"Rich Boy" and Class Consciousness at Colby

I think Dana’s post entitled “Insecurity in Rich Boy” really highlighted some important issues that are not usually addressed at Colby. She comments, “simple things like having one student ask another if they ski or where they summer can trigger insecurity for a student who has not been able to participate in these wealthy pastimes.” Dana then recommends that the school integrate social class oriented discussions. At Colby, people are often afraid to talk about class because there is a fear of being different. While race is manifested physically, class can be disguised. If you wear the right clothes, or have the right bag, you can look like you are from the right class. Thus class becomes easier to ignore.

Race, ethnicity, or religion is much more easily discussed. For example, Colby Conversation on Race (CCOR) perpetuates discussions about race, but no similar committee exists to provide a safe place to talk about class. Similarly, different religions at Colby seem to interest other students. Rather than shy away from religion, students are curious. Class on the other hand, is not something to be curious about. Instead, if you ask about one’s social class you seem to be inappropriately prying and being nosy.

While I definitely agree with Dana that conversations should be facilitated, it is difficult to think of a manner in which to do so. Maybe I am naïve, but I assume that students of a lesser socioeconomic position would be more hesitant to discuss their class. As many contend, Colby is definitely a bubble. Chances are, we will never again be surrounded by this much wealth. Thus, it is important that we learn that our middleclass should not be normative. We cannot and should not judge those of a different class with our lens. Therefore, it is necessary that Colby provide the opportunity to discuss our differing lenses and how they apply to the rest of the world.

Connections in "Schooled"

Like Chelsea, Anna Tagert’s father boosting that he could get her a job at Merrill Lynch struck me. However, I think at Colby many of students that are assisted by their parents in their job search are actually very well qualified. I agree that Anna Targert may not have been aptly suited for a career in the financial sector. However, I do not think one necessarily needs an economic or business background to be successful at a company like Merrill Lynch. Moreover, I think that if most people were given the opportunity for their parents’ to help them, they would not deny the help.

My parents without a doubt assisted me with getting a job. As an English major, I had a difficult time selling myself as a potential businesswoman. Without the help of my parents, I would have never had the interview opportunities I had.

Although I think my parents’ connections through their occupations helped me, I think it was more that people trusted and liked my parents. I think they figured that because my parents were good people, they could give me a shot. Maybe I am blind to the reality of that because I am so excited about being employed in a tough time. However, I think my experience has shown that kindness and fairness definitely goes a long way.

Private Education in the US

http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/06/america-elite-schools-leadership-prep.html

Abigail Jones writes, “Reputation matters, and for many of the children of America's elite where you go to prep schools is just as important, if not more, than where you go to college.” After reading Anisha Lakhani’s Schooled, I was interested in researching what private education looks like today. Although Lakhani’s school is a public school in Manhattan, it obviously has the amenities only private schools elsewhere in the country would have.

For the top 25 elite private schools in the US, most tuition for boarding students is over $40,000. While the tuition at Colby is more per year, it is important to remember that these schools provide only a high school education. Moreover, the endowments of these schools are well over $150 million, which rivals most small colleges. They boast notable alums from John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush to Ivanka Trump and Vera Wang. These schools have 9-hole golf courses and some of the largest libraries in the world.

However, they also have their dark sides (sides that I find slightly more interesting). In 1984, 13 students at Choate Rosemary Hall were expelled for attempting to smuggle $300,000 worth of cocaine from Venezuela. At Phillips Exeter, a teacher was arrested after being found with over 700 child pornography videotapes.

Although American private education is clearly flawed, I think it also provides students with an exceptional opportunity to excel and learn. Many issues that are rampant at private schools are also visible at public schools.

I also wonder if the name of the high school I went to really matter that much. Does that fact that I went to a public school with a very reputable school system discourage colleges from accepting me? I think to some degree it does. However, as Jones' states, it is far more important what college diploma is hanging in your office.

