I really like this essayist because I like how Wolfe uses humor and sarcasm to criticize our society. Wolfe’s observation of our society is really clear and to the point. I do agree with him that as time progresses, we can see the dumbing down of our society. He pointed out that, to our society, it seems like American philosophers like Emerson never existed. This is because people don’t care about these things. Due to the use of technology people are becoming more robotic and lazy. When we get confused or annoyed we go to technology for leisure time. The most interesting sentence from this essay was “in the year 2000, in the era of hooking up, “first base” meant deep kissing… “second base” meant oral sex; “third base” meant going all the way; and “home plate” meant learning each other’s names” (614). This quote is funny and might sound ridiculous, but it really shows how far we’ve come as a society and the values we still possess (which isn’t a lot). As time progresses, people are becoming more open and willing to accept new ideas and never consider the consequence of it. If we compare our society to an older one it almost seems like a culture revolution had happened.
“I just found out that our family is no longer what the Census Bureau calls a traditional American family, and I want everyone to know that this is not our fault” (576).
“What does the Census Bureau define a tradition American family as? America is an enormous melting pot, residence to ethnicities and races from all corners of the Earth. The United States is an escape to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, distinct from other countries totalitarian, controlling and propaganda rid governments. Thus, with the influx of different cultures and interracial marriages, traditions are no longer traditional. The belief in a traditional American family does not exist. America is defined by the numerous amounts of immigrants that migrated to this country. There is no such thing as an American. Everyone one who lives in the United States can be traced to some foreign nation. The United States of America should be renamed to the United Nation. So when someone asks you what the traditional American family is like, your response should be, it varies because America is not a nation of Americans but immigrant; being American is only a title.
I enjoyed this essay because the author showed what has changed over the years. I can see how times has changed such and one of those changes is what he calls the “sexual revolution”. I’ve noticed that theres more sex in television, movies and other media now than there was during the 1990s. I’ve also notice how the internet has grown so much as you can now shop online, reconnect with old friends, and almost anything else you can think of. With technology advancing so rapidly, theres endless possiblities of how our future will turn out and I don’t know if that will turn out to be a good thing, or a bad thing. One thing is for certain though; time is always changing.
I agree with Tom Wolfe’s analysis on our society today in realtion to the 1990’s. America has changed alot since it’s independence up until today as I am typing. I remember as a child growing up, the many different movies and commercials the used to play on the television. Back in the 1990’s there weren’t too many movies coming out that were rated R; there were mostly PG-13 and PG. Also, commercials would advertise their product in a sensible and comprehensive manner without explict additions. In today’s society, there is a plethora of movies shown in theatre’s nationwide that are rated R. In the early 2000’s PG movies were rare and PG-13 movies were somewhat scarce. Over the weekend I was watching T.V. and while commercials were playing, there was an immensily stupid commercial that came on by Reebok. They were advertising a new pair of sneakers that they claim with every step it will enhance your butt. Maybe this is true, however, during the thrity second commercial, about 20 seconds was dedicated to the cameraman following the narrator/model’s buttocks. T.V., no matter what channel your happen to be watching is no longer save for young children to watch. Sexuality in entertainment has sky rocketed since the 1900’s, and so has profanity. This change in America is detrimental and something must be done.
Though this essay was interesting, I did not like the author’s writing style. The context was interesting but in the end I was relieved to have finished reading.
This essay is interesting because it talks about some changes that occured in the year 2000. In the new age, baseball words such as First base and Home plate are used for sexual terms’ “…first base” meant deep kissing, groping and fondling; “second base meant oral sex; “third base” meant going all the way; and “home plate” meant learning each other’s names” (614). Magazines are being replaced by porno websites. I think it helped me what’s going on in today’s society. There are going sex scenes in television shows and movies. The internet contains more media than the newspaper. I think the author is trying to say that people are now replacing the old with the new.
When reading this particular essay I often found myself confused because of the fact that the essay is supposed to be written from past tense but I personally believe that it would be realistic. To my knowledge, everything that I read turned out to be fictional and as a result, I was often lost. The writer talks about this world where everything becomes the total opposite of what life is like now and I found that to be ironic because things like pornography being obsolete seemed absurd because many people clearly rely on that particular source. In addition, the writer goes on to talk about the word “sexy” would be replacing the word “chic.”. And although things like this may have seemed irrelevant I believe that the essay had an underline meaning that our society is getting worse as time progresses. Amoung our teens something called a young may no longer exsist as a result of the fast production Among our teens. The writer goes on to explain that things such as “hooking up” don’t hold the same meaning that it holds to our parents and although I totally agree I have come to the underline meaning that I was not the intended reader because I believe that the meaning that I have for the essay may be incorrect. In my opinion if my meaning is correct the writer should have a better way of communicating it to his readers. Overall I did not enjoy the essay.
