Modern People
Modern can be described as of or relating to the present or recent times. Being a modern person in today 's society can mean many things to many different people. For the most part a modern person has three main attributes that make them different from people of the past, they strive to achieve fame, they work to obtain freedom, and they have to deal with distractions.
Most people in the modern world make it a goal to be famous. Achieving wealth and immortality is seen as a major accomplishment in the modern world and many try to accomplish this in their lives. One example of this is in the book called the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald when it says, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths …show more content…
Most take freedom for granted, but it is a big part of being a modern person. Being able to decide the path a person goes on in their life is a very special and modern thing. An example of this is in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, it says, “Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe wasn 't there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good” (Hurston 31). The main character, Janie, is married to another man at the time of this quote, but meets a new man named Joe and she decides for herself that she was going to run away with Joe. Janie was free to make this decision and set her life on a different path. Along with being free to make independent choices in life, freedom allows people to all be different and unique. In a short story called Harrison Bergeron written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. it explains a world where nobody is allowed to be different and all must be equal. In it it says, “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better [...] stronger or quicker than anybody else. [...] Harrison [a giant dancer] tore the straps of his handicap harness [...] and in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they [Harison and another dancer] sprang” (Vonnegut). This excerpt tells that upon removing the things that created everyone equal, seemingly bland and boring activities …show more content…
People living in the modern world have to deal with unbelievable distractions compared to anything people in the past dealt with. Many modern people have to deal with the distraction of fake realities. An example of this is in the play known as the Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams where one mairn character named Laura Wingfield continually enters a made up world to protect herself from the real world. “Laura utters a startled, doubtful laugh, she reaches quickly for a piece of glass” (Williams 17). Laura has a set of glass figurines that allow her to escape reality. In this quote she gets a little nervous and retreats to her made up world by reaching for her glass figurines. An even more modern example of escaping to a false reality could be when people live on social media or do things as simple as watch movies and T.V. shows. Anything really that helps people forget about their own lives for a bit. Also along with living in fake realities, modern people deal with the distraction of peer pressure. Peer pressure is a big distraction in the modern world because it causes people to lose focus on their own personal goals and become dormant in their personal progress. In an article called When Good People Do Bad Things by Ann Trafton, Ann quotes an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, Rebecca Saxe, saying, “A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each
Modern can be described as of or relating to the present or recent times. Being a modern person in today 's society can mean many things to many different people. For the most part a modern person has three main attributes that make them different from people of the past, they strive to achieve fame, they work to obtain freedom, and they have to deal with distractions.
Most people in the modern world make it a goal to be famous. Achieving wealth and immortality is seen as a major accomplishment in the modern world and many try to accomplish this in their lives. One example of this is in the book called the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald when it says, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths …show more content…
Most take freedom for granted, but it is a big part of being a modern person. Being able to decide the path a person goes on in their life is a very special and modern thing. An example of this is in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, it says, “Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe wasn 't there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good” (Hurston 31). The main character, Janie, is married to another man at the time of this quote, but meets a new man named Joe and she decides for herself that she was going to run away with Joe. Janie was free to make this decision and set her life on a different path. Along with being free to make independent choices in life, freedom allows people to all be different and unique. In a short story called Harrison Bergeron written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. it explains a world where nobody is allowed to be different and all must be equal. In it it says, “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better [...] stronger or quicker than anybody else. [...] Harrison [a giant dancer] tore the straps of his handicap harness [...] and in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they [Harison and another dancer] sprang” (Vonnegut). This excerpt tells that upon removing the things that created everyone equal, seemingly bland and boring activities …show more content…
People living in the modern world have to deal with unbelievable distractions compared to anything people in the past dealt with. Many modern people have to deal with the distraction of fake realities. An example of this is in the play known as the Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams where one mairn character named Laura Wingfield continually enters a made up world to protect herself from the real world. “Laura utters a startled, doubtful laugh, she reaches quickly for a piece of glass” (Williams 17). Laura has a set of glass figurines that allow her to escape reality. In this quote she gets a little nervous and retreats to her made up world by reaching for her glass figurines. An even more modern example of escaping to a false reality could be when people live on social media or do things as simple as watch movies and T.V. shows. Anything really that helps people forget about their own lives for a bit. Also along with living in fake realities, modern people deal with the distraction of peer pressure. Peer pressure is a big distraction in the modern world because it causes people to lose focus on their own personal goals and become dormant in their personal progress. In an article called When Good People Do Bad Things by Ann Trafton, Ann quotes an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, Rebecca Saxe, saying, “A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each