"The Women of Brewster Place:" Etta Mae's Female Dependecy

In Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place I found Etta Mae’s character to be most interesting. Etta is constantly seeking male companionship, despite knowing “They were all the same” (72). She lives in through the blues songs she invokes in order to avoid the reality of her life. At best, Etta is obsessed with sex and at worst, she is a prostitute. Therefore, moving into Brewster Place and befriending Mattie, Etta no longer needs to live vicariously through song lyrics.

I especially liked her description of entering the neighborhood. As Etta looks at Brewster Place, she sees “it crouched there in the thin predawn light, like a pulsating mouth awaiting her arrival” (73). The neighborhood takes on animalistic qualities as Etta imagines it devouring her. However, it is Mattie’s companionship that encourages her to remain.

Notably, Mattie is listening to Etta’s music, which is also what Etta sees as her biography. Unlike the men who were “all meshed together into one lump that rested like an iron ball on her chest…they were breathing masses,” Mattie was a friend. At First, Etta can only see Mattie’s shadow through her window. However, this shadow gives Etta more “light and love and comfort” than any man she had slept with.

Although Etta and Mattie are not explicitly in a lesbian relationship like Theresa and Lorriane, Naylor seems to suggest that the most fulfilling relationships that a woman has are with her female friends. I think this is an important point for two reasons. First, Naylor highlights that female unity is the only means that women can improve their social position. Second, she also implies that it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a successful and positive relationship with a man.

The Impermanence of Brewster Place

In Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place, the idea of migration to Brewster Place serves to accentuate notions of the ostracism of African Americans following the Civil Rights strife of the 1960s. Through Etta's failed relationships, Mattie’s loss of her home, and Cora Lee’s obsession with children, Naylor suggests that women are constantly searching for a tangible link to something permanent and concrete. In the end, Brewster Place is condemned and the women are forced out. Thus any hope that readers had for a happy ending is banished and the cruel reality of the lives of African American women is exposed.

The final chapter “Dusk” uses the motif of the neighborhood to represent the reality of the lives of African American women. The characters in the novel lose their individuality as they come to represent symbols, rather than actual women. The narrator describes how the neighborhood, “watched its last generation of children torn away from it by court orders and eviction notices, and it had become too tired and sick to help them” (191). The women of Brewster Place and Brewster Place become synonymous and their fates are the same. Just as the neighborhood is destroyed, so are the hopes that the women will have anything tangible to cling to.

Without a doubt Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place leave readers with a decidedly negative view on the fate of African American women. Although, I do not think Naylor’s voice adequately highlights the reality of every black woman’s life, it is important to convey the darkest side in order to make a strong impression on readers.

Are Middle-Class Virtues Normative?

Roberta Rosenberg’s essay “’I Hate this Book’: Middle-Class Virtues and the Teaching of Multicultural Texts” addressed why it is often easier to accept cultural disparity in regards to race, ethnicity, or religion, but not class. In the United States, middle-class values tend to be seen as “the norm.” Poverty is inextricably linked to “fatalism, helplessness, dependence and inferiority.” Middle-class Americans are driven to increase the perceived gap between themselves and the poor. Impoverished Americans are not to be related to or sympathized with. In an era where the American Dream is just a fantasy, the poor are chastised and punished for failing to succeed.

In The Beans of Egypt, Maine the Bean family is a striking example of the failure of the lower class, rather than a failure of America as a whole. If America is characterized by middle-class values, then the Beans cannot even been considered Americans. Instead, Earlene describes them as entirely the other. They are more animals than human as Roberta’s babies resemble a pack of wild hyenas with “fox colored” eyes.

In an ultimate defiance of middle-class virtues, the Beans seem to be content in their poverty. They do not go to school or church and refuse government aid that may alleviate their situation. Although Rosenberg points out that there is also a third person narrator who is sympathetic with the Beans, readers refuse to acknowledge this voice. After reading this essay, I went back and looked at moment that the Beans are presented in a positive light. With Rosenberg’s comments in mind, I realized that I had skipped these passages because I found them to be unbelievable. Once my opinion of the Beans had formed, I refused to allow a counter argument to sway me.