“Meanwhile, sexual stimuli bombarded the young so incessantly and intensely they were inflamed with a randy itch long before reaching puberty” (613).
I’m not sure if im interpreting this quote in the wrong way, but the way how i interpreted was that as the generations go by, the younger ones are the ones who are more engaged in sex. I believe that this is true because the generations younger than me are more engaged in sex and hardly know what it is that they are doing. They are more open to sex and as a result of them having older brothers or sisters and media it makes the younger generations worse. Sometimes it amazes me to see how fresh they are and the things that come out of their mouths. I think back to when i was my nieces age and how i wasnt even thinking about some of the things that she and her little boy cousins got into trouble for. The younger generations are really intelligent but sometimes i feel that they know to much for their age and it can lead to getting them into trouble. This is how i interpreted this quotation. I’m not sure if it is right but that is my opinion and it makes sense to me.
When I begun reading this essay I didn’t whether to feel offended as an American. At first it seems like the author is belittling America’s new middle class, which I’m somewhat apart of. Honestly, I didn’t fully understand this essay. I don’t get how his beginning about proletariat no longer being in our vocabulary relates to the end where he’s talking about the mechanic falling asleep after watching the simpsons and his children staying up late on the internet. I just don’t understand the purpose of this essay. Although, I must admit the author is correct with how our society has drastically changed over the years, especially through the expansion of the internet. But I don;t just think it’s America that acts this way, I think its the westernized areas of the world that reflect parts of this essay.
One thing I found similar to my own life is the fact that people with the most money tend to not show it off as much. The kids whose parents earn the most money, tend to be content with wearing a t-shirt and jeans with old raggedy converse or vans. Meanwhile the people who only get money once in a while are more likely to go out and buy a Louis Vuitton bag or clothing with labels in order to show what brand it is. Even our definition of beauty has changed because of the increase of materialism. I think it’s upsetting.
At times, I was confused as to what I was reading and why I was reading it. In all honesty I feel that I was not the intended reader for his essay. In my opinion, the author could have expressed the same message but in a more condensed format. The topic of the essay was at first interesting, but after a while I stopped caring and just wanted to finish reading as quickly as I could. I do however understand the topic. Terminology, especially in this decade, varies from generation to generation. Although we may not use the same terms as were used a couple of years ago, we do have a similar vocabulary. As teens, we try to keep things from our parents by hiding the things we do by using diction, like out parents did before us and their parents did before them. It seems almost natural for us to go about hiding our actions in plain sight. In this particular essay, the author speaks of words with sexual connotations, he also speaks of how teens speak freely of sexual activities, which is one thing I agree on with the author, it seems to me that the younger kids get the more they know, which to me is incredible. In sort, I liked some if the essay but not all. I probably would have like it more if it were shorter.
I love this essay. I feel that when people read this they are going to say one of two things: a) I am an American Family or (more commonly) b) What the EFF’ IS AN “AMERICAN FAMILY?” There ain’t no thing.
I’d have to say B. America is a mix of different races and cultures so how can someone say there is one type of American family. I think that is what Trillin is trying to say. This decline of the American family doesn’t exist, rather it is a notion that families should do certain things like lose socks and wear Halloween costumes. I do that but it doesn;t mean I am part of this American family.
I think what American family means is that there is a turn in the norm of what a family is in the past 20 years. But life wasn’t always Fun With Dick and Jane now was it? Back in the day day people believed marrying at 12 was ok, but that ain’t the case now is it? (Don’t answer that, please.)
To add on to what is being said here about the american family, there is no true definition of the term. In reality it is a term used as a way to create a false stereotype in order to show people what they should be, almost like barbie dolls if you will. The supposed typical american family, as shown on tv, in books, and movies, is a white middle class family living in a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, two and a half kids, and a dog. This is an unfair generalization about how americans should be.
I love this essay. I feel that when people read this they are going to say one of two things: a) I am an American Family or (more commonly) b) What the EFF’ IS AN “AMERICAN FAMILY?” There ain’t no thing.
