Summary Of The Way We Never Were By Stephanie Coontz

459 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Consumerism in America

In chapter seven of The Way We Never Were, Stephanie Coontz focuses on consumerism and materialism. In this chapter, Coontz claims that the root causes of consumerism is affecting Americans in a contemporary society is the mindset of people having an addiction to having the latest and greatest in terms of any goods. Coontz argues that “consumerism and materialism affect working adults and non working ones, both sexes and all ages, people who endorse new roles for women and people who oppose them” (page 223). In our society people buy what they want rather than what they need. Coontz argues that consumerism is essential for the U.S economy. The act of purchasing and selling goods transforms the american society. This relates to our in class

Show More
Related

  • My Home My World By Stephanie Coontz Summary

    358 Words  | 1 Pages

    Both Stephanie Coontz in “Great expectations” and Archena Bhalla in “My home, my world” address the issue about marriage and arranged marriages. While Stephanie mostly speaks on couples don’t make marriage their top priority and don’t last for a long time. And she gives an example by saying that “People nowadays don’t respect the marriage vowels.” She also believes that in the 18th and 19th centuries, conventional wisdom among middle-class men was the kind of woman you’d want for a wife was incapable of sexual passion which has changed in the 20th century. Also that marriage was viewed in the prospective that work relationship in which passion took second place to practicality and intimacy never was important with male. Bhalla speaks

    Read More

  • Summary Of A History Of Marriage By Stephanie Coontz

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    A History of Marriage by Stephanie Coontz speaks of the recent idealization of marriage based solely on love. Coontz doesn’t defame love, but touches on the many profound aspects that have created and bonded marriages through time. While love is still a large aspect Coontz wants us to see that a marriage needs more solid and less fickle aspects than just love.

    Read More

  • Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the young life of Essie Mae, she had a rough childhood. She went through beatings from her cousin, George Lee, and was blamed for burning down her house. Finally Essie Mae got the nerve to stand up for herself and her baby sister, Adline as her parents were coming in from their work. Her dad put a stop to the mistreatment by having her and her sister watched by their Uncle Ed. One day while Essie Mae's parents were having an argument, she noticed that her mothers belly was getting bigger and bigger and her mom kept crying more and more. Then her mother had a baby, Junior, while the kids were out with their Uncle Ed. Her uncle took her to meet her other two uncles and she was stunned to learn that they were white. She was confused by this but when she asked her mom, Toosweet, about it her mom would not give her an answer one way or the other. Once her mom had the baby, her father started staying out late more often. Toosweet found out that her dad was seeing a woman named Florence. Not long after this, her mother was left to support her and her siblings when her father left. Her mother ended up having to move in with family until she could obtain a better paying job in the city. As her childhood went on she started school and was very good at her studies. When she was in the fourth grade, her mom started seeing a soldier named Raymond. Not too long after this, her mother got pregnant and had James. Her mother and Raymond had a rocky relationship. When James was born, Raymond's mother came and took the baby to raise because she said that raising four children was too much of a burden for a single parent to handle. Raymond went back to the service for a while but then when he came back he and Toosweet had another baby. Raymond's brothers helped him build a new house for them to live in and they brought James back to live with them. During this time Essie Mae was working for the Claiborne family and she was starting to see a different point of view on a lot of things in life. The Claiborne's treated her almost as an equal and encouraged her to better herself.

    Read More

  • Coming Of Age In Mississippi By Anne Moody

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Upon reading Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody, in my honest opinion I thought the book would be boring, I am happy to say that I was wrong. This memoir about Anne’s life was really interesting and inspiring. Throughout Anne’s memoir I read about all the discrimination that went on in her life, the constant change that kept happening, with the death in the family her father leaving and marrying someone else and all the half siblings she had. Through all that Anne still wanted to make a difference despite the odds and all the negativity and lack of support from her family. This memoir shows a lot of racism, discrimination, judgement based on race, color, level of education, and wealth. Living through

    Read More

  • Why We Tuned Out by Karen Springen

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Karen Springen’s essay, “Why We Tuned Out,” explaining the reason’s behind keeping the television out of her children’s lives, the author uses several rhetorical strategies to argue her position. Rhetorical strategies are decisions the writer makes, big or small, to better argue the purpose of their piece. Springen uses statistical data, her own personal experiences, and cultural examples to more effectively argue the reasons why her children do not need to be exposed to television.

    Read More

  • Differences And Inequalities Persist Over Time

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bauman, Z, (1988) cited in Hetherington K, and Harvard C.(eds) (2014, pg.126,142). He further claims, “This is the characteristic pattern of inequality in our contemporary consumer society one that contrasts with the lines of class and occupational status that characterised the major cleavages in Industrial society”. Bauman, Z, (1988) cited in Alan, J. (2014 pg. 275). Moreover, consumerism encourages people to consume creating their own identities, replacing Identities centred on production and work. Furthermore, Hayek in the ‘Ordering Lives Strand’ claims “The market should be free of political intervention allowing individuals to be free to pursue their own interests” Hayek, F.A. (1976). cited in Clarke, J. (2014 pg.380). However, Allen. claims “The ability to ‘buy into’ a particular lifestyle actively excludes others from it on the basis of lack of income and those unable to do so will be seen as unworthy or inadequate” (Allen, J. 2014 P. 278). Thus constraints can be seen placed on people through lack of income, turning differences into inequalities with evidence indicating that ‘People’s values, beliefs and status are now shaped by ‘Consuming’ rather than as in Industrial times by work, politics and religion’, (The Open University, 2016). Therefore, differences which turn into inequalities are as predominant in today’s consumer society as they were in our industrial