I hoped Rosenberg would have addressed why readers easily accept cultural disparity in regards to race. Is it because that disparity is so engrained in our culture? Does middle-class America really mean middle-class, suburban, white, Christian, America? I think this essay will affect the ways I read other literature. I hope to recognize that the virtues associated with middle-class America are not necessarily those that should be perpetuated.

The Lens of Poverty

Carolyn Chute’s The Beans of Egypt, Maine is not pleasant to read. At no point are readers content with the character’s poverty that has forced them to live without morals. Yet the poverty and physical decay is not what bothers readers. Instead, it is the notion that Americans can and do live like this. From the squalor in which they live to the incest that is rampant throughout the novel, readers are constantly on edge. Chute’s novel introduces readers to a type of poverty that probably is not seen by the average American.

In class on Monday, our discussion led us to ask why Chute wrote the novel. Although it is undoubtedly important to confront real poverty, I think it also may be beneficial to see poverty from an analytical and removed prospective, which writing allows. When faced with real poverty, I hope my first instinct would be to be sympathetic to their plight. In this case, I would be driven to help out at first on an individual level. No longer could I compare them to “middle class” life because there would be few similarities.

However, when you read about poverty and are presented with their struggles on a moral level, I think you are forced to look at it from an analytic lens. Rather than questioning the individuals, you are forced to look at the larger insitutions that failed them. By comparing the lives of characters in the “culture of poverty” to my middle-class existence, I would be struck by the dissimilarities that are allowed to flourish in the same state.

I do not think I can look out my window and see true poverty. Yes, there are people that need help. Yes, there are families that struggle every day. By no means do I think people in Waterville have it easy. I think we as Colby students are just really lucky.

Modern Day Grapes of Wrath

In the fall of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and became the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Although the cost to human life cannot be underestimated, the economic effects of the hurricane were also extreme. Furthermore, the redistribution of Gulf residents following the disaster is the largest migration in the history of the United States. By 2006, the population of Louisiana declined by almost 5%.

Residents of Gulf areas also criticized the government’s slow response to the disaster. Images of starvation, thirst, and poverty of predominantly black Americans lead to statements like “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” The government’s perceived failure to respond highlighted other issues such as poverty, unemployment, and emergency management.

Similarly, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s displaced 2.5 million people as they moved west. Many residents were forced to move because they could no longer harvest on their land. Others suffered from malnutrition caused by the poor air conditions.

In order to restore the Midwestern plains, the government implemented means to preserve the soil and stabilize prices. For example, government agencies bought cattle from farmers to help them avoid bankruptcy. However, despite government efforts, after ten years the land still failed to support agriculture.

In 2010, the BP oil well bursting served to further the economic problems of the Gulf Area. It is described as the “worst environmental disaster the US has faced.” People who formerly subsisted off the ocean could no longer harvest shrimp or fish from the area. Again they were forced find work elsewhere.

The history of the United States does include natural disasters that have threatened and often destroyed social and economic welfare. However, as the nuclear crisis in Japan results in destruction that the world cannot yet fathom, Americans must respond with the knowledge that our history has provided.

Writing Styles in "Classic" Literature

For me, F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing style in The Great Gatsby epitomizes quintessential American literature. His vivid descriptions of the optimism, albeit false, following the Great War encapsulate a certain unwavering belief in the idea of what America stands for. Quotes from The Great Gatsby have always echoed with a sense of the grandeur that has defined America. Personally, I am always struck by the eternal optimism that the novel concludes with, despite all the of the horror that precedes it. Who else but Fitzgerald could write such beautiful and unforgettable lines like "It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believe in you as you would like to believe in yourself" and "So we beat on, boats against the current, bourne back ceaselessly into the past." Unarguably, The Great Gatsby defines both a generation and America as a nation.