I’d have to say B. America is a mix of different races and cultures so how can someone say there is one type of American family. I think that is what Trillin is trying to say. This decline of the American family doesn’t exist, rather it is a notion that families should do certain things like lose socks and wear Halloween costumes. I do that but it doesn’t mean I am part of this American family.
I think what American family means is that there is a turn in the norm of what a family is in the past 20 years. But life wasn’t always Fun With Dick and Jane now was it? Back in the day day people believed marrying at 12 was ok, but that ain’t the case now is it? (Don’t answer that, please.)
I did not like this essay and the author’s style of writing because it is very confusing. He jumps from topic to topic, making it very difficult to follow. The first few paragraphs talk about terms people use in the past and what they use now but it had no relations with the title of the essay. It then starts talking about random facts and examples like burglar-alarm repairman, cars and magazines. This method was not effective because the author should have just get straight to the main topic from the beginning and if not possible, he should have a more concise introduction.
This essay was interesting. The author shows a great description of the changes within the controversial subject of sex. He touches on the topic of sex in media, and connects that to the sexual revolution. The advances in technology have allowed revolutions such as this to occur. It’s to the point where we depend on technology to survive.
I enjoyed reading this essay. I like the idea of Tom Wolfe writing about a topic that is happening today. Wolfe writes about how things have changed from the 1900’s to today’s society. Wolfe states that today we don’t even live like philosphers ever existed. “It was if Emerson, Charles Peirce, William James and John Dewey never existed.” In our current society we don’t even care what former philosphers have studied and has said. Today people are dumber then we ever are, as technology has played a huge role. We go on our computers and we watch TV and we are being exposed to things people were never exposed in the 1900’s. People are using more explicit words and things are changing for the worse. We need to learn from this essay on how things are not getting better. We as a society need to learn how to fix overselves for the better.
This essay confused me a little. I understood a lot of the topics he was bringing up but it felt like he was switching back and forth throughout the essay. I do feel that the mentalities of Americans have gotten very materialistic and self conscious. When he talked about how the children of rich parents wore simple clothing I realized that its somewhat true. A lot of my rich friends don’t care about high quality clothes or what’s in the fashion magazines. While my middle and lower class friends care about some of the most expensive pieces of clothing in stores. One piece I didn’t agree with in the essay was the statement about the baggy fashion trend. “This fashion was deliberately copied from “homeys”—black youths on the streets of six New York slums, Harlem, the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, South Ozone Park, and East New York.” I don’t know if Wolfe was being sarcastic or not when he wrote this, but I completely disagree. Who is to say that the black youths from the “slums” of New York created that fashion trend. It could’ve been a skateboarding Caucasian boy from California or someone who just didn’t like belts.
There’s not much for me to say about this essay except I genuinely disliked it. I felt that the story only barely justified the title. It took too long to make a point and I feel that the majority of it was just uninteresting. It may be my own personal beef but this essay just didn’t do anything or mean anything to me. I don’t even know what could be done to make this essay more appealing; I just didn’t like it.
I find this essay to be interesting and confusing at the same time. When I first read the essay I didn’t understand what the author was trying to say about our society today but after passing the first page I started to realize that the author is talking about the values that we have now as a society. Things aren’t the same as before and actions that people take are different from the older generation. When the author mention about “hooking up” and the different bases that people use, it shows that our society overall has changed and our values are different from the older ones. We no longer view things in our society as private because we are so open to different ideas that we would talk about anything without feeling embarrassed or caring about the consequence of the ideas. We have advance to the point that everyone become open and the values that the older generation care for no longer excite in our society today.
I did not enjoy this essay at all, and I’m going to be completely honest I didn’t finish it. For the life of me I could not understand what it was that the author was talking about. What was his position? What was the issue? I honestly could not make sense of anything that I read, I felt like he was skipping around and talking in circles. I can’t decide whether I was not the intended reader or if the author did do a good job at emphasizing them or didn’t have an effective writing style. I just don’t know what else to say, I’m not sorry for not completing the essay because I don’t have any interest in it, and I refuse to copy my classmates blogs, and fake emotion. I’m just very disappointed in this essay I though it would be better, if I do have some free time on my hand I will think about maybe, possibly reading the rest.
“But magazines were nothing compared with what was offered on an invention of the 1990s, the internet. By 2000, an estimates 50 percent of all hits, or ‘log-ons,’ were at Web sites purveying what was known as ‘adult material” (612).
