In response to the readings, I found it interesting to compare the two authors perspectives in which one showed their message through the eyes of a naive child making the reader use interpretative skills, while the other author expressed them through statistics and facts in which lets the reader see it in a more literal sense. Spite their differences, both of these authors broadcast a similar message of how the the "American Dream" is somehow skewed.
In the first story a young boy tries to imitate the perfect family that he sees on television. On the surface this issue seems to be innocent but in reality the television is sending subliminal messages about women, race, and family. In turn the boy tries to change his family to the family on the television, believing that by doing this his problems will be solved. He also believes that by going out and finding work around the neighborhood he will become rich, this can relate to immigrants coming into the country because to them this country is the land of opportunity and when they come here they will be able have a better life. However, they find that they come to low quality jobs that make them work long hours for low pay.
In the next story, the author uses the literal information to back up the statement that the 1950s were not everything we once thought it to be. It really surprised me to find out that the amount of sexual activity among teenagers were slightly higher in the 1950's than it is now in days, therefore showing that even though the surface picture looked perfect the underlying issues were still the same and could not be ignored. It was also eye opening to realize that the reason divorce rates doubled in towards the 1970s was because before then women were held in a marriage due to lack of income, but when they were able to go out and gain independence through jobs they realized they did not have stay in the bad marriages that a lot of them were in.
In relation in today, we may see due to our beliefs something on a petastool, however when you look beyond the surface you see many deep issues that may be just as oppressive or destructive as some issues found in the 1950's. I believe going back to the first post that it is important to question even things that seem to be with out flaw because you never know what you will find.
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I totally agree with your conclusion. The "American Dream" is only one -of many- misconceptions of our modern time. In my eyes, questioning the truth can only lead to a more accurate "truth". Anyways, on a lighter note: I liked the first essay more. Which one did you like more?
ReplyDeleteI, too, agree with your response. I think you did a fine job with looking into the meaning of the articles and using the thinking skills we learned to interpret them. I was also shocked with the big misconception of the 50's.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that. I can not believe all the misconceptions we have been taught about the 50's. Like the text says we need to look beyond what everyone is telling us and think for ourselves. By realizing that what we are told about the 50's is not all true, who knows what else we will find.
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