Gilded age 1878-1889 was the age of fast growth of industry and immigrants in America history. The production of steel and iron rose radically than other time. In contrast, the Western resources increased such as silver,lumber, and gold. As well as the transportation also improved. Railroad develop and move goods from resources rich west to east.
We live in a fast paced, self-service and capitalist world. In this sense, people will be exploited in the work force especially if they are people of color from low-income background. This is how America function in order to make progress and profit. There are a lot of topics that was brought up while reading Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, an investigative and American journalist, that speaks a lot on the society we live in. Immigrants are getting paid below the minimum wage without any medical insurance.
In Fahrenheit 451, the commercial distracting Montag demonstrates how their government is trying to eliminate any form of independent thinking. Because if people were to participate in free thinking they would start to question the way things are run, and will not remain ignorant. Being oblivious and ignorant is much easier for the government, so when Montag tries to go against it it backfires, “He tore open the book and flicked the pages and felt of them as if he were blind….” (Bradbury 75). Montag is trying his best to concentrate but the commercial is influencing him in a way where the words seem incomprehensible.
1 - Consumerism developed in America during the early twentieth century in large part due to the boom in industry created by Europe 's inability to create goods after World War I. Combined this with American inventions such as Henry Ford’s assembly line and Americans had money to spend (Schultz, 2013). With the advent of an electrical distribution system, Americans had electricity in their homes for the first time, which led to the desire for all types of electrical appliances to make life easier. All these new products meant that companies had to get the word out about their products which ignited the advertising industry, which led to even more consumerism. Mix into this recipe, the growing credit industry, and you had consumerism like
“I’d like a tropical guava smoothie, please.” The cashier nods her head and gives me a smug look while she is putting a lid on a cup. I could tell what she was thinking. It was the universal someone-had-too-much-to-drink-last-night look. I could care less.
“What are you doing?” I yelled through the window of the truck. “Come here and check it out. It’s asparagus.” My dad said.
“A&P” written by John Updike, uses a fictional situation to describe how Sammy’s actions are an example of consumerism. His actions, and his thoughts about those around him were used to explain consumerism today. Sammy used his thoughts to highlight how he felt about every character and he used his actions like quitting his job to display consumerism. Consumerism was implied not only from the customers in the store but the physical items in the grocery store. Consumerism was also exposed through the lustful actions of Sammy and his defiance in work leading to him quitting his job.
During the 1950s consumerism became widespread, the Golden Age was a period of economic growth that benefited both capitalist and workers. More production equalled higher wages. Inventions such as vacuums and dishwashers became household items. These appliances enabled the idea of more leisure time intertwining the notion of freedom, the symbol of America. The introduction to credit cards made purchases easier; giving Americans the feeling of being rich and wealthy.
Then it started. Cody Childers, a scout on the trip, was not the healthiest of the bunch. He had put maple syrup in his water bottle and drank that during the hike to the camp. After about a mile on the hike back, he was moving as slow as molasses. He and Mr. Deveau walked ahead while we stopped to relieve ourselves.
M.T Anderson’s Feed is a novel that satirizes the way people globally are increasingly becoming dependent on technology and exposed to advertisements. The theme of this novel is that if we are not careful, consumerism will take over our lives and rob us of our humanity. All the characters, excluding Violet, are mindless followers of the feed. They care only for fulfilling their primal desires and gaining status.
In 1984 Orwell is warning us about how we as a society are terrible people and how consumerism is taking over. The way things are going now in modern era are actually things that he is warning us about. We often tend to criticize things that we see on the internet like if you don’t share those “if you love your mom post” then you don’t really love your mom, but there are some that just share it and don’t even show the actual loving part to their mom. Consumerism is another big part, now it matters if we have better things than other people. It’s a competition to get the latest things.
Western culture is a hodge podge of ancient cultures, Greece being one. I feel the most obvious similarity is in their agora. As a place for the citizens to purchase their food and supplies due to a trade system, they basically established the 1st Walmart Superstore. The only difference is we give cash for our purchases, while they traded supplies and goods. Grecians also used the agora as a place to meet up with others, discussing current events to the meaning of life.
Shouted Grandpa. “I’m fine, but you’d better come here and have a look,” she said. “I’ll be right there!” Grandpa said. “Mike, can you fill these water bowls all by
“Why my wife owned a shotgun, I had no idea. Or Ski-Mask. Neither of us had ever skied. But she didn’t explain and I didn’t ask.” (Second Bakery Attack, P44).
As the heat of the first bite was catching up to me, the ghost chili paste oozed out onto my lips and filled my mouth. It felt as if someone has lit a firecracker and dipped it in magma before placing it in my mouth and sewing it shut. I tried to focus on the cheese and soon realized that it was not cheese at all, but juicy yellow Habanero shavings. At this point I gazed around the room through my tears and saw my family rushing to the refrigerator to get the milk. My uncle sucked in through his teeth and said, “Michael, do you feel the endorphins?”.