I agree with this quote because through the internet, people have the ability to do things that they normally cannot do. It has helped make researching possible at the comfort of our home. The internet has also made searching and applying for applications, such as college, more convenient. The internet has brought many improvements in our lives; however, it also made people lazy. It hurts the family the most because children usually uses the internet to play online games. A child, without supervision, could potentially spend hours in front of a desktop playing a game. This hinders a child’s education because a child would be more focus on moving onto a next level rather than doing a research paper. Many times this is the reason why children procrastinates and their quality of work suffers. I feel that the internet has helped us in many ways but hinders especially the younger generation’s education.
This was an interesting essay on the basis that the United States was its main focus. I did not quite understand however how his introduction about “proletariat” fit in with everything else, but I was interesting in reading either way. What drew my attention the most was when he spoke about how in the beginning of the twentieth century young men and women were basically not thinking twice about promiscuity and ultimately “Thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls were getting down on their knees and fellating boys in corridors and stairwells during the two-minute break between classes.” Today, oral sex is still sometimes thought of as something nasty and that’s left to everyone to formulate their own opinion about. What makes it “nasty” are the young females who aren’t showing themselves the respect they should, instead of allowing a male to take them into a staircase at school and have their way. I agree that today sex appeals to a very much younger crowd and sometimes it’s a sad thing. Not very many people can appreciate cohabitation or chastity and it is mainly impart of our society and how sex and being sexy is just foisted upon our youth. On the other hand, the people probably having the most sex are teenagers with raging hormones that many of them cannot control. This essay was an interesting read since the author received first hand responses from teenagers, about sex through surveys.
Once you get past the complexity of the essay you begin to grasp what Wolfe was trying to say and begin to truly enjoy the essay. I personally did not like it until I began to understand what he was saying. It reminded me of the morals of “The True Patriot.” America has come so far and accomplished so much, but we as a whole have drifted away from normality and the path that led us to success hundreds of years ago. Our society’s values have drifted away from those of past generations. I agree that we no longer acknowledge the past and I think technology is partially to blame. Being so technologically advanced America as a whole is being dumbed down, we take the easy way out of everything which does not allow us to think for ourselves, which allows us to make logical decisions. I agree with Wolfe and the points he addressed in his essay, we America as a whole must refer back to our routes and get back on the right track.
In this essay Tom Wolfe talks about how society changes over time, things that were not accepted before become normal. In the year 2000 the economic situation and technological advances, like the internet gave people a lot more information and freedom, specially sexual freedom. All the changes also helped to give new meaning to many words and expressions as Wolfe explains: “Hooking up” meant a sexual experience to young people, but to their parents still meant “meeting” someone. I think things are always changing and our parents always comment on “how things were” and the year 2000 was no different. The author highlights how moral changes took place and how young and not so young viewed sexual acts and brought them into the open.
I really like this essay because it was discussing a controversial topic. I really like how Wolfe’s interpretation of how sex has change throughout society. “In the year 2000, girls used “score” as an active verb indicating sexual conquest.” I think that it’s true what he saying neither does girl nor boys have their sexual life secret. I think we should go back to our traditional ways only to a certain extend. He does point out some viable points. I also wanted to point out how in society, times has change and has a country we need to change together to create progress. Maybe we should just have some traditional ideas in order to move on in the concept of change.
Welcome, Class of 2010! I hope you will find this blog to be a useful, expedient mechanism for sharing your writing and responding to the writing of others. Furthermore, I hope you have some fun! There are some rules, however, of which you must be aware.
First Rule
This blog is educational. It is not a space for chatting with your friends (you have myspace, facebook, bebo, etc. for that). You'll be expected to respond to your classmates' writing, but I want you to think of them more as colleagues than friends on this site. The "fun" mentioned above will be in taking others' ideas to task in friendly debate. Therefore...
Second Rule
Writing on this site is FORMAL. For a GRADE. You will be graded on the content quality of your response, not your grammar. HOWEVER...Grammar mistakes will lead to grammar assignments selected especially for you. The fewer mistakes you make, the fewer grammar check-ups you'll be required to complete.
Third Rule
Text message/Chat abbreviations are just that -- for texting and chatting. You won't be LOL-ing, btw, when I pwn ur grade, lolz! (For the record, I love txt lingo -- and it has its place -- but my job is to teach you to write formally -- not be your bff -- hence the requirement that you write with a formal tone here).
