Analysis Of 'The More Factor' By Laurence Shames

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In Laurence Shames’s article, “The More Factor”, Shames explains how America has grown to believe and reinforce the opportunistic concept of the frontier—vast open space where possibilities of success have the potential to cultivate. This concept has become symbolic of what America stands for: the freedom to go further and farther than man has ever dreamed of, and without limits. And while this mindset still exists as an ideology of America, as well as how the rest of the world believes America supports itself, this ideology can no longer hold itself to be true. This optimistic approach cannot define the growing and upcoming generations of the 21st century. In the same way that Shames states that “in America, a sense of quality has lagged far …show more content…

Even after the competitive race to get into desirable colleges has subsided, students are still finding themselves relying on the pressures of success to motivate them and push them forward. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s article “Bright-Sided”, Ehrenreich explains a mindset shared by those in the market economy that is also internalized by students in college and even workers in the workforce, “If optimism is key to material success, and if you can achieve an optimistic outlook through the discipline of positive thinking, then there is no excuse for failure” (Ehrenreich 538). Through Ehrenreich’s proposed positive thinking concept, the stress and pressures that young adults place on themselves are self-imposed and intertwined with their logic and reasoning, but those pressures are initially driven into their mindset by society. People in current society are brought up to believe that they as individuals must take responsibility for their own success; students think that if they use positive thinking, they will get exactly where they want to be, and if they fail, it is because they did not work hard enough. It is exactly this ideology that leads to students presenting “signs of depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation” (Alicia Kruisselbrink Flatt, The College …show more content…

The pool of opportunity has grown smaller from what it once was, and it seems that opportunity parallels the wealth in capitalist America—a small number of individuals are successful in their endeavors, and the rest must settle for less with disappointment and disillusionment. While hard work and perseverance may push individuals to new heights, the power of optimism and positive thinking can only take a person so far. The great American dream and frontier is only available to those with certain circumstances, and those circumstances are becoming less available to the new generation coming into the

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