One example of this laid-back attitude towards spending money is when Francis goes home after 22 years and gets $10 from Billy. Francis then jokes with his wife, Annie, about putting “…ten dollars toward the frame” (183) for a picture they like. This minor and seemingly harmless remark digs deeper into the person Francis is. Rather than spending money on food or shelter, he would rather spend it on a useless trinket that does not improve his life. Considering the economic climate at the time coupled with his situation, this joke turns into an ignorant statement which explains why he has “…been broke twenty-two years” (182).
In Stephanie Coontz article title "What We Really Miss About The 1950s" Sourced by the book "Rereading America" she seeks to provide insight and critical analysis into why the 1950s are so highly esteemed today and why they are so missed. Coontz sees herself as being well equipped as well as suitably verse in the elements that configure the 1900s. She even goes as far as to use a personal experience from her life during that time to give the reader a deeper understanding into the societal norms that made up the 1950s. It is quickly made evident that Coontz takes her work serious and personal. In Coontz's analysis she used a multitude of factors surrounding the struggles as well as the triumphs experienced in the 50s and in doing so she gives a wide range
William Hazlitt, a renowned 19th century author, highlights in his famous text “On the Want of Money” his ideas on money and how it plays a part in how a person lives their life. Hazlitt presents the case that money cannot buy happiness as it superficial, but yet life without money will ultimately end in sorrow and “to be scrutinized by strangers, and neglected by friends.” By his extreme control over rhetorical strategies such as diction, syntax, and imagery Hazlitt was able to accurately portray his beliefs on the effect of money on people. The most potent strategy in Hazlitt’s delivery is his diction; he uses this to stress the importance of wealth.
The art of hatred is best explained in writings that coincide with each other, i.e., Andrew Jackson's "On Indian Removal" and "Samuel's Memory" by Michael Rutledge. They both use words to set the tone of the story as well as the theme for each piece of writing. First and foremost, Andrew Jackson utilizes a connotation referring to native Americans as "savages." He also calls the native American culture a rude institution. This would help set the tone that Native Americans do not belong in the presence of white people.
This chapter also includes many statistics that are very interesting to someones knowledge. One will also learn that the shopping habits people have and where they shop determines if they are well off. In the story about Johnny and his habits of life, one will learn that he is not considered a “bespoke” because he does not spend the money on customized suits. It is proven that people will buy certain pieces of clothing or a pair of shoes just to have the logo on it. One will also learn that most Americans in this generation will never become wealthy because they are wasteful.
In this essay, nineteenth-century author William Hazlitt expresses his position on money and how it affects the world around us. His purpose is to share with his audience the positive and negative effects money has on one’s life and how much it can impact one's life. From there, Hazlitt uses literary devices such as parallelism and antithesis to illustrate money's effects on the world. The use of parallelism, helps the essay create a repeating pattern to emphasize how much money can impact a person. Hazlitt emphasizes those effects with words such as “it is,” “or to,” and “to be”.
Industrial production dropped by half, breadlines, soup kitchens, and the homeless shelters became popular in America’s town and cities. In Document six, it explains how consumers have to reduce purchases and cut back on spending habits and how farmers struggled not being able to afford to harvest their crops( William E. Leuchtenburg, The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932, 1958). Also in Document seven, and eight it states that, people and families have to stretch and makes ends meet on what they have and also finding a way to make things cheaper (Paul Blanshard, “How to Live on Forty-six Cents a Day,” The Nation, 1929/ Fortune, February
What We Really Miss About The 1950s In her essay, “What We Really Miss About the 1950s”, Stephany Coontz talks about the myth of the 1950s. She begins her argument by stating some reasons why the nostalgia for the 1950s exists. The main thing Americans miss about the those days is the stability. She acknowledges that this fallacy is not insane.
A social economist views the 1950s as the social classes being defined. The time boasted an image of successfulness during a time of peace and conformity. However, the 1950s do not deserve its reputation as a time of peaceful conformity. The harmonic image of the 1950s was an over-generalization that ignores the realities of what was going on in the country. The peaceful conformity was a false image that showed it’s true colors through gender/ethnic relations and the beginning of the Rock and Roll era.
“Everything looks good on the outside, but in the inside it’s not”. “Gilded age critics argued that the concentration of wallet in the bank accounts of the rich robbed workers of just compensation and gave the few to much power. Andrew Carnegie one of the nations leading industrialists and among the richest Americans of the era defended the concentration of wealth” (Document 18-4 Gospel of Wealth). There was an inequality of wealth which the article Carnegie wrote The Gospel of Wealth explained that there is a gap between him and his workers and how Carnegie believes in Social Darwinism, survival of the fittest. Social Darwinism provided justification for the increasing society unequal of wealth being distributed to very few people and the poor weren’t as “fit” as the rich people.
The Gilded Age was a time of quick growth in the United States both in the economy and population. Though this period between the Civil War and World War I was a time of development, there were many downsides as well, such as political corruption, corporate financial misdealing, and imbalance of money. During this time, there was a huge difference in money, meaning the rich were extremely rich so they were spending their money like it was nothing. In June 1889, author Andrew Carnegie wrote “The Gospel of Wealth,” which is an article that describes the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of the self-made rich. Since it was the most money they ever had, they were spending it in the stacks.
Instead of wasting money on unnecessary objects or luxurious items, the rich should use it for public good. Carnegie was a “Scottish immigrant” (Roark 524) who worked hard to become an influential figure in the Industrial era where competition meant everything. Since Carnegie knew the value of hardship and money, he could relate to those who were victims of big private corporations. According to Carnegie, “whether the change be for good or ill, it is upon us, beyond our power to alter, and therefore, to be accepted and made the best of it” (Carnegie 53). Again, Carnegie here advices other wealthy individuals to wisely spend their money on public, even though many imperialist at the time did not agree with Carnegie.
During this prosperous decade, the United States became a “consumer culture”- which maintained that customers should be able to buy items not just because of need, but for the sheer pleasure of buying and owning. People generally had more leisure time and more money to spend, thanks to mass production and progressive era reforms (8 hours a day/5 day work week). Many middle-class citizens purchased new “luxuries” such as electric refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners. Businesses, in turn, promote their products by creating more and better advertisements. The advertising industry grew tremendously in the 1920s as new techniques and gimmicks were tried out on consumers.
The 1950’s in the United States was a very conflicting time in the country’s history. On one hand there was much economic prosperity, but on the other there was still massive amounts of segregation, discrimination, and the urge to conform to the idealistic “all American family”. The term that historians use when describing the 1950’s is an age of “consensus and conformity”. This means that due to the innovations of the time such as television, the consumer was told what they should buy, and how they should live their life. This restricted society by putting standards at which society should meet, and if they did not meet those standards they were considered odd, or out of place.
Understanding a person in the 1800s wouldn’t be the same as a person living in present time; but a man once said, “Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself”. This wasn’t just any man of course, Andrew Carnegie an icon in his time known for his climb into wealth was full of ideas that provoked society when he was alive. Although his ideas weren’t universally accepted it guided people into a mentality where those with acquired and inherited wealth could give back in a tasteful manner so that the poor and wealthy live in a state of economy harmoniously. Carnegie explicitly states, “The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth” right from the beginning, a small stepping stone of the ideas that follow to back up why this is a problem in his time as well as today.