Fourth Rule
Comment on the comments of others, but remember that there's a person behind that comment. People have a tendency to think that it's okay to be cruel online and to "speak" to others in ways they wouldn't speak to others in real life. Remember: I know who you are.
Fifth Rule
Always use the same username in your comments. If you use a name that isn't already known to me, I'll assume you aren't one of my students and I'll delete the comment -- which means you'll have to write it again under your usual username, and that would not be fun.
24 Comments
November 9, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I really like this essayist because I like how Wolfe uses humor and sarcasm to criticize our society. Wolfe’s observation of our society is really clear and to the point. I do agree with him that as time progresses, we can see the dumbing down of our society. He pointed out that, to our society, it seems like American philosophers like Emerson never existed. This is because people don’t care about these things. Due to the use of technology people are becoming more robotic and lazy. When we get confused or annoyed we go to technology for leisure time. The most interesting sentence from this essay was “in the year 2000, in the era of hooking up, “first base” meant deep kissing… “second base” meant oral sex; “third base” meant going all the way; and “home plate” meant learning each other’s names” (614). This quote is funny and might sound ridiculous, but it really shows how far we’ve come as a society and the values we still possess (which isn’t a lot). As time progresses, people are becoming more open and willing to accept new ideas and never consider the consequence of it. If we compare our society to an older one it almost seems like a culture revolution had happened.
November 9, 2009 at 9:49 pm
“I just found out that our family is no longer what the Census Bureau calls a traditional American family, and I want everyone to know that this is not our fault” (576).
“What does the Census Bureau define a tradition American family as? America is an enormous melting pot, residence to ethnicities and races from all corners of the Earth. The United States is an escape to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, distinct from other countries totalitarian, controlling and propaganda rid governments. Thus, with the influx of different cultures and interracial marriages, traditions are no longer traditional. The belief in a traditional American family does not exist. America is defined by the numerous amounts of immigrants that migrated to this country. There is no such thing as an American. Everyone one who lives in the United States can be traced to some foreign nation. The United States of America should be renamed to the United Nation. So when someone asks you what the traditional American family is like, your response should be, it varies because America is not a nation of Americans but immigrant; being American is only a title.
November 9, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I enjoyed this essay because the author showed what has changed over the years. I can see how times has changed such and one of those changes is what he calls the “sexual revolution”. I’ve noticed that theres more sex in television, movies and other media now than there was during the 1990s. I’ve also notice how the internet has grown so much as you can now shop online, reconnect with old friends, and almost anything else you can think of. With technology advancing so rapidly, theres endless possiblities of how our future will turn out and I don’t know if that will turn out to be a good thing, or a bad thing. One thing is for certain though; time is always changing.
November 9, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I agree with Tom Wolfe’s analysis on our society today in realtion to the 1990’s. America has changed alot since it’s independence up until today as I am typing. I remember as a child growing up, the many different movies and commercials the used to play on the television. Back in the 1990’s there weren’t too many movies coming out that were rated R; there were mostly PG-13 and PG. Also, commercials would advertise their product in a sensible and comprehensive manner without explict additions. In today’s society, there is a plethora of movies shown in theatre’s nationwide that are rated R. In the early 2000’s PG movies were rare and PG-13 movies were somewhat scarce. Over the weekend I was watching T.V. and while commercials were playing, there was an immensily stupid commercial that came on by Reebok. They were advertising a new pair of sneakers that they claim with every step it will enhance your butt. Maybe this is true, however, during the thrity second commercial, about 20 seconds was dedicated to the cameraman following the narrator/model’s buttocks. T.V., no matter what channel your happen to be watching is no longer save for young children to watch. Sexuality in entertainment has sky rocketed since the 1900’s, and so has profanity. This change in America is detrimental and something must be done.
Though this essay was interesting, I did not like the author’s writing style. The context was interesting but in the end I was relieved to have finished reading.
November 10, 2009 at 12:40 am
This essay is interesting because it talks about some changes that occured in the year 2000. In the new age, baseball words such as First base and Home plate are used for sexual terms’ “…first base” meant deep kissing, groping and fondling; “second base meant oral sex; “third base” meant going all the way; and “home plate” meant learning each other’s names” (614). Magazines are being replaced by porno websites. I think it helped me what’s going on in today’s society. There are going sex scenes in television shows and movies. The internet contains more media than the newspaper. I think the author is trying to say that people are now replacing the old with the new.
