Kristine Latham
October 14, 2008
Dr. Adam Johns
English Composition
Meaning in the 21st century
The collective meaning of life has been lost. Bill Mckibben states that we have been both elevated and reduced to the status of individuals (46). It is important to stop to think about what exactly it means to be reduced to individuals. In order to see clearly how we have been reduced to individuals we must look at the modern day family.
About half of all marriages are projected to end in divorce in America. Marriage used to be a sacred bond, but now, that commitment is not quite as significant. Till death do us part takes on the new meaning of till we hit a bump in the road. Somewhere down the line, Americans went from family centered people that had a family dinner every night to an individualistic nation. One’s own well being seems to come before the well being of our families. It is acceptable to get divorced and time share a child. While it would be terribly wrong to subject a child to a lifetime of listening to their role models tear each other apart, I cannot help but question where we went wrong. Bill Mckibben proclaims that it is due to the pressure or ability to be an individual we have lost a collective meaning in life. Mckibben points out how we have become so involved in bettering ourselves and using technology to make an easier life that we have lost what was once the foundation of our society: the family.
Chris Ware’s comic book, Jimmy Corrigan, represents the modern day family. A family that has become part of that half of America that is no longer keeping their promise of commitment to one another. Jimmy is an only child of parents that have divorced. His mother is trying her best to raise him. In the beginning of the comic Jimmy remembers his mother taking him to meet superman (Ware 3). It is at this point in Jimmy’s life that he begins to associate the superhero with many missing roles in his life. The superhero goes home with Jimmy and his mother and walks out the next day after his and the mothers one night stand. Since Superman gives Jimmy his mask on the way out, Jimmy can continue into his adulthood to associate Superman with a father figure and heroism.
Meeting Superman and receiving his mask as a present is one of the best things a kid could think of. Yet it is not enough to fill the emptiness that Jimmy feels, especially into his adult years. As much as his mother tries to continue to be his entire support system, going as far as calling him incessantly at work (Ware 13) she is unable to fulfill all roles that Jimmy needs. For example, Jimmy needs a father figure. In lieu of one, Jimmy develops an obsession with a superhero that lasts throughout his adulthood. The superhero represents a father figure, except better. A Superhero is completely morally sound. A Superhero does the right thing and can save people when they are in danger.
Jimmy’s mother makes him crazy but without her he would be completely isolated. He goes to a job in which it does not seem to matter if his work is not done. Then he goes home and makes two bowls of soup for one person in case Peggy ever joins him (Ware 21). Jimmy is entirely isolated from the world. He does not have any friends that are interested in him beyond what they can get out of him. The only person that seems like a possible friend merely borrows money from Jimmy. Jimmy does not feel a strong bond with his mother and barely knows his father. He is too shy to successfully ask Peggy out. He is completely alone.
Ware is trying to depict the increasing and all too common scenario in his book. There are many children out there that grow up feeling removed from the world, although not usually to the extreme of Jimmy’s scenario. I do not think that Ware is depicting all modern life because surely there are plenty of examples of families that are close in communities that are interconnected. However, I think that Ware is making a point of how the loss of the family is creating a world full of isolated and lonely people.
This change is not worthwhile. I do not think that being “elevated to the status of individuals” was worth being “reduced to the status of individuals” (Mckibben 46). The innate need for humans to have an emotional understanding of others has not declined, while their ability to satisfy this need has.
Collective meaning is depleting. Ware and Mckibben both point out how devoid of emotional connections and support that our nation has become due to the loss of the family unit. I agree that we are in need of a revival of the family unit. I also believe that people would be much happier and healthier if they had learned at a young age to make substantial relationships with others to fulfill the need for companionship.
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heres the paper with paragraphs, I swear there were some before i hit post:
Kristine Latham
October 14, 2008
Dr. Adam Johns
English Composition
Meaning in the 21st century
The collective meaning of life has been lost. Bill Mckibben states that we have been both elevated and reduced to the status of individuals (46). It is important to stop to think about what exactly it means to be reduced to individuals. In order to see clearly how we have been reduced to individuals we must look at the modern day family.
About half of all marriages are projected to end in divorce in America. Marriage used to be a sacred bond, but now, that commitment is not quite as significant. Till death do us part takes on the new meaning of till we hit a bump in the road. Somewhere down the line, Americans went from family centered people that had a family dinner every night to an individualistic nation. One’s own well being seems to come before the well being of our families. It is acceptable to get divorced and time share a child. While it would be terribly wrong to subject a child to a lifetime of listening to their role models tear each other apart, I cannot help but question where we went wrong. Bill Mckibben proclaims that it is due to the pressure or ability to be an individual we have lost a collective meaning in life. Mckibben points out how we have become so involved in bettering ourselves and using technology to make an easier life that we have lost what was once the foundation of our society: the family.