I was less sure that John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath successfully defines American literature. Instead, I was always struck by the pessimism of Steinbeck's novel. Rather than an America where anything was possible if individuals worked hard, the Joads are constantly at a loss. Their journey West is not in search of riches, but in order to survive. Thus The Grapes of Wrath has always reverberated with me as more of the tragedy of a failed America.

When I last read The Grapes of Wrath I was a junior in high school. I did not want to see an image of a nation where people were not guaranteed success or where the only real currency is survival as I applied to colleges and hoped for the best. Although we are just beginning to climb out the recession, thus far it has not affected me as profoundly as it did others. However, I think it has forced us to witness the reality of an America divided between the “Haves and the Have-Nots.”

So this time around, I am reading The Grapes of Wrath with a more expanded mindset. Steinbeck and Fitzgerald suggest that the “America” is not a one-dimensional protagonist. Instead, like many of the other characters, this figure is also striving to mature, come to terms with its past, and adjust for whatever the future may bring.

Architecture in The Great Gatsby

After reading Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, I was interested in looking at the architecture that characterized the “Gilded Age.” More specifically, after researching different styles of the time, I found there to be two distinct varieties. Homes were either in the Beaux Art style or replicas of Rhine Valley Castles. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the description of the Buchanan’s house is in the Beaux Art style, while Gatsby’s home resembles a medieval castle. The discrepancy between their architectural styles suggest that the Buchanan’s are more up-to-date on current styles, while Gatsby can merely copy styles from the past.

The Buchanan’s home is based on the classic styles of Greco Roman architecture. Beaux Art originated in France and was based on neo-classical style. However, it is more exaggerated and elaborate. Feature of the Beaux Art style include balustrades, balconies, massive structures, columns, cornices, pilasters, pediments, and grand stairways. Nick describes their house stating:

“Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water… Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red-and white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay… The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold and wide open to the warm windy afternoon…a breeze blew through the room…twisting [the curtains] up toward the frosted wedding-cake of a ceiling” (6-8).

Not only is their house on the fashionable “Egg,” but it is also in the correct classical style. The architecture is timeless and seems to blend effortlessly with the landscape. The Buchanan’s understand how to play the performance of wealth and their home aptly highlights this.

Conversely, Gatsby’s home is in the gothic style. This palatial and almost gaudy style seems out of place on Long Island. Nick explains:

“The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool” (5).

Nick describes Gatsby’s house as a “factual imitation” highlighting the absence of originality in its design. Everything about the home is new and unused, further suggesting how out of place the castle is. Like his house, Gatsby can attempt to replicate correct manners, but it always appears archaic and just out of touch.

Fitzgerald’s use of architecture to suggest the characterization of the Buchanans and Gatsby before readers are introduced to them highlights the importance of appearance. Although Nick claims to be unbiased, his first impression of his neighbors affects the way he constructs them. Thus the performance of wealth yet again dominates actual monetary value.

El Greco's "View of Toledo" and the Division of Self

“Even when the East excited me most, even when I was most keenly aware of its superiority to the bored sprawling, swollen towns beyond the Ohio, with their interminable inquisitions which spared only the children and the very old – even then it had always for me a quality of distortion. West Egg, especially, still figures in my more fantastic dreams. I see it as a night scene by El Greco: a hundred houses, at once conventional and grotesque, crouching over a sullen, overhanging sky and lusterless moon. In the foreground four solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress. Her hand, which dangles over the side, sparkles cold with jewels. Gravely the men turn in at a house –the wrong house. But no one knows the woman’s name, and no one cares.”

The Great Gatsby, 176

F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the end, Nick attempts to restore Gatsby’s dignity by castigating Daisy. This suggests Fitzgerald’s disapproval of the American obsession with wealth and commodification. Even for Nick, the events of the novel are hazy and almost dreamlike.