November 10, 2009 at 12:51 am
When reading this particular essay I often found myself confused because of the fact that the essay is supposed to be written from past tense but I personally believe that it would be realistic. To my knowledge, everything that I read turned out to be fictional and as a result, I was often lost. The writer talks about this world where everything becomes the total opposite of what life is like now and I found that to be ironic because things like pornography being obsolete seemed absurd because many people clearly rely on that particular source. In addition, the writer goes on to talk about the word “sexy” would be replacing the word “chic.”. And although things like this may have seemed irrelevant I believe that the essay had an underline meaning that our society is getting worse as time progresses. Amoung our teens something called a young may no longer exsist as a result of the fast production Among our teens. The writer goes on to explain that things such as “hooking up” don’t hold the same meaning that it holds to our parents and although I totally agree I have come to the underline meaning that I was not the intended reader because I believe that the meaning that I have for the essay may be incorrect. In my opinion if my meaning is correct the writer should have a better way of communicating it to his readers. Overall I did not enjoy the essay.
November 10, 2009 at 1:53 am
“Meanwhile, sexual stimuli bombarded the young so incessantly and intensely they were inflamed with a randy itch long before reaching puberty” (613).
I’m not sure if im interpreting this quote in the wrong way, but the way how i interpreted was that as the generations go by, the younger ones are the ones who are more engaged in sex. I believe that this is true because the generations younger than me are more engaged in sex and hardly know what it is that they are doing. They are more open to sex and as a result of them having older brothers or sisters and media it makes the younger generations worse. Sometimes it amazes me to see how fresh they are and the things that come out of their mouths. I think back to when i was my nieces age and how i wasnt even thinking about some of the things that she and her little boy cousins got into trouble for. The younger generations are really intelligent but sometimes i feel that they know to much for their age and it can lead to getting them into trouble. This is how i interpreted this quotation. I’m not sure if it is right but that is my opinion and it makes sense to me.
November 10, 2009 at 2:00 am
When I begun reading this essay I didn’t whether to feel offended as an American. At first it seems like the author is belittling America’s new middle class, which I’m somewhat apart of. Honestly, I didn’t fully understand this essay. I don’t get how his beginning about proletariat no longer being in our vocabulary relates to the end where he’s talking about the mechanic falling asleep after watching the simpsons and his children staying up late on the internet. I just don’t understand the purpose of this essay. Although, I must admit the author is correct with how our society has drastically changed over the years, especially through the expansion of the internet. But I don;t just think it’s America that acts this way, I think its the westernized areas of the world that reflect parts of this essay.
One thing I found similar to my own life is the fact that people with the most money tend to not show it off as much. The kids whose parents earn the most money, tend to be content with wearing a t-shirt and jeans with old raggedy converse or vans. Meanwhile the people who only get money once in a while are more likely to go out and buy a Louis Vuitton bag or clothing with labels in order to show what brand it is. Even our definition of beauty has changed because of the increase of materialism. I think it’s upsetting.
November 10, 2009 at 2:39 am
At times, I was confused as to what I was reading and why I was reading it. In all honesty I feel that I was not the intended reader for his essay. In my opinion, the author could have expressed the same message but in a more condensed format. The topic of the essay was at first interesting, but after a while I stopped caring and just wanted to finish reading as quickly as I could. I do however understand the topic. Terminology, especially in this decade, varies from generation to generation. Although we may not use the same terms as were used a couple of years ago, we do have a similar vocabulary. As teens, we try to keep things from our parents by hiding the things we do by using diction, like out parents did before us and their parents did before them. It seems almost natural for us to go about hiding our actions in plain sight. In this particular essay, the author speaks of words with sexual connotations, he also speaks of how teens speak freely of sexual activities, which is one thing I agree on with the author, it seems to me that the younger kids get the more they know, which to me is incredible. In sort, I liked some if the essay but not all. I probably would have like it more if it were shorter.
November 10, 2009 at 2:52 am
I love this essay. I feel that when people read this they are going to say one of two things: a) I am an American Family or (more commonly) b) What the EFF’ IS AN “AMERICAN FAMILY?” There ain’t no thing.
I’d have to say B. America is a mix of different races and cultures so how can someone say there is one type of American family. I think that is what Trillin is trying to say. This decline of the American family doesn’t exist, rather it is a notion that families should do certain things like lose socks and wear Halloween costumes. I do that but it doesn;t mean I am part of this American family.
I think what American family means is that there is a turn in the norm of what a family is in the past 20 years. But life wasn’t always Fun With Dick and Jane now was it? Back in the day day people believed marrying at 12 was ok, but that ain’t the case now is it? (Don’t answer that, please.)