Chris Ware’s comic book, Jimmy Corrigan, represents the modern day family. A family that has become part of that half of America that is no longer keeping their promise of commitment to one another. Jimmy is an only child of parents that have divorced. His mother is trying her best to raise him. In the beginning of the comic Jimmy remembers his mother taking him to meet superman (Ware 3). It is at this point in Jimmy’s life that he begins to associate the superhero with many missing roles in his life. The superhero goes home with Jimmy and his mother and walks out the next day after his and the mothers one night stand. Since Superman gives Jimmy his mask on the way out, Jimmy can continue into his adulthood to associate Superman with a father figure and heroism.
Meeting Superman and receiving his mask as a present is one of the best things a kid could think of. Yet it is not enough to fill the emptiness that Jimmy feels, especially into his adult years. As much as his mother tries to continue to be his entire support system, going as far as calling him incessantly at work (Ware 13) she is unable to fulfill all roles that Jimmy needs. For example, Jimmy needs a father figure. In lieu of one, Jimmy develops an obsession with a superhero that lasts throughout his adulthood. The superhero represents a father figure, except better. A Superhero is completely morally sound. A Superhero does the right thing and can save people when they are in danger.
Jimmy’s mother makes him crazy but without her he would be completely isolated. He goes to a job in which it does not seem to matter if his work is not done. Then he goes home and makes two bowls of soup for one person in case Peggy ever joins him (Ware 21). Jimmy is entirely isolated from the world. He does not have any friends that are interested in him beyond what they can get out of him. The only person that seems like a possible friend merely borrows money from Jimmy. Jimmy does not feel a strong bond with his mother and barely knows his father. He is too shy to successfully ask Peggy out. He is completely alone.
Ware is trying to depict the increasing and all too common scenario in his book. There are many children out there that grow up feeling removed from the world, although not usually to the extreme of Jimmy’s scenario. I do not think that Ware is depicting all modern life because surely there are plenty of examples of families that are close in communities that are interconnected. However, I think that Ware is making a point of how the loss of the family is creating a world full of isolated and lonely people.
This change is not worthwhile. I do not think that being “elevated to the status of individuals” was worth being “reduced to the status of individuals” (Mckibben 46). The innate need for humans to have an emotional understanding of others has not declined, while their ability to satisfy this need has.
Collective meaning is depleting. Ware and Mckibben both point out how devoid of emotional connections and support that our nation has become due to the loss of the family unit. I agree that we are in need of a revival of the family unit. I also believe that people would be much happier and healthier if they had learned at a young age to make substantial relationships with others to fulfill the need for companionship.
Your introduction is succinct and tells us what the paper is going to be about, but is somewhat vague at the same time, which can be good because the reader will have to read the rest of the paper to see why the modern day family has anything to do with the emphasis on the individual.
Your discussion of marriage is interesting and strongly worded. I especially liked when you said, "Till death do us part takes on the new meaning of till we hit a bump in the road." Clever and critical.
Involving the superhero is a good way of discussing Ware's take on the idea of the individual. However, if you remember from the first couple of pages in the book, you might notice that Jimmy's mom wasn't particularly kind to her son when he was a young child. She treated him as more of a hindrance than anything. To me, it seems like her calling him so much as he got older is a form of repentance.
Overall I think this is a strong paper that gets its point across very clearly. I think you might have been able to combine the ideas in the last two paragraphs to make a conclusion. Some of your opinions are kind of vague concerning certain things. A little more blatancy might help make your opinions stand out even more. But like I said, I thought this was a great paper.
The collective meaning of life has been lost. Bill Mckibben states that we have been both elevated and reduced to the status of individuals (46). It is important to stop to think about what exactly it means to be reduced to individuals. In order to see clearly how we have been reduced to individuals we must look at the lack of stability in modern day family and how it causes us to be more alone than ever.
About half of all marriages are projected to end in divorce in America. Marriage used to be a sacred bond, but now, that commitment is not quite as significant. Till death do us part takes on the new meaning of till we hit a bump in the road. Somewhere down the line, Americans went from family centered people that had a family dinner every night to an individualistic nation. One’s own well being seems to come before the well being of our families. It is acceptable to get divorced and time share a child. While it would be terribly wrong to subject a child to a lifetime of listening to their role models tear each other apart, I cannot help but question where we went wrong. Bill Mckibben proclaims that it is due to the pressure or ability to be an individual we have lost a collective meaning in life. Mckibben points out how we have become so involved in bettering ourselves and using technology to make an easier life that we have lost what was once the foundation of our society: the family.
