Consumerism stands as a tenet of the American culture. Our common desire to possess the newest or most popular products drives our daily lives. We strive to have the possessions of those to whom we compare ourselves – friends, family, neighbors, associates – in the hope that we may feel a semblance of fulfillment. Yet, this path of obsession over objects merges our individual identities with the objects we covet. In the novel A Mercy, the character Jacob Vaark epitomizes this modern materialist trend. Through the metaphor of Vaark’s insatiable desire for a mansion, Morrison criticizes the modern consumerist American culture. Upon his meeting with the D’Ortegas, Vaark immediately beings to envy the Jublio estate – its wide, iron gates, large iron fences, wooden siding and wide windows. Yet, immediately …show more content…
To construct his mansion, Vaark acquires a workforce of slaves, indentured servants and skilled laborers, financed by his dealings in rum. As stated in the second chapter of the novel, Vaark has little respect for those who engage in the slave trade or utilize slaves for their own economic benefit. “Jacob sneered at wealth dependent on a captured workforce…” (Morrison, pg. 32) Despite this, he is not troubled by profiting from the slave industry indirectly from the sale of his good of trade – rum. During this era, the production of rum and other sugared alcoholic drinks depended on the widespread slavery found the in the Caribbean isles and Brazil. Due to the hot, humid climate and necessity of dangerous machinery for the refinement of sugar cane, slaves serving at these plantations faced the harshest conditions of the new world. Jacob learned this from the traveler Downes when Downes described the average lifespan of slaves working in these conditions as “Six months, eighteen…”
Coming from an “unconventional” background, George Saunders is readily able to relate to the circumstances the everyday working laborer goes through (Wylie). However, Saunders has an advantage to spread out his ideas and concerns about life in the U.S. via his short stories and novellas. Because of neoliberalism and capitalism and its correlation to the huge wealth gap in the U.S. Saunders focuses his protagonists’ view from a proletariat standpoint, allowing the reader to see the life of consumerism has impacted our society. Saunders does not use conventional methods to portray this reality. Instead, Saunders emphasizes on the “absence” of certain moral human characteristics in order to take the reader away from viewing into a hero’s looking glass— to set a foundation of a world where our morals become lost to our materialistic and inherent need of money (Wylie).
Novelists such as Willa Cather and F. Scott Fitzgerald used themes of desire of wealth as a fundamental element to motivate their characters. In their novels, the theme is reflected by the rich Americans who primal desire is to obtain more and more wealth. These characters are so infatuated with and blinded by money that they no longer regard the more noble qualities of life. In each of their works, these authors present intricate, self-conscious characters that desire wealth in order to attain their dreams. In reality, wealth cannot buy people, ideas or even time.
Upon first glance, this excerpt may appear to be a simple, reactionary act of violence by the black slaves against their white oppressors. However, through a more careful and close observation of this segment, this revolt goes beyond the simple cultural divide and exposes the deeper, underlying theme of the entire novel as a whole: tyranny. Through this act, the slaves set forth a brutal cycle of tyranny and oppression, which, upon first glance, appears to be likely to lead to their liberation. And, although they do eventually receive ‘freedom’ from their imperial masters, the black inhabitants of the island are continually held down by whomever is in power at the time. In terms of this segment and chapter, the slaves see an opportunity to seize the freedom they so desperately desire and believe they deserve. However, when they do achieve this sense of freedom, which can be represented by their successful raid of the plantation house, they immediately engage in the vices of the white men by drinking the liquor in the basement and acting in an uncivil manner. The drinking of the liquor can also symbolize the fact that once power and freedom is achieved or earned, those who earn it can easily become enamored with it and abuse it. This notion is also directly displayed by the power and reign of Henri Christophe later in the
The temptation is to analyze and compare these novels in terms of American consumerism at different times, the individual’s quest for self-identity in the increasingly conformist capitalist structure, or to focus on literary aspects, such as character and narrative structure. However, these obvious subjects seem secondary to an overarching thematic similarity. Both novels are masculine narratives, where the male protagonists (Jay Gatsby and Tyler Durden), and the narrators (Nick Caraway and an unnamed Narrator) run toward or away from one of two versions of hyper-masculinity. One version is the wild, angry, sexual and raw fighter who uses the brute power of his body to crush the emasculating circumstances of a middle class American lifestyle. The second version of hyper-masculinity is the immaculate, well-dressed, refined and civilized man who uses extravagant displays of wealth and material possessions to crush the emasculating circumstances of the rugged and humble American life of a small town boy.... ...
In ‘The Great Gatsby’ Fitzgerald criticises the increase of consumerism in the 1920s and the abandonment of the original American Dream , highlighting that the increased focus on wealth and the social class associated with it has negative effects on relationships and the poorest sections of society. The concept of wealth being used as a measure of success and worth is also explored by Plath in ‘The Bell Jar’. Similarly, she draws attention to the superficial nature of this material American Dream which has extended into the 1960s, but highlights that gender determines people’s worth in society as well as class. Fitzgerald uses setting to criticise society’s loss of morality and the growth of consumerism after the Great War. The rise of the stock market in the 1920s enabled business to prosper in America.