Instead of being the women that Gatsby desires to build his life around, Daisy devolves into a nameless, faceless “thing.” Gatsby can never separate the symbol of Daisy with what she actually is, merely a voice “full of money.” The woman is described as “drunken,” rather than dead. Ironically, this serves as a much more fitting adjective for her. Dead would connote an inability to recognize the present, while “drunken” suggests an unwillingness. Her hand “sparkles cold with jewels,” not suggesting visible physical decay, but rather an intangible moral corruption. Like Daisy, the outer façade can be beautiful even if the inner character is distorted and disturbed. Unlike Gatsby, Nick bears witness to Daisy’s corruption.

At the end of the novel, readers are struck by the realization that Gatsby will never be happy. He does not marry Daisy and thus would continue to be obsessed by what he believes she represents. More importantly however, even if Gatsby married Daisy there is the suspicion that she would fail to live up to his expectations of her. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is thus ultimately the story of the human reality that expectations are often not reality.

Veblen Goods

In his book The Theory of the Leisure: An Economic Study of Institutions Thornstein Veblen defines conspicuous consumption as lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. Later, the term “Veblen goods” was coined to identify goods whose desirability increases with their price and scarcity. For example, there are a limited number of newest Porshe hybrid vehicles on the market at all times. Similarly, the waiting list for the iconic Hermes’ Birkin Bag can take years.

This phenomenon was clearly thriving prior to the recession of 2008, despite the popularity of online shopping that displayed luxury goods to mainstream Americans. Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times writes, “In the genteel world of luxury, companies long felt that the Web was no place for merchandising exclusive products. And there was a gentlemen’s agreement with department stores not to siphon sales by reaching out directly to wealthy customers.” Websites showed videos of parties and footages from fashion shows, but no where could you actually purchase the products.

During the recession, department stores began to discount these items and luxury lines worried their products would no longer have the prized label as a “Veblen good.” Regardless, the brands are making more money because they can control prices and not pay out a department store as the middle man. Furthermore, style and marketing is more consistent.

Although shopping on the internet cannot replicate the feelings produced by actually going to the boutique, websites are beginning to offer products that are not available in stores to compensate for this. Robert Duffy, the president and vice chairman of Marc Jacobs resonated this sentiment, “I want to give people a reason to go there — if I have the same stuff on our Web site that’s at Neiman’s and Saks,” the site would have little appeal.

However, the truth remains that these websites cannot exclude anyone. The mystery, allure, and intimidation of the boutiques on Rodeo Drive or Madison Avenue no longer deter mainstream Americans from pursuing their products. For better or worse, the number of products that can be called “Veblen goods” are decreasing. In their place, there will undoubtedly be more expensive and scarce products. We will just have to wait and see.

The Modern Trophy Wife

Following the first descriptions of Lily, I could not help but compare her to the modern day trophy wife. With her “vivid head, relieved against the dull tints of the crowd, made her more conspicuous” and “the modeling of her little ear, the crisp upward wave of her hair – was it ever so slightly brightened by art? – and the thick planting of her straight black lashes. Everything about her was at once vigorous and exquisite, at once strong and fine. He had a confused sense that she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must, in some mysterious way, have been sacrificed to produce her” (26-27). Lily understands that her only currency is her looks. Further, the only way she will be accepted by society is if a man decides to purchase her. In doing so, the man will have a means to display his wealth. The more beautiful the woman, the richer the man looks.

Now, over one hundred years later women are still valued based on their appearance. Like it or not, Anne Kingston, author of “The Meaning of Wife” contends, “When we talk about a trophy, it doesn't matter how successful a woman is. It comes down to the decorative aspect and the idea that she's a babe.” I suppose it could be called progress that now success is actually brought into the conversation. However, as Kingston points out modern trophy wives are just decorations that dress well, can chitchat at cocktail parties, and are good looking. While I firmly believe women can be and are just as successful as men, I’m not sure I have as much of a problem with the concept of a “trophy wife” as I had previously thought. If a man does not value intelligence and wit in his wife, why should society tell him he has to? Alternatively, a woman needs not marry a smart man solely because our culture values it. I understand that emphasizing some women’s appearance almost necessitates that it be valued in all women. However, I think the greater issue is that a woman who is smart and attractive can only be recognized as the later. If a woman is only good looking or intelligent, then she can and should be valued as such. Yet when she is both, it is important to recognize and appreciate that.

