Ehrenreich Essay (question 3)

          When Barbara Ehrenreich wrote The Worst Years of Our Lives, she talks about how watching T.V is a waste of time because all you see are people doing things that are out of the norm. Back in the 1980s, Ehrenreich argues that people would watch televised people do everyday things, but now, people are so lazy. However, this interpretation of the T.V that Ehrenreich argues is completely false in that people don’t always watch other people do dangerous things; and all the people who watch the T.V aren’t lazy and don’t always sit on the couch. Other than the people who continuously stare at the T.V for hours and hours, people who watch it in order to escape the real world and stresses and to take a break. They can creatively imagine a different perspective of life through the T.V and it personally makes them more creative and imaginative. Therefore, Ehrenreich’s generic assertions about television are false and totally stereotypical in terms of people who watch television.

          From the perspective of a student, a student would watch television to take a break from school and enjoy it. They can watch shows such as ‘Breaking Bad’ to see a different viewpoint in life- seeing how chemists make and sell drugs. It can take them out of reality and relieve them from the daily schoolwork. Also, these shows can generally produce different creativities in a student’s head that can make them smarter. Television’s not all about “people doing many things- chasing fast cars, drinking lite beer, shooting each other at close range, etc.” Instead, they can watch different shows about reality, or history channels that are both interesting, fun and info.- filling.

          When adults with jobs come home after a long day at work, they often turn on their television to watch it. It relieves them and makes them aware about certain important events that happen in real life. Ehrenreich comes to too general of a conclusion in that she says modern people “do nothing that is ever shown on television (because it is either too dangerous or would involve getting up from the couch).” There are too many things to watch on the television to say such a blunt statement. Overall, watching the television can have a lot of good benefits if one uses it wisely to help them such as relieving their stresses.

          Of course when one eats chips all day and sits on the couch to watch T.V, it is a complete waste of time. However, Ehrenreich needs to specify on the type of people because an average person can have many different opinions on watching television and it isn’t always about watching something crazy happen. Ehrenreich’s passage in The Worst Years of Our Lives is very candid and generic and has too many contradictions that far outweigh what she is saying.

question 1 essay

              When one thinks about success, he/ she only prizes those who have talents that are similar to him/ her. And when one sees the success of another person in the same field in which he/ she is in, he/ she regards it as a threat because of its potential to minimize/ interfere with his/ her success. Therefore, when one sees success happening to a person, he/ she may rejoice and celebrate for that person while he/ she disregards the success of a person in a different field. At the same time they celebrate, they also interpret it as a threat for their own good.

          While one congratulates another for their prosperity, he/ she consciously dislike it because he/ she fears for his/ her own future or success. For instance, when the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA championship, they were congratulated by their rival team, Miami Heat. It is evident that the Miami Heat had congratulated them but also had resented the fact that they had lost such an important game. However, they still decide to praise the Spurs, for they were hard working and good at basketball. It is also logical edicacy and mannerly to do so. Furthermore, it is known that the Miami Heat will strive to win the next championship. Therefore, this ties in with the idea that "the concept of success is a source of confusion" and how one may be rejoicing while interpreting it as a threat and a personal side note to achieve the same success as the other did. That is why it can be 'confusing' and can go either way in that someone can feel happiness and enviness at the same time.

          When one sees the success of people far from their field or themselves, he/ she seems indifferent  and doesn’t care about it because it personally doesn't affect him/ her. In a way, this is why mankind can be called selfish because everyone in the world is trying to make it on their own and they apparently don’t have the time to congratulate another person's prosperity.  When something good happens to someone, such as someone winning a Nobel Prize, the people far away- such as Korea, Africa, or anywhere else- they don't really care for they have their own things to attend to, They would blatantly say' well good for him' and just carry on. If anything, they would only be affected in a negative way because they may envy the winner. As a result, success has a two- way effect in that one may be happy for another while concurrently envying or despising the success of another.

