DOC PREVIEW
Cultural Tendencies

This preview shows page 1-2 out of 6 pages.

Save
View full document
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 6 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 6 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 6 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience

Unformatted text preview:

Chris SatoEng W-131Essay #1David Brooks’ essay, “Our Sprawling Supersize Utopia,” describes change in the dynamics of cultural tendencies. He defends his point of view by identifying clear shifts of job locations, as well as the dissolving cultural boundaries. New suburbs seem to pop up out of nowhere, attracting people from the same groups as those that shaped it. These new suburbs implicate a change in communal boundaries, creating a whole different atmosphere than another suburb just miles away. Brooks uses these points to connote the view of a changing civilization. In contrast, Barrie B. Greenbie’s “Home Space: Fences and Neighbors,” exposes a more personal view of a fluctuating society. He claims that people have the right to customize their level privacy, but must solve the issue themselves. This allows them to change their landscape or property to become more accustomed to them, thus fitting in with society. While Brooks and Greenbie's essays both seem different; between Brooks’ argument for boundaries and work ethic, compared to Greenbie’s case for personalized living space, the underlying theme of a changing culture within America evidently connect the two.Brooks’ argument is based on his beliefs that not only have the dynamics of the work force changed, but so has the community that surrounds it. New suburbias have sprung up and taken on the roles of Chicago and New York, accounting for more and more workspace and rentals, (Brooks, 60). In the past, most jobs took place downtown and required collaboration with others. Nowadays, the “geography of work” has been flipped upside down, relocating the work place to the suburbs (Brooks, 60). It is because these new areas have become so accepting of diversity that more people have becomeattracted to that type of living, thus motivating them to move there. Although this may be true for Brooks, Greenbie chooses to take a closer look toward the individual, rather that the community. These new suburbias seem to spring up out of nowhere, wherever they want. Theybecome the ideal living habitat for its residents. When a person was traveling from one place to the next, there used to be noticeable boundaries signifying the changing landscape of that area. They used to live in communities with distinctive borders, a more definable place. Now, new suburbias distort these borders, disbanding them to provide a more welcoming and friendly society. This change does not push us into the future, but seems to resurface our past. These suburbias are the basis for what this country was founded upon, something that is still very much alive today, the American Dream. Creating these new suburbias on the foundations of the American Dream has implied that anyone can achieve their goals through hard work and an open mind. It stems from what Brooks calls the “Paradise Spell,” (66), enabling everyone to create his or her lifestyle without any fears of failure or dissatisfaction. The changing aspects of the typical American home parallel and support this theory. People wish to be masters of their domain, of their thrones, and have every right to do so, but in order to accomplish this goal, changes must be made. A person’s backyardwas an area where tools were stored, clothes dried, and children went to play. However, now people prefer fencing and new homes for trees and shrubbery, along with patios replacing the porches, (Greenbie, 257). They build fences to show superiority, that it is their property and they are proud of it. These fences give a feeling of security that they can determine visitor or guest from an intruder. The sense of visitors versus intruders hasresulted in not only the fence, but also the front porch. Architects have incorporated theseas an informal way of having guests over, but not entirely in the house. They allow the owner to have a sense of privacy but also view the street and the transforming communityas well. Along with their work lives, people must have a personal one as well. Greenbie argues that there needs to be an achieved level of privacy, (248), there needs to be a balance between our public and private lives created so that we feel more comfortable within our own skin. Each individual is unlike any other, and so are his or her needs. They decide what changes need to be made so that they feel more comfortable in their environment, and once enough individuals have changed, a larger population becomes affected: the community as a whole.In summary, both David Brooks and Barrie B. Greenbie take different approaches toward the same common claim, but on different scales. Brooks’ tactic is to take a more wider-ranged observation of the geography at work as well as newly sprouted communities, which reveals Greenbie’s source for personalized, individual change. Once enough individuals have changed, it begins to affect the community on a broader scale, reinforcing Brooks’ original claim. Looking back throughout history, the work environment was centered around the downtown area, funneling all the businesses to one common location. However, currently the jobs sites have been relocated, spreading them across the country enabling these suburbs to ascend from nowhere. Within these newly established suburbs, individuals have chosen to customize their property by changing the original aspects of the backyard by subtracting porches and adding patios, and by giving an adequate amount of space to control privacy. It seems that a pattern has risen thatBrooks and Greenbie have both discovered; that throughout the progression from past to present, people seem to change their lifestyle to fit in with society. Brooks and Greenbie seeing this pattern occur this generation arises the thought, could this happen again? Brooks and Greenbie have described a generation that have changed their ways: one to possibly follow the geography of work and find a suitable suburb, the other to redefine personal preferences within a suburb. It is society, the evolution of our race that pushes usto better ourselves, and once these changes only become adequate, the society must adaptto move forward.Work Cited PageBrooks, David. “Our Sprawling, Supersize Utopia”Readings for Analytical Writing, Third Edition, 2006: 60-67. Print.Greenbie Barrie. “Home Space: Fences and Neighbors”Readings for Analytical Writing, Third Edition, 2006: 246-257.


View Full Document

Cultural Tendencies

Download Cultural Tendencies
Our administrator received your request to download this document. We will send you the file to your email shortly.
Loading Unlocking...
Login

Join to view Cultural Tendencies and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view Cultural Tendencies 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?