In his 2011 article, 2 cheers for the maligned slacker dude, Nathan Robin of the Onion attempts to reveal the unseen potential that perhaps lies within America's bachelors. Robin addresses the seeming lack of masculinity that has arisen in previous decades, and the effects that this is having on the 20 something males of today. In the article, the author makes the point that men in their early twenties have always been creators and accomplishers, and that despite appearances, this is still true today. Robin adds that these males are occasionally blind to their own potential, and while many appear to be under achievers, they show initiative, and promise. The author uses Mark Zuckerberg as an example of this almost dormant brilliance, …show more content…
That while a person may appear lazy, or unkempt, or unmotivated they very well might be more. Robin tries to use this theory that everyone has a bit of good in them, to try to defend the 21st century slacker dude and his actions. The author uses several examples to add to his stance that there is more to the lazy frat bro then meets the eye. One of which is his own personal success story. Robin refers to himself and the other founding members of the Onion in the latter part of his article, claiming that while they knew nothing of the political and social ramifications of sophisticated satire, they blundered their way to success. And the reason is simple. They had an idea, and they had a dream. They were being driven by something more, and something bigger than themselves. While they were a ragged group of college dropouts, they showed that they could be motivated in their own way, by their own ideas. Robin communicates this idea that even they were unaware of what was driving them toward success. This sense of mystery and spontaneous ingenuity is conveyed very well in Robin’s article. He draws together the feeling that these slackers are driven by something that they are almost afraid to reveal. However, while Robin can tell the reader stories about Mark Zuckerberg and Chad Hurley all he wants, his argument will most likely fall on deaf ears. Robin never truly gives the reader any reason to …show more content…
Robin brings to the table several very interesting success stories about men that were total underdogs, and were deemed unmotivated and unworthy. However, as fascinating as these stories are, they are only a small part of the actual slacker dude story. For every frat bro who is able to rise above, and find a sense of special motivation to change the world, there are dozens who simply spiral out into the abyss of laziness and failure. Definitely, not everyone is going to change the world, but we cannot look at these few that made it, and say that all middle aged men will change the world, and find greatness. For surely, this is not the case. There are the few that are able to build success for themselves. The few that are able to find that inspiration to be something more. These are the special few. Robin makes a case in his article that because these few, that perhaps all slacker dudes are destined for something great. Sadly, this is simply not the case. Many of these bed head ridden, sloppily dressed college attendees are destined simply for a life of mediocrity. However, is that entirely bad? Perhaps they can change the world each in their own way. But to give these masses of malingered slacker dudes a free pass based on the actions of their few slacker brethren is simply a
In the article, “A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much”, Catherine Rampell explains why older generations find millennials to be the laziest generation yet and provides facts that contrast the claim. The generations that came before millennials like Generation X and Baby Boomers have multiple reasons explaining why young people have became less productive over the years. Catherine Rampell provides information regarding how millennials are not as lazy as Generation X has made them out to be.
“The Onion’s” mock press release on the MagnaSoles satirical article effectively attacks the rhetorical devices, ethos and logos, used by companies to demonstrate how far advertisers will go to convince people to buy their products. It does this by using manipulative, “scientific-sounding" terminology, comparisons, fabrication, and hyperboles.
Examples of this are people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who were the perfect age during the computer revolution in 1975, when the personal computer was invented and made widely available. However, not every person born in the same year as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates became a multimillionaire. Why? The ones who became successful were those who took a risk, and were willing to work hard to make something out of the computer revolution. When looking at people who gained their success from the invention of personal computers, Gladwell points out that “These are stories… about people who were given a special opportunity to work really hard and seized it” (67). One of Bill Gates’ advantages was that he went to Lakeside High School, which had a computer lab in a time when most schools did not. Everyone at Lakeside had access to that computer lab, but only a few students grew up to be the creators of the world’s best computer companies. Those who became successful were the students like Bill Gates, who worked hard in that computer lab and grew up to be world-class programmers. If someone is given unique opportunities but is not willing to seize them, they will not gain any success from those opportunities. Success is self made because in order to be successful, one must take advantage of the unique chances they are
When you think of a typical college student you may think of a young adult around 18 to 22 years old. You may also think of someone with little world experience that’s off on their own for the first time in their short life. Surprisingly, there has been a recent phenomenon with an increase in older people now attending post-secondary education, specifically the baby boomer generation. Libby Sander, a staff reporter at the Chronicle of Higher Education, explores this topic in an article called “Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College” (782). Sander combines the use of all three rhetorical appeals throughout her article to successfully argue that the wave of baby boomers enrolled in postsecondary education is changing the perception
In her unforgettable memoir, Barbara Ehrenreich sets out to explore the lives of the working poor under the proposed welfare reforms in her hometown, Key West, Florida. Temporarily discarding her middle class status, she resides in a small cheap cabin located in a swampy background that is forty-five minutes from work, dines at fast food restaurants, and searches all over the city for a job. This heart-wrenching yet infuriating account of hers reveals the struggles that the low-income workers have to face just to survive. In the except from Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich uses many rhetorical strategies to illustrate the conditions of the low wage workers including personal anecdotes of humiliation at interviews, lists of restrictions due to limited
In Kimmel’s essay “’Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” he argues that the influence of society on masculinity is equal to or greater than biological influences on masculinity. In the essay, Kimmel uses various surveys and interviews to validate his argument. He points to peers, coaches, and family members as the people most likely to influence the development of a man’s masculinity. When a man has his manliness questioned, he immediately makes the decision never to say or do whatever caused him to be called a wimp, or unmanly. Kimmel’s argument is somewhat effective because the readers get firsthand accounts from the interviewees but the author does not provide any statistics to support his argument.
