Individuals are molded by the people that surround them, shaped by the environment that they live in, and forged through the experiences and hardships that they experience. With each generation, there comes a new set of obstacles to face and a different viewpoint as a result. This varied viewpoint between generations can create a divide, a gap. It leaves the two groups at odds with each other as each sees the world through a perspective shaped by their own individual life. In the short story, “Neighbor Rosicky” by Willa Cather, she explores the dynamic and interactions between different generations. This gap is most easily demonstrated in family relationships because it most usually contributes to conflicting opinions on matters that pertain …show more content…
Rosicky’s unique experience in living in both the city and country has led to him feeling that the country is better because it offers the opportunity to own land. Land is something that Rosicky places great value on. He believes that “to be a landless man was to be a wage-earner, a slave, all your life, to have nothing, to be nothing” (690). These are very strong beliefs that are rooted in place by his own experiences. He knows what it is like to live and not be able to call anything your own. He knows what it is like to be so hungry that you are willing to compromise your own morals. He knows, he has lived it. He feels so strongly for the country and projects this out to his eldest son because Rosicky does not want him to never be able to call a piece of land his own, to always be working for someone else, under the thumb of the cruel city lifestyle. This fascination with owning property also stems from being an immigrant. He has faced many different obstacles that his sons will never have to face. The thought of owning property for an immigrant seems like an impossible dream, and it is one of Rosicky’s greatest accomplishments. He may strongly value ownership of property, but money serves as a secondary thought. When trouble struck with no crop, he had the mindset that they “might as well enjoy what we [they] got” (692). He lived such a happy lifestyle …show more content…
With each new generation, a new set of challenges comes about. The world is constantly changing and evolving which leaves a new path for the child that differs from his parents. These different paths and experiences lead to more diverse viewpoints. In today’s society, millennials’ views differ greatly from their parents and their parents’ views differ from their grandparents’. It is a cycle that never stops, and a gap that will never be completed because the experiences of each generation will always vary from one another. People can begin to try to understand each other by firstly recognizing that it is the life experiences that shape our thoughts and beliefs. One generation is not always “wrong” or “right” for thinking a certain thing. It is a product of the circumstances and issues that face each group. The gap has always existed and is a part of the natural order of things. It is a part of the human experience and only enriches it as it reflects the evolving world around
There are many aspects of my generation that reflect, define, and influence my generation. Its a difficult task to understand Generation X, my generation. We are like no generation before us, and no preceding generation will be like ours. We are empowered by the Internet, we have more knowledge about technology than our parents, and we are exposed to so much information. One thing remains unchanged, as with past generation; the relationship between us and our parents. Jamake Highwater once said, "the greatest distance between people is not space, but culture.(301)" This is true, my generation has their own culture, one which is of course different than that of our parents. We are still considered rebellious. We listen to music that is different than what our parents listen to, we dress in a way that upsets them, and act in ways that they might not. Our parents don't dress like us. They don't see how we can be happy doing what we do. They don't understand us. We are opinionated, yet susceptible. In our adolescence we are prone to wrongful doing, wrongful thinking, and we can be difficult and misunderstood. Our weakness is how easily we can let peer pressure or the media or our surroundings influence us. Many aspects of my generation's culture reflect, define, and influence my generation.
The Millennial’s values heavily contrast the values of prior generations. Their values reflect the world that we live in today. “Millennials are, arguably, the most reviled generation in recent history, and armies of consultants are hustling to decipher them.” (Ellin) This quote gives
The way the mind works is through a set of processes, which are steps that must be taken in order for the function it is producing to be accomplished successfully. These processes are related to those that society must be willing to take in order to achieve a desired goal, otherwise known as the ‘struggle’. Younger generations, called Generation Me, develop narcissist views that did not allow for the ‘struggle’ to be considered in their generation. The basis for this mindset is introduced by author Jean Twenge in her essay, “An Army of One: Me”, as she described the gap that occurred between Baby Boomer parents and their GenMe children. This communication was severed because GenMe was taught that their ideas are the best, and therefore not debatable. This translates to differences in opinion and results in individualism. When those individuals do not work together, as demonstrated by Deborah Tannen, author of “The Roots of Debate in Education and The Hope of Dialogue”, they tend to have a weak sense of debate because they stick up for themselves. As a diagnosis to this problem of disconnectedness, Nicholas Carr, author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” decides that our society has begun to skip steps in the process of learning and in particular, the ‘struggle’ that produces the desired outcome. The disconnectedness that has developed in society has caused the loss of real learning, and the problem based on the generation gap introduced by Twenge altered the struggle that is necessary to accomplish, which Tannen believes in and where Carr determines real learning can occur.
Throughout the years, the older generations –The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and Generation X—have viewed Millennials as the lowest generation. They have illustrated this adverse title of the millennials that the world views to be true, but in late May of 2013, Joel Stein, a product of Generation X, wrote, “The New Greatest Generation: Why Millennials Will Save Us All” towards the older generations to prove them wrong. This article attempts to persuade Stein’s audience to believe that Millennials are not what the world has described them to be. Throughout his article, Stein informs the audience that although statistics portray Millennials to be narcissistic, he has faith that the Millennials are the future. While Stein did use data in
Cather regards a sensitive, caring family which can bring positive influences in communities as a success. Rosicky is sensitive enough to know that Polly, a city girl, does not get used to life in a country, and is caring enough to offer the Rudolphs the car but washes dishes himself. Washing dishes does not fit in the expected role of men in families, but Rosicky does it because he cares about his families’ feelings and wants to help Polly get over a hard time. His sincerity is also why he can look into Polly’s face “with his peculiar, knowing, indulgent smile without a shadow of reproach in it” (Cather, 689). Furthermore, the Rosickys show kindness to the community. When Doctor Ed went to the Rosickys’ house for breakfast, Mary “threw back her head and spoke out as if she were announcing him to the whole prairie,” (Cather, 681) and claimed that she would never let a doctor go without serving him breakfast. As Doctor Ed reflected, “people as generous and warm-hearted and affectionate as the Rosickys never got ahead much” (Cather, 682). Moreover, Cather illustrates that the occupation of lands helps shape the Rosickys’ attitude toward life. Rosicky thinks land can support people, and his kids do not “have to do with dishonest and cruel people” (Cather, 695) in cities, so that the Rosickys pay more attention to building a friendly community and standing on their
In "Neighbor Rosicky", the notion of land ownership as a fundamental feature of the American Dream is most clearly set forth. Anton Rosicky is a Czech who experienced life as an immigrant both in London and New York City and found both lacking. Only in his life on the farm in Nebraska does he find peace and fulfillment.
Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher, once said, “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in the place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households . . .” (Has Child Behavior Worsened? 3). This quote often represents the logic that is passed from generation to generation. The generation that is most prominent today, the Millennials, is often compared to the other generations, as the Millennials were brought up with much more technological advances and thus behave differently. Some people may use this in a bad way, and others in a good way. Although multiple generations set the two generations apart, the Millennials can be considered
The piece also shows how millennials are fighting back against these improper perspectives, by bringing light to the hypocrisy in the previous generation’s arguments against them. As Alex Pearlman writes on the subject of millennials being unmotivated to
Generation Y, more commonly referred to as the “millennials”, is today’s group of young people. Similar to other generations, each cohort is labeled with unique characteristics and inevitably faces adversities while taking its place in society. Many American’s today debate their views on the youngster generation, but none the less all sides can agree the discussion has become a hot topic. Catherin Rampell creates an open discussion in her article, A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much, addressing the main issue: Are millennials a generation of slackers. I feel strongly that my views align with Rampell’s, in believing my generation has already begun to show its capability of doing great things. Through analysis of the text and my own personal experience I am able to dispute the opposition towards my generation as well as, express the positive relationship of millennials in
Gesell, I.. (2010). How to Lead When the Generation Gap Becomes Your Everyday Reality. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 32(4), 21-24. Retrieved October 23, 2013 from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1961218601).
Every person belongs to a generation: you associate yourselves with a particular set of people usually based on age such as “Baby Boomers” from 1946 to 1964, “Generation X” from 1965 to 1979, and “Millennials” from 1980 to 2000, (Smola, 364). Parents’ generations differ from their children, and sometimes within their significant other. My parents, separated by two years, are both considered “Baby Boomers”, and my sister and I, also separated by two years are both considered “Millennials”. “Generation X” separates our generations, and as you can assume there are many differences between the two: “Baby Boomers” experienced the immense development of the economy and education (Kupperschmidt, 4).
When the Baby Boomer generation was questioned about the newer generation, these words and phrases was often used: “slacker”, “lazy”, “has it easy”, “entitled”, “obsessed with their phones/internet/games” and “antisocial”. On the other hand, Millennials (or Generation Y) would say this about their older counterpart: “entitled”, “ruined it for those who followed”, “had it easier”, “narcissists”, “stubborn”, and “materialistic”. The reason for why the elders would see it that way is because they had to live without the quick solutions that teens have nowadays. This “elders bashing on the newer generation” isn’t uncommon, as seen by what was recovered from Aristotle’s and Plato’s time (Rampell 389). For Millennials, some of their tension comes from the fact that they will be the first generation earning less than previous generation for the same amount of work (Roos). Not only that, but the prices for land property, and college education, which is needed in many jobs nowadays, has skyrocketed compared to their parent’s and grandparent’s. Due to this wealth gap, it sparked a lot of tension between the generations, and this can be seen in smaller environments, such as in the
We blame the millennials for their behavior and their different characteristics compared to previous generations; however, what if we stop looking at the millennials and start looking at the reasons that they behave sensitively? Each generation contains their differences, including the way they educate the next generation. We continuously judge the millennials behavior, but we rarely judge the people who influenced this behavior. Education has changed throughout the ages, not to mention the parenting skills that vary from generation to generation, which has affected the millennials way of interacting in the world. Millennials grow up believing that they are imperative, that they are secure, that the world will conform to their generation, and that the world is a “nice” place. This teaching, causes millennials to be sensitive babies early on in life. True, millennials have the freedom to act the way they want; nevertheless, like other generations, millennials will act the way that parents and other influences taught them to behave. The millennial generation should not be liable for their
Each generation leaves an impression on our future, despite whether it is a positive impression or a negative one. This lasting impression is often referred to as generational potency. By obtaining new tools and opportunities from the mistakes and triumphs of those who came before them, every generation tries to make themselves heard. Therefore, the concept of generational potency is something that largely exists in our great nation. As Tamara Erickson said, “The truth is, without even trying, you will bring fresh perspectives to work because many of the ways you approach problems are different from the way it has always been done” (Erickson, 7). Everyone has a different outlook obtained from the knowledge you gain from past experiences and influences. For, we would be foolish to discard the wisdom and experience of those who came before us. Just as the Great War generation in the twenties impacted the decisions made in the “Greatest Generation,” all generations preceding 1977 h...
In his May 2013 editorial for Time Magazine, “Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation,” Joel Stein explains his viewpoint on millennials, defined as people born 1980 through 2000. Using an occasionally humorous tone, Stein summarizes the typical bleak view that older people have for the younger generation, before offering what he believes is closer to the truth. In the end, he decides that while millennials are not without their flaws and vices, a lot of the fears that older people are mostly due to the advanced technology that we are now dealing with. By the end of the article, it is my opinion that Stein makes a very fair summarization and is correct in his idea that to write off the entire generation is unfair towards younger people.