to great learning and progress when a specific failure is analyzed through the lens of a growth mindset.”
Conformity, a crucial element in utopias, authorizes the extermination of individuality between groups, and, consequently, establishes the superior side. “He is our national idol, and everybody else is our national fink,” reveals Zinsser in a criticism of society’s impractical expectations for perfection (p. 3). This quote, accordingly, discloses that society places humans in two polarized groups: the successful and the unsuccessful. However, with factors such as knowledge and imagination, polarization increases between these two groups since those with power can beat this system. Furthermore, through the author’s cynical tone, the reader understands that social norms have, in turn, made the average, insignificant, and only the powerful, strong. As a result, this need for perfection has caused this desire for a nonexistent entity. Therefore, in spite of this need for perfection, humans will never be able to achieve this peaceful, yet equal state. Similarly, in Viktor Frankl’s psychology book Man’s Search for Meaning, the author finds flaws through the “perfect society” while he records his experience at a concentration camp during World War II. In an argument about the importance of failure, Frankl asserts that “without suffering and death human life cannot be complete” (36). Hence, in order to grow as people, humans need to fail in order to
David Mamet once stated, “..it is the human lot to try and fail..” This quotation implies that an individual will attempt to achieve success throughout their lifetime, but he/she will also have to face the failures as well. The quote relates to the philosophy that in order to achieve something, one will have to work for it. This quotation is correct and is further supported by two literary works. The two novels are Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Pearl, also by John Steinbeck. In these two novels, the protagonists know that their goals are very farfetched and out of the norm, yet they both try to achieve it and ultimately fail.
The American dream is the ideal that every U.S. citizen should be able to achieve success and prosperity through equal opportunities such as hard work, patience, determination, initiative. In William Zinsser’s essay “The Right to Fail,” the readers are presented with the idea that failure is a part of the pathway to life to be able to achieve the American dream. Like most people, this complicates what we see as the American dream. Do we all face failure at some point in life? Will we be able to pick ourselves back up after this point? Is there any way to avoid failure? What does failure even consist of? Zinsser provides his readers with the truths about this derogatory word known as failure.
People from all around the world have dreamed of coming to America and building a successful life for themselves. The "American Dream" is the idea that, through hard work and perseverance, the sky is the limit in terms of financial success and a reliable future. While everyone has a different interpretation of the "American Dream," some people use it as an excuse to justify their own greed and selfish desires. Two respected works of modern American literature, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, give us insight into how the individual interpretation and pursuit of the "American Dream" can produce tragic results.
Through the course of change in the world- either through prosperity, capitalism or greed- people have lost focus with the real meaning of 'the American dream'. It is no longer the gamely aspirations of living life to the fullest, providing a better life for yourself and or others; instead, a pursuit for those materialistic aspects in life.
In both the short story Through the Tunnel, by Doris Lessing, and the article The Right to Fail, by William Zinsser, the theme of failure and success is explored through the character of Jerry, and Zinsser’s viewpoint on the flaws of America’s social system on failure and success. The short coming-of-age story follows a young boy named Jerry who is driven by a group of teenagers to be able to go through an underwater tunnel. American critic and writer, Zinsser, provides his readers with his own definition on what it means to fail, and the value of failing versus success. In Through the Tunnel, Jerry, and his actions resemble the definition and characteristics of failure and/or success, as described by Zinsser in the article. Throughout the
The American dream is defined as “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative”, yet many people in this day of age believe that this is no longer a plausible aspiration. Neverless, this demeanor is at the heart of the classic American tales of the highest and lowest points of the American spirit, making one question whether or not this fundamental dream is still worth pursuit. Though it is a path containing hardships and challenges, actively seeking to achieve what you desire is one of the most prominent life lessons throughout American literature, as evidenced through the Crucible, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Great Gatsby.
"What has happened in America is that achievement is so important that everyone wants everyone else to know what they have done. . . And in case you don't know, they want to tell you with a lethal combination of houses, cars and diamonds. (Fabrikant 2005))" Inequality in the United States is changing, and for the worse. People who are not wealthy are now competing to have the "status" of wealthy, which causes the wealthy to literally get wealthier while the middle class and upper middle class are going increasingly in debt trying to keep up with the wealthy.
... shining, his golden opportunity…the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him…”(qtd.in The American Dream). A person who “manages” to achieve his or her version of the American Dream is often said to be “living the dream”. However this concept has been subjected to great criticism because some people that the social structure of the U.S. prevents such an idealistic goal for everyone. May critics often allude to various examples of inequality rooted in class, race, ethnicity, and religion, which suggests that the American Dream is not attainable to everyone. The principles of the American Dream are too idealistic. Everyone has dreams and goals, but the American Dream is one that is infinite and endless. It is very difficult to live the dream when so much of it is obscured by the government.
(Henslin, 2014) The reason to review this is because different classes of society all maintain these aspects at higher or lower degrees, with the upper tier having the most. On top of that, it is seeing its own class diminish slowly. Social mobility, the main component of the American Dream, has been all but eliminated at this point.
Failure can cause a torrent of mixed emotions and thoughts. One can begin to doubt their motives for even attempting to succeed at a certain task. Some people may choose to give up after failure, but there are a select few who rise up to the occasion and move forward to try and succeed no matter how many tries it takes. By overcoming those difficult moments in life, it gives a person a sense of accomplishment and pride and that alone is a beautiful thing.
In Failure Is a Good Thing, author Jon Carroll refers to failure as a learning experience. Carroll explains that failure is needed for growth, that failure may keep a person “on their toes” so that they may never get too comfortable with what they are doing. He also goes on to state that failure is something that we should all strive for, ironically, in order to feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Carroll refers to his family, his friends, and his own experiences with failure and how they solidify his beliefs. Jon talks about his job as a columnist and how every week someone’s column has to be the lesser column.
The main ideas of the American dream as well as the way we are exposed to them is ever-changing. Nowadays, to a large portion of individuals, the American dream is to own a big house and a nice car. . Though the term the “American Dream” was not introduced until 1931 by James Truslow Adams it was birthed with the signing of the Declaration of Independence (Where Is the American Dream?). Founding fathers did not conjure this dream in means of monetary success but the ability and freedom to be as equally successful as how hard you work and not of what or who you are. The byproduct of such freedom could then be to own a big house and a nice car. One of the most infamous phrases in the Declaration of Independence,