Not So Much”, explains how Generation Y is not necessarily lazy, but rather conforming to fit changing times and a changing system. Her degree in journalism from Princeton, and experience in writing about economics, politics and data-driven journalism, more than qualifies her for writing about such a topic. I was one of those people who believed that today’s generation is too dependent on their parents, always looking for a hand-out and have a sense of entitlement. After reading this, I now have a slightly different opinion about Millennials. Of course, there will always be slackers in every generation whether past, present or future, but there is always more than what meets the eye. Just because someone may not spend their forty-hour work week all in the office, does not mean that they are working any less, but that because of today’s technology they can work from almost anywhere. As for the amount of graduated college students that return to live at home with their parents, it is not necessarily because they are too apathetic to go out and support themselves, but rather the reason being the high unemployment rate among sixteen to twenty-four year olds. After the Great Recession in 2009, many Millennials either lost their jobs, or were simply unable to find one after graduation. While I was raised to believe that if you wanted something, you worked for it, I truly hope that today’s generation is still
American men’s political, social and economic identity was no longer fixed. If social order, permanence could no longer be taken for granted and a man could rise as high as he aspired, then his sense of himself as a man was in constant need of demonstration. Everything became a test- his relationship to work, to women, to nature, and to other men. (43)
In contemporary America, energetic twenty-somethings were on the border of transitioning from teenage years to adulthood. Might Magazine exposes many of young adults’ concerns and frustrations about financial, family, friends, and future struggles. They desire to be heard and noticed, instead of remaining to be a quiet nobody. The magazine embraces youth. “We are tired of such misuse of our creative powers, and have decided that we will not wait to raise money this way to fund Might...I simply wrote a check,” (Eggers 159). Egger describes how Might Magazine isn’t producing much money, he and his friends are just spending. Thus, this represents financial concerns and frustrations. Eggers was interviewed for a spot on MTV’s Real World show, “‘Might’
His biggest examples are his mother the waitress, known as Rosie and his uncle the mechanic, known as Joe. Rosie and Joe found success and happiness in their jobs that most people look down upon. Rosie claims that “there isn’t a day that goes by in the restaurant that you don’t learn something” as well as Joe that states “it was like schooling… a place where you’re constantly learning”. Mike uses reliable sources to gain detailed proof that blue-collar workers are not “a bunch of dummies”. Joe became an advanced problem solver who ended up initiating the redesign of the paint sprayer nozzle which eliminated “costly and unhealthy overspray”, he also “found a way to reduce energy costs on the baking ovens without affecting the quality of the paint”. These examples are effective to the essay because it proves that blue-collar jobs are more than they seem and if an employee is passionate about their work they could even become innovators in their
Williams, R. B. (2011, June 19). The decline of fatherhood and the male identity crisis |
The problem, as I see it, is that we have not re-defined masculinity for the modern age. In the old days, masculinity was measured by (1) physical abilities, particularly strength, but also skill, (2) power/success/wealth, and (3) sexual prowess. The first can be developed through education and hard work, the second could be acquired through the application of the first, and the third, well, either you got it or you don't, but locker-room bragging can always make up for any lacks, especially if you got the first two. Boys growing up in such a society work to develop their physical abilities and learn how to apply them most efficaciously, thus becoming a "man". This makes sense when a man might be faced with the challenge of building shelter on the prairie or raising crops, but us modern urban men are unlikely to face such challenges. Of course, we are not unprepared for the challenges of a modern urban lifestyle. Our education generally provides such life-sustaining skills as linear algebra, the performing arts, and information systems management. The educational system is successful enough to allow most of us to get jobs that pay us enough to afford all the requirements of a modern urban lifestyle: housing, food, clothing, entertainment, transportation, etc. The trouble is that while education has more or less kept pace with the advance of civilization, our notions of masculinity have not.
Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and
Throughout American history, it’s society has glorified the idea of being gritty and its virtues, such as perseverance, toughness, and courageousness. These ideas were apart of the American man that settled land from the east the west coasts, built business from the ground up, worked multiple jobs to singly support his family, or if need be, go off to war. Today, these virtues have spread much further throughout society, but have started to take backlash from camps of people who see life’s potential more developed by the quality of a person’s environment, rather than seeing how well someone can adapt to broken situations. These two camps have lead to opposing ideas in society, from workplaces that pamper every aspect of your life to women’s
Despite this, there continue to be incidents where middle class people are devastated when unable to achieve the so-called American Dream. Of course, the social expectations of a society are generally set by the previous generation and cause the newer generation to feel guilt when they cannot meet them. In order to avoid this feeling of guilt and insufficiency, people are willing to give up their unique hopes and goals; thus creating a people that are cohesively identical. Students in today’s universities are amazingly bright and creative, yet change their majors to those society has placed honor on, such as medicine, law, and engineering. The amount of innovation and invention