In an attempt to fulfill their lives with meaning and happiness Jay Gatsby and Mr. Shiftlet strive to obtain more possessions or more wealth than what is needed. Due to their greed and careless lifestyles, they cannot achieve happiness or fulfillment; instead, their actions lead to dissatisfaction, destruction, and unhappiness. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Flannery O’Connor use the literary devices of motifs, foreshadowing, and symbolism to cause their readers to become disenchanted with the idea of being wealthy for fear of being associated with evil and corruption like the characters in The Great Gastby and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”
There are many people who are driven by consumerism and many people who wish they can get in touch with that type of world. Consumers are often promoted to advertise more of the products that they are buying to get more people to buy more products. Hari Kunzru, author of “Raj, Bohemian,” creates a narrator who is obsessed with maintaining his individuality and free will in a world that is overcome with consumerism. Believes that the world takes away individuality when consumerism comes into play and how hard it is to maintain their true self. In her LA Times article “Teen Haulers Create a Fashion Force,” Andrea Chang writes about the phenomenon of teenage Youtube users who make videos that publicize their latest shopping binges. She expresses
The aim of this paper will be to point out some crucial factors which ultimately shaped the understanding of slavery in the lives of Jacob
As Morrison gives an important point on the materialism and classism that Macon grew up adopting mentally to attain freedom which he raised Milkman to believe was to “...Own things. And let the things you own own other things. Then you’ll own yourself and other people too. Starting Monday, I’m going to teach you how” (Morrison 55). This idea of owning things and it leading to owning others and finding freedom through ownership of oneself is an important representation of the classicism through materialism that Morrison gives in the book. This hierarchal state of ownership of objects and people not only dehumanizes a person, but also the individual who strives for ownership as a means of freedom which is seen as Macon believes he has some level of freedom as he is the landlord who owns and has control of the money and land that many African American’s in the town that they are residents of. This discrimination because of material ownership and class difference can lead to racism among those of the same ethnicity and create a further divide and greater inhibition on others state of
‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley is a science-fiction book in which people live in a futuristic society and a place called the World State. In ‘Brave New World’, Aldous Huxley used the idea of consumerism to describe the behaviors and lives of the citizens of the World State. The practice of consumerism by the people of the World State fulfilled their satisfactory and happiness. However, it also blinded purity and truth among its people. Different classes and different genders of people practiced different acts of consumerism such as consuming soma, technology and bodies. They sought happiness from them and eventually these acts became a social norm. However, these practices of consumerism also had side effects. It blinded truth such as
Throughout the novel A Mercy by Toni Morrison, the male characters each portray display different views on what freedom means. Centered around the idea of family, these characters each chase freedom in a way unique to them. The first male character that plays a significant role, is Jacob Vaark. Vaark is introduced early in the novel. He grows up as an orphan, then moves to England. After traveling from England to Maryland, he inherited land from his Dutch uncle. Although he acquires slaves, he never considers himself as a slave owner.
It was the age of Victoria, it was the age of empire, it was the age of imperialism, it was the age of doubt, it was the age of growth, it was the age of oppression—in short the period was a time of growth and power such that it affected the lives of even the most menial citizen of Britain. Britain was going through a time of dramatic population growth. Imperialism was also growing at a steady rate due to the population growth. Britain had to import increasing amounts of food from its vast colonies, which brought to light many questions of ethical consumerism. Ethical consumerism is based on the idea if a consumer chooses a certain product, the consumer “can embrace of reject particular environmental and labour practices” (“Ethical Consumerism”). The colonies were not the only sources of questionable consumerism: women and their place in society were becoming evermore impacted by consumerism. In 1862, while Britain was immersed in the Victorian Era, the first poetry collection
In today’s world, people in general like to keep up with the latest things such as gadgets like the iPhone. They tend to spend an ample amount of time on their gadgets or whatever the latest item is instead of dedicating their time to the more important things. During family dinners, everyone is usually on their phones. People may prefer to spend a day at the mall instead of volunteering. High credit card bills can result from spending so much money on the new things rather than paying bills. The social pressure to keep up with these material items has an effect on quality bonding time which has an effect on money. Consumerism actually sets a person against oneself because of the never-ending mission to acquire material objects therefore people should not concentrate their religious faith in materialism.
In the story “Have it your way”: Consumerism Invades Education the main point the author is trying to make is. We cannot let the term “customer” replace student; a student is a learner being taught by somebody who is an expert in said field, a customer is somebody being served they get what they want and they leave and that’s it. To say a customer and a student are the same thing would be wrong. We currently live in a “Have it your way!” world; everybody gets what they want in a prepackaged form with no thought process behind it and they don’t get what they don’t want. We cannot put students in this “Have it your way!” category because they won’t always get it their way. They are getting it their instructors way because they are learning from
Jacob Vaark is introduced to the reader at the beginning of the novel as an orphan who has fled England in order to escape from the poverty and destitution that would have been his lot in a country characterized by a strict social hierarchy and laws which saught to increase poverty for the poor and wealth for the rich. His past has been one of rejection, dispossesion and marginalization. Consequently this marginalized ‘‘ratty orphan’’ has now come to seek a better life, ‘‘to make a place out of no place’’ in the New World, that is in 1680’s Maryland (Morrison12). Understandably, as critic Valerie Babb points out (154), Jacob’s experiences as an outcast in England have induced in him a sense of empathy for underpriviledged people. As he travels through Virginia to the slave plantation of the portuguese richman, D’Ortega, who ows him a debt, he reflects upon the injust nature of the newly implemented laws following the uprise of Bac...