           When one generally succeeds in life, someone else who hadn't may be happy for him/ her but wouldn't be genuine about it because they themselves would want to feel and achieve the same thing. Also, when one irrelevant to another person succeeds, he/ she wouldn't care for the prosperity of this person because he is distant and has no effect on the other person. Overall, Mead's argument was sound and true in the general aspect of the world.

Abigail Adams Essay (question 2)

                     On January 12, 1780, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her son, John Quincy Adams who would be the future president of the U.S. In this, she gives her son advice as he embarks on this journey with his father and to take this experience to the fullest. She uses a variety of ideas and themes to list and emphasize the importance of advantageously using one’s natural talent and opportunities to succeed.

            Abigail Adams, in the first half of the letter, writes in a tone of flattery and encourages her son to be hard-working and to advise him. This is evident when she starts off the letter with “my dear son” and creating the sense that she wouldn’t be rebuking him but that she would give him advice on his journey with his father, a U.S diplomat and future U.S president. Next, she appeals to him by talking about the importance of his safety and how that concerns her the most so that it would lead to his attention toward her advice to him. She also compliments him in that he has a very good understanding in the English language and how he should use all his advantages and opportunities to the fullest to become a world leader. She flatters him by emphasizing his natural talent but then also talking about the necessity of his hard work and effort. She tries to indirectly instill a sense of guilt in him if he doesn’t use his blessings and opportunities to the fullest.

            In the second half of the letter, Adams invokes a patriotic tone in her son in order to instill a sense of responsibility and again, guilt trip. She indirectly implies that he is a genius like Cicero, alluding to his writings about the “tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony” (line 27). She once again flatters him while making a historical allusion. Adams invokes a patriotic tone and calls her son to come out of his present lethargic/ lazy state of mind by talking about the horrible “war, tyranny and desolation” (line 41) in the U.S. Furthermore, Adams maternally implies that she has inverted her life in him and by disregarding her advice; he will prove her life as a waste and a failure, again invoking a sense of guilt and responsibility. She ends the letter with a strong and emotional maternal sense, stating that she strongly hopes to see him become more diligent and mature not only for the good of the country but also for her.

            Adams wrote this letter in a very uncertain time in American history when America was still on its way of improving and establishing good basic standards.  She writes this all without even dreaming about the possibility of having a president, and even more for her husband and son. She wrote to her son in a strong maternal tone, hoping to make him a great leader and raising him well so that she could ensure a bright future for her family and country. 

Autobiography- Stream of Consciousness

          “3! 2! 1! Aaaang!” That was the buzzer ringing as my team loses to the other team by a point. Basketball, to me, is not only a fun sport to play but is my life. Ever since I was in elementary school, I decided to pick up a ball and started dribbling it and once I saw that it came naturally to me, I loved the game ever since. The high anticipated crowd watching your every move, the competition of the game and the fact that one team will leave as losers and the other as winners, the push to keep driving even when you’re tired, and the fun are all reasons why the game of basketball is so fun. And when I realized that I was good enough to even make it to the high school basketball team, my life revolved around basketball and basketball was my turning point.

          Basketball has given me so much in life. Basketball itself, is not only fun, but also gave me a lot of connections with friends and different people. Also, watching the NBA and trying to relate it to my game and skills is so fun to me. Looking at my role models such Lebron James, Damian Lillard, and more, it changed my view of how to play the game and how to really be effective. A lot of people may view basketball as just a sport to play and exercise but really there are so many different aspects of it. Basketball is almost the best worldwide sport played and mostly everyone knows how to play. Through this common knowledge, people are able to interact and connect more through it. I may sound superfluous and sound as if I am worshipping the sport of basketball but looking at all the players and people I know, I can honestly say that it can really change one’s life.

          I would really love to dedicate my life to basketball. Whether playing it professionally, or being a coach, or making videos, I would do anything to get a connection with my job and basketball. Basketball is really life and I wouldn’t be who I am without basketball because to many people, I’m just that one Asian baller who could shoot and dribble really well. It has given me my connections with a lot of people and I’m sure that it would give me a lot more in the future because of the people I know who have dedicated their life to basketball.