November 10, 2009 at 3:36 pm
To add on to what is being said here about the american family, there is no true definition of the term. In reality it is a term used as a way to create a false stereotype in order to show people what they should be, almost like barbie dolls if you will. The supposed typical american family, as shown on tv, in books, and movies, is a white middle class family living in a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, two and a half kids, and a dog. This is an unfair generalization about how americans should be.
November 10, 2009 at 2:55 am
I love this essay. I feel that when people read this they are going to say one of two things: a) I am an American Family or (more commonly) b) What the EFF’ IS AN “AMERICAN FAMILY?” There ain’t no thing.
I’d have to say B. America is a mix of different races and cultures so how can someone say there is one type of American family. I think that is what Trillin is trying to say. This decline of the American family doesn’t exist, rather it is a notion that families should do certain things like lose socks and wear Halloween costumes. I do that but it doesn’t mean I am part of this American family.
I think what American family means is that there is a turn in the norm of what a family is in the past 20 years. But life wasn’t always Fun With Dick and Jane now was it? Back in the day day people believed marrying at 12 was ok, but that ain’t the case now is it? (Don’t answer that, please.)
November 10, 2009 at 2:59 am
I did not like this essay and the author’s style of writing because it is very confusing. He jumps from topic to topic, making it very difficult to follow. The first few paragraphs talk about terms people use in the past and what they use now but it had no relations with the title of the essay. It then starts talking about random facts and examples like burglar-alarm repairman, cars and magazines. This method was not effective because the author should have just get straight to the main topic from the beginning and if not possible, he should have a more concise introduction.
November 10, 2009 at 3:07 am
This essay was interesting. The author shows a great description of the changes within the controversial subject of sex. He touches on the topic of sex in media, and connects that to the sexual revolution. The advances in technology have allowed revolutions such as this to occur. It’s to the point where we depend on technology to survive.
November 10, 2009 at 3:10 am
I enjoyed reading this essay. I like the idea of Tom Wolfe writing about a topic that is happening today. Wolfe writes about how things have changed from the 1900’s to today’s society. Wolfe states that today we don’t even live like philosphers ever existed. “It was if Emerson, Charles Peirce, William James and John Dewey never existed.” In our current society we don’t even care what former philosphers have studied and has said. Today people are dumber then we ever are, as technology has played a huge role. We go on our computers and we watch TV and we are being exposed to things people were never exposed in the 1900’s. People are using more explicit words and things are changing for the worse. We need to learn from this essay on how things are not getting better. We as a society need to learn how to fix overselves for the better.
November 10, 2009 at 3:15 am
This essay confused me a little. I understood a lot of the topics he was bringing up but it felt like he was switching back and forth throughout the essay. I do feel that the mentalities of Americans have gotten very materialistic and self conscious. When he talked about how the children of rich parents wore simple clothing I realized that its somewhat true. A lot of my rich friends don’t care about high quality clothes or what’s in the fashion magazines. While my middle and lower class friends care about some of the most expensive pieces of clothing in stores. One piece I didn’t agree with in the essay was the statement about the baggy fashion trend. “This fashion was deliberately copied from “homeys”—black youths on the streets of six New York slums, Harlem, the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, South Ozone Park, and East New York.” I don’t know if Wolfe was being sarcastic or not when he wrote this, but I completely disagree. Who is to say that the black youths from the “slums” of New York created that fashion trend. It could’ve been a skateboarding Caucasian boy from California or someone who just didn’t like belts.
November 10, 2009 at 3:34 am
There’s not much for me to say about this essay except I genuinely disliked it. I felt that the story only barely justified the title. It took too long to make a point and I feel that the majority of it was just uninteresting. It may be my own personal beef but this essay just didn’t do anything or mean anything to me. I don’t even know what could be done to make this essay more appealing; I just didn’t like it.
November 10, 2009 at 3:35 am
I find this essay to be interesting and confusing at the same time. When I first read the essay I didn’t understand what the author was trying to say about our society today but after passing the first page I started to realize that the author is talking about the values that we have now as a society. Things aren’t the same as before and actions that people take are different from the older generation. When the author mention about “hooking up” and the different bases that people use, it shows that our society overall has changed and our values are different from the older ones. We no longer view things in our society as private because we are so open to different ideas that we would talk about anything without feeling embarrassed or caring about the consequence of the ideas. We have advance to the point that everyone become open and the values that the older generation care for no longer excite in our society today.
