Materialism

What can be inferred from Thoreau’s transcendental emphasis on conscience is that the individual’s conscience is naturally above the law. Even though, Thoreau’s ideas and beliefs seem to be very radical or anarchistic even, Thoreau is not being considered an anarchist but an individualist. Individualism, the basis of Thoreau’s perspective of society and its institutions, is a major theme throughout Civil Disobedience and a crucial belief system in transcendentalism, whose proponents were…

cultures had completely different views on these and many other things. To really dig deep and look at the similarities and differences between these cultures, it is essential to look at the theoretical perspective, otherwise known as cultural materialism. The rich cultures have essential parts that define it which are the infrastructure, social organization, and superstructure. The Aztecs resided in an area with high plateaus, tropical lowlands, and weather that ranged from freezing Novembers…

Art Analysis Still Life with Skull by Paul Cezanne Paul Cezanne’s Still Life with a Skull is a piece of work that features a skull, fruits, and a piece of white cloth placed on a table and features a dark background. The artists seems to have created depth of perspective and space using planes of color through contrast. The work represents an essential and powerful link between the materialistic artistic movement of expressionism and the ephemeral features of Impressionism. It was done in the…

Constant emphasis of these labeled Fitzgerald a materialist, but his writing was truly reflecting all of the American attitude. In a way mirroring the huge consumer economy that America produced, Fitzgerald’s story The Great Gatsby depicts rampant materialism. In the story it is said “At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over…

Fitzgerald expresses his criticism of the materialism of the Jazz Age through his juxtaposition of the idealistic Gatsby with the materialistic foil characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Tom and Daisy are old money. They have no need, unlike Gatsby, to resort to criminal dealings because they have “possessed and enjoyed from a very young age” (O’Keefe. 20 November 2016). In that manner, the Buchanans are foils to Gatsby: they are old money to Gatsby’s nouveau riche, a contrast emphasized by the…

the world wanting more and more goods. Sociation today explains that “The American Dream incorporates values such as hard work, egalitarianism, freedom and independence, however, materialism is the most important value” (Sociation Today). This is explaining how The American dream has become more and more into the materialism act. This is showing how America is becoming more and more dependent on materials instead of happiness. The dream consists of different time periods,“In modern terms,…

In “Clients” by Kathy Page, we see how capitalism can take control of people’s lives and forget some of the simplest things, such as social interaction and the sentimental value of one another. In this story we are shown a couple that seems to be always out of time and unable to interact or lost the ability to communicate. They resort to hiring Martin, a conversationalist and therapist to generate the thought process and help teach them how to communicate with each other once again. In the end,…

Exploring the land model project The Bangkok research expedition is an amazing example of doing ethnographic research. There are several principles that can be drawn from their examples. 1) The project is well organized. In order to yield the best result, the team has been trained to meet the needs. It can be seen on the training schedule table (133). The foundations, team building, research skills and cross-cultural immersion paved the solid foundations for the future field work. 2) Spiritual…

Throughout our discussion of French realism we see the concepts of materialism and selfishness prominently. Similarly we constantly see similar circumstances, values, and overall how society today has not differentiated from how it was in this period. While the means of these similarities have changed, you can still see the same fundamental principles in both times. One prime example of this is how material possessions dictate where we stand in society along with how we stand socially. In…

a “destructive force which will destroy our civilization”. She feels that what is taught in schools is important because it is protecting the children. 2. What is Mrs. Sparks referring to when she says “these times of materialism”? • When Mrs. Sparks says “these times of materialism” she is referring to possessions. 3. Find all of the words that suggest the presence of a great danger. Why might Mrs. Sparks believe that evolution is such…