The House of Mirth

In class last Wednesday, we discussed Lily's Bart's ability to transcend the male gaze because the novel is primarily from her point of view. Because readers can hear Lily's rationale and skills for manipulating the men around her, they assume she actually has control over them. However, I contend that although Lily plays into the gaze, she is ultimately controlled by it because she lives in such a patriarchal society. Rather than giving her power, Lily’s hyper awareness of how she appears to others controls her entire characterization.

Readers are first introduced to Lily’s “carefully-elaborated plan” in Grand Central Station (27). She seems to radiate beauty and prestige, providing a stark contrast to the “dinginess, the crudity of this average section” (27). However, Lawrence Selden observes that “she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must, in some mysterious war, have been sacrificed to produce her” (27). Readers trust Selden because he is not confused or blinded by wealth and money. Although he is clearly tempted by Lily’s beauty, he understands that they could not marry. Furthermore, Selden is the only character Lily trusts to be honest with her. Because Selden is not wealthy, Lily does not need to impress him or perform for him the way she does for the more aristocratic characters. The vast discrepancy between the way Lily behaves with Selden and how she performs with other characters highlight her inferiority to them, rather than her control.

As the novel progresses, Lily’s ability to manipulate the men around her diminishes. This is suggested by her interaction with Gus Trenor when she is locked in his house. Here Lily is implicitly stuck under Gus’ gaze and has no hope of manipulating it. The narrator vividly describes, “Over and over her the sea of humiliation broke – wave crashing on wave so close that the moral shame was one with physical dread” (149). Wharton’s use of drowning to represent Lily’s demise acutely highlights the loss of any agency she previously had. No longer is her beauty a commodity, but rather a curse. Wharton suggests that Lily cannot manipulate the male gaze because she has not yet been purchased into the system. Instead, she is in debt to those who have allowed her to exist in their society. Although Gus Trenor obviously is too aggressive with her, the pseudo-rape is a sadistic representation of Lily’s refusal to play by the rules of aristocratic society.

At the close of the novel, readers must ask themselves if her suicide (depending on how you read it) was avoidable. I believe that Lily’s demise occurred when she met with Gus Trenor. In this sense, metaphorically Trenor and the conventions of society actually killed Lily. I think Book II is merely insight into the loss of innocence that drowned Lily.

Nouveau Riche in Modern Day

I was really interested in reading the article Leah posted after reading her response. I think both Leah and the author aptly pointed out that our conventions of wealth are utterly skewed. A forty foot yacht is nothing compared to a 200 footer and what is a prop plane when your neighbor has a transcontinental jet. Leah point that "no matter what occurs the standard which is used to measure social status will always be obnoxious, whether it's based on family history or how much money you spent on a car that you don't drive, but leave in the drive-way for everyone else to see" stresses how fickle class actually is.

This past summer I worked at the pearl, one of the restaurants the Times author mentions. She contends that this is where the new money people go to "show off their wealth to each other." While I agree that the ostentatiousness of the nouveau riche is striking, I do not think that the old money can get off scot-free. For the past 50 years Nantucket has definitely been a "castle with a moat around it." However, the true Nantucketers are those that live there year round, not the ones that have had houses there for 50 years. I understand that this article is about the unabashedly showy wealth on the island, but I am not sure that those with old money are all that different from the newcomers. They all still want to join new yacht clubs, go to the nicest restaurants, and live in the most exclusive parts of the island. I can safely say I did not see one person in a Juicy Couture velour track suit this summer and I don't think that will ever change. Both the new and old money want Nantucket to remain a pristine and exclusive island. I think it is safer to say that those with enough money to pay for membership are welcome to join the party, regardless of whether their fortunes come from Yankee Candle or Goldman Sachs.