    Read More

  • Consumerism and Faith

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumerism is the idea that influences people to purchase items in great amounts. Consumerism makes trying to live the life of a “perfect American” rather difficult. It interferes with society by replacing the normal necessities for life with the desire for things with not much concern for the true value of the desired object. Children are always easily influenced by what they watch on television. Swimme suggests in his work “How Do Kids Get So Caught Up in Consumerism” that although an advertiser’s objective is to make money, the younger generation is being manipulated when seeing these advertisements. Before getting a good understanding of a religion, a child will have seen and absorbed at least 30,000 advertisements. The amount of time teenagers spend in high school is lesser than the amount of advertisement that they have seen (155). The huge amount of advertisements exposed to the younger generation is becomi...

    Read More

  • Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America, the land of the free. Mostly free if the skin tone matches with the approval of society. The never ending war on racism, equality, and segregation is a huge part of American culture. Prior to the Civil Rights Movement equality was laughed at. People of color were highly discriminated and hated for existing. During the years nineteen fifty to nineteen seventy, racism began to extinguish its mighty flames. Through the lives of numerous people equality would soon be a reality. Through the Autobiography “Coming of Age in Mississippi” by Anne Moody first person accounts of all the racism, social prejudice and violence shows how different America used to be. The autobiography holds nothing back, allowing the author to give insight on all the appalling events and tragedies. The Re-telling of actual events through Anne Moody’s eyes, reveal a connection to how wrong segregation was. The “Coming of Age in Mississippi” is an accurate representation of life in the south before and during the Civil Rights Movement.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Stereotypes

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumerism is a noun that signifies the theory that when people spend money on popular goods they are helping the economy. Consumerism has changed from the view that a product gave you a service, to being a mental well-being level by defining our identity as people. Our society feels as though our consumption habits define how we understand ourselves, how we connect with each other, and above all how we feel a part of, and fit in with the society as a whole. The products in which we buy are largely defining our social and economic value. This is because the lens in which we see and understand the world shows us what is possible and how we might go about achieving what we want. Colin Campbell, a British sociologist, adds his knowledge into

    Read More

  • Analysis of How I Live Now by Meg Rossoff

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book “How I Live Now” by Meg Rossoff, the main character, Daisy, is faced with war, love and tragedy all at once. In Daisy’s battle to stay alive she realizes that love exists and recognizes that Oslo is where she belongs. Already knowing her limitations, Daisy comes to an understanding that eating and not being anorexic is okay. Her determination moves the reader in a way that changes what they think of her. It shows that tragic events can change someone in the simplest ways.

    Read More

  • Consumerism In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    The consumeristic society of Brave New World, not so different from our own culture, began with mass production and caused a shift in where people sought meaning in their lives; this consumerism allowed for stability but took away

    Read More

  • The Friday Everything Changed by Anne Hart

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Friday Everything Changed” written by Anne Hart describes how a simple question challenges the

    Read More

  • Summary: The Treadmill Of Consumption

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socioeconomics, marketing strategies, culture, consumerism, and an excess of words that can be found in any given Sociology 101 required text book will explain the world’s generational desire fore more and better. However, a few brilliant authors wrote on this topic within a writing textbook. Stephanie Clifford and Quentin Hardy, the authors of “Attention, Shoppers: Store is Tracking Your Cell,” explain how consumerism has lead to discrepancies in consumer privacy. Steve McKevitt, author of “Everything Now,” introduces the idea that consumers have become too comfortable with the fast convenience of today’s new world and how that contributes to societal issues. James Roberts, author of “The Treadmill of Consumption,” describes how society consuming and over-consuming rapidly and how that effects the economy and culture. While these three authors have touched on very different subjects, the combination of Robert’s, McKevitt’s, and Clifford’s and Hardy’s work reveals how much

    Read More

  • The Evils of Consumerism

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consumerism, the belief that it’s good for people to spend a lot of money on goods and services, is the basis for the economy of the United States of America. The practice of consumerism in the U.S. largely started in the 1950s. After World War II, people focused on buying goods to make their lives easier, such as vacuums, refrigerators, cars, and televisions. (“American Experience”). In a consumerist culture people are taught to buy, even if they don’t have the money to spend. Yet, teaching our children to overspend isn’t exactly practical. Towards the end of her article, Schor writes, “The industry lacks sufficient moral accountability… the pressure to make money is overwhelming the need to do well by kids.” In other words, consumerism and marketing to youths is harmful to the children. If the industry’s claims that their work empowers children, is vital to the economy, and that the consequences of their work are due to the irresponsibility of the parents are true, then why did the FCC find it necessary to regulate the ads that children were exposed to in 1974? (Schor). In reality consumerism encourages materialism, gender specific roles, and inflicts social and emotional damage upon the youth of the nation.

    Read More

  • Consumerism And Consumerism

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    Consumerism became a force in only a few decades. It started to move the social and economic development of the world , and the only question is in which direction . When talking about this concept , it is certainly not new , but dates back to ancient Mesopotamia , and the first hint of today's practices come in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain, where the middle class wants to copy their idols at royal functions. Buying only out of necessity becames not important. More important is to have the things that the rich one has. Consumerism has its roots also in the British society of the time after war. Shopping and enjoying financial freedom was at that time in Britain a relaxation for men who returned from the battlefield . The thought they deserve to make up for los...

    Read More

More about Summary Of The Way We Never Were By Stephanie Coontz

Open Document