November 10, 2009 at 4:01 am
I did not enjoy this essay at all, and I’m going to be completely honest I didn’t finish it. For the life of me I could not understand what it was that the author was talking about. What was his position? What was the issue? I honestly could not make sense of anything that I read, I felt like he was skipping around and talking in circles. I can’t decide whether I was not the intended reader or if the author did do a good job at emphasizing them or didn’t have an effective writing style. I just don’t know what else to say, I’m not sorry for not completing the essay because I don’t have any interest in it, and I refuse to copy my classmates blogs, and fake emotion. I’m just very disappointed in this essay I though it would be better, if I do have some free time on my hand I will think about maybe, possibly reading the rest.
November 10, 2009 at 4:12 am
“But magazines were nothing compared with what was offered on an invention of the 1990s, the internet. By 2000, an estimates 50 percent of all hits, or ‘log-ons,’ were at Web sites purveying what was known as ‘adult material” (612).
I agree with this quote because through the internet, people have the ability to do things that they normally cannot do. It has helped make researching possible at the comfort of our home. The internet has also made searching and applying for applications, such as college, more convenient. The internet has brought many improvements in our lives; however, it also made people lazy. It hurts the family the most because children usually uses the internet to play online games. A child, without supervision, could potentially spend hours in front of a desktop playing a game. This hinders a child’s education because a child would be more focus on moving onto a next level rather than doing a research paper. Many times this is the reason why children procrastinates and their quality of work suffers. I feel that the internet has helped us in many ways but hinders especially the younger generation’s education.
November 10, 2009 at 4:24 am
This was an interesting essay on the basis that the United States was its main focus. I did not quite understand however how his introduction about “proletariat” fit in with everything else, but I was interesting in reading either way. What drew my attention the most was when he spoke about how in the beginning of the twentieth century young men and women were basically not thinking twice about promiscuity and ultimately “Thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls were getting down on their knees and fellating boys in corridors and stairwells during the two-minute break between classes.” Today, oral sex is still sometimes thought of as something nasty and that’s left to everyone to formulate their own opinion about. What makes it “nasty” are the young females who aren’t showing themselves the respect they should, instead of allowing a male to take them into a staircase at school and have their way. I agree that today sex appeals to a very much younger crowd and sometimes it’s a sad thing. Not very many people can appreciate cohabitation or chastity and it is mainly impart of our society and how sex and being sexy is just foisted upon our youth. On the other hand, the people probably having the most sex are teenagers with raging hormones that many of them cannot control. This essay was an interesting read since the author received first hand responses from teenagers, about sex through surveys.
November 10, 2009 at 4:27 am
Once you get past the complexity of the essay you begin to grasp what Wolfe was trying to say and begin to truly enjoy the essay. I personally did not like it until I began to understand what he was saying. It reminded me of the morals of “The True Patriot.” America has come so far and accomplished so much, but we as a whole have drifted away from normality and the path that led us to success hundreds of years ago. Our society’s values have drifted away from those of past generations. I agree that we no longer acknowledge the past and I think technology is partially to blame. Being so technologically advanced America as a whole is being dumbed down, we take the easy way out of everything which does not allow us to think for ourselves, which allows us to make logical decisions. I agree with Wolfe and the points he addressed in his essay, we America as a whole must refer back to our routes and get back on the right track.
November 10, 2009 at 6:18 am
In this essay Tom Wolfe talks about how society changes over time, things that were not accepted before become normal. In the year 2000 the economic situation and technological advances, like the internet gave people a lot more information and freedom, specially sexual freedom. All the changes also helped to give new meaning to many words and expressions as Wolfe explains: “Hooking up” meant a sexual experience to young people, but to their parents still meant “meeting” someone. I think things are always changing and our parents always comment on “how things were” and the year 2000 was no different. The author highlights how moral changes took place and how young and not so young viewed sexual acts and brought them into the open.
November 11, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I really like this essay because it was discussing a controversial topic. I really like how Wolfe’s interpretation of how sex has change throughout society. “In the year 2000, girls used “score” as an active verb indicating sexual conquest.” I think that it’s true what he saying neither does girl nor boys have their sexual life secret. I think we should go back to our traditional ways only to a certain extend. He does point out some viable points. I also wanted to point out how in society, times has change and has a country we need to change together to create progress. Maybe we should just have some traditional ideas in order to move on in the concept of change.