I do not pretend to say that I did not have to deal with some people I never wanted to see again in my life. I am not naive enough to think that they were all lovely people who had never lied, cheated, or stole to get ahead. The most important thing I learned this summer was that no matter who I was serving, I had to smile and wait on them without question. Chances are, they would leave the table and I would never see them again. However, it was people that made me feel as though I was their equal that I do remember.

I know this is quite tangental, but in hopes of tying this together, I will conclude with as much of a moral as I can. Up to a certain point, more money can make you happier. I do not think that can be argued. I cannot say however, that more money can or should change the way you treat people. New money, old money, it doesn't matter. No amount of money changes who are and where you came from, that I am sure of.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/national/class/NANTUCKET-FINAL.html?scp=7&sq=Nouveau%20riche&st=Search

The Great Recession of 2009

"Perhaps because the process of his ruin had been so gradual, perhaps because the excitement of preceding events had exhausted their capacity for emotion, the actual consummation of his bankruptcy brought a relief, a repose to Lapham and his family, rather than a fresh sensation of calamity"

The Rise of Silas Lapham, 351

As I was reading The Rise of Silas Lapham, I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarities between the Lapham’s rapid plunge into poverty and the millions of family in the United States that lost their wealth in the recession of 2009.

For the majority of investors, their money was lost not because of foolish investments by individuals, but by greedy companies. In Howells novel, there is a stark divide between greed and ethics, which can be traced using the symbol of the house. Often these corporations took advantage of hardworking American citizens. In the novel, Silas assumed he would be successful by investing in stocks. However no longer do individuals usually invest in the stock market. Instead their funds are now in the hands of these corporations whom they trust to take care of their money. When these investment companies failed, people were left stunned and unable to adjust. I also like the catharsis suggested in this passage. Because the family never could perform as well as the upper class, they degradation was less severe. Readers are left feeling that they might be better off. However, this is problematic because it suggests that only those with “old money” can ever survive in the upper class.

The Rise of Silas Lapham and New Money

Much of our discussion of William Dean Howells’ The Rise of Silas Latham was focused on the upper class’ ability to act, while the rising middle class has no knowledge of the correct ways to behave. Despite their best efforts, the Lapham family cannot perform. Although the Coreys do not have as much money, they are considered aristocrats because they know how to behave properly. Howells suggests that the upper echelons of society are not merely cost prohibitive, but also impermeable for individuals that do not know the correct performances.

Although it is redeeming that Silas Lapham is one of the few authentic characters in the novel, he recognizes that he cannot be a gentleman. Thus despite his wealth, Silas fails to be accepted by families like the Coreys. For example, at the party at the Coreys Silas gets overly drunk and likes like a fool in front of all the wealthy Boston families. He laments, “I was the only one that wasn’t a gentleman there…I showed that I wasn’t fit to go with you” (209). Silas’ is unable to control his intoxication. This suggests that he is not a stereotypically masculine man. His efforts are thwarted by his inability to dress well and his characterization as a “light weight.”

The barriers between old money and new money also confuse Penelope. Like Silas, she is sensitive to the feelings of others. However, she is more outspoken and unafraid to be genuine with members of the upper class. Penelope explains to Tom Corey, “It isn’t anything they say or do…It’s what they are. I couldn’t be natural with them, and if I can’t be natural with people, I’m disagreeable” (357). Penelope recognizes that she would have to perform to be accepted by the Corey family. However, she fails to realize that “what they are” is a parody of old English aristocracy. Everything they “say and do” is disingenuous. Penelope evolves into the heroine of the novel because she appeals to the wealthy Mr. Corey. I found this to be reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Because Elizabeth can maintain her outgoing nature while being irresistible to Darcy, she moderates between the upper and lower classes.

After finishing the novel, I had to ask myself whether it is better to live a performance as an aristocrat or be constantly striving for acceptance in the bourgeoisie. I think the rising middle class solved this by refusing to emulate the upper class. Instead, they developed their own form of cultural capital that the aristocracy was forced to accept and mimic.

The $30,000 Bequest

Last semester we read “The $30,000 Bequest” by Mark Twain and focused much of our conversation on Twain’s use of flipping to juxtapose two binaries. In doing so, we were forced to recognize our preconceived notions of stereotypes. This was especially exacerbated by the inversion of traditional male and female roles in “The $30,000 Bequest.” Aleck’s abilities with finance and emotional control are highlighted against Sal’s propensity to spend and mood swings. Moreover, the reversal of names forces readers to pause their reading and recall who is who. Although the inversion of gender roles is not a main theme of the novel, it assists readers in understanding the dichotomy of reality and fantasy.

Sal acts in traditional feminine ways in his emotiveness, while Aleck is stoic and almost unfeeling. His physically at times can make readers uncomfortable. For example after Aleck invested a thousand dollars, “Sally kissed her half a dozen times and even in that way could not express all his joy and thankfulness…and before she could restrain herself she made her darling another grant… The happy tears sprang to Sally’s eyes.” I had to reread this a few times to grasp which character was being so unnecessarily emotional. The fact that I was uncomfortable with male emotionality disturbed me because I consider myself to be very open to different concepts of gender. Yet Twain characterizes Sal and Aleck in a humorous way that allows readers to question gender stereotypes in a non-combative and critical manner. I do not contend that inverted gender roles are unfathomable to the point of being humorous. Instead, the way Twain makes light of their relationship inevitably makes light of our conception of gender.

I agree that the juxtaposition of male and female helps to enlighten the dichotomy of reality and fantasy. As we stop to notice whom is talking, we also must concentrate on whether or not the characters are existing in reality or a fantasy the Fosters have created. Because the gender dynamic is so obvious, the sense of lost reality is also heightened. By the end of the story, Sal and Aleck no longer have identities. Instead the lines that construct gender are blurred and eventually nonexistent in the same way the division of reality and fantasy are blurred to the point of destruction.

The $30,000 Bequest

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/

SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx

After reading "The $30,000 Bequest," I was struck by how elusive wealth can be. Although Sal and Aleck Foster often dreamed of what they would do with their money, the money never materialized and so their dreams never came to fruition. However, it is evident that if the money arrived, it would have corrupted them. This is suggested by the fact that Sal has "perfect and pathetic trust, and [Aleck] holding Sal by a thread" can complete control over their relationship. Previously, they had never hide anything from one another. Because they never had wealth to be extravagant with, they do not know how to behave correctly.

This encouraged me to think about the stories of lottery winners who lose all their wealth. In the article above, Evelyn Adams explained how she lost all of her wealth after winning the lottery twice. Because she had never had money, she did not know how to manage her new riches.

The theme of the “nouveou riche” not being capable of acting the right way has been important in our readings thus far this semester. In the Foster’s imagination they were admired and revered by their community. Similarly, Silas Latham was sure that his family was in the same social circles as the Corey family. Those with new wealth desire to appear as wealthy as those with “old money,” yet often do it in a gaudy or ostentatious way. This begs the question of who decides what is the correct cultural capital. Is it the media that shows fancy cars and huge houses? Or celebrity magazines that highlight clothing and traveling? Regardless, only those with money have a voice and power to dictate what wealth, as we know it, looks like.

A Look Inside America's Poorest County

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=133734396

This NPR article from 2011 examines a Sioux reservation in South Dakota where the unemployment rate swells to 90 percent in the winter months. The article focuses on the fact that poverty has been a constant here for generations, leaving the residents without tangible hope for a better future. Despite government assistance, the reservations economy remains poor. Furthermore, 60 years ago a dam that was built on the Missouri River lead to flooding, which destroyed 100 acres of Sioux farmland. Reparations for these damages have yet to be paid.

The vast differences in wealth among Americans is not a new phenomenon. The moral and physical decay in Stephen Crane's Maggie are not so different then those in Ziebach County. However, the fact that we have not learned and changed the way we respond to impoverished sectors of our society is startling. While I cannot offer a fail proof solution to poverty in America, it is evident that the increasing divide between rich and poor highlights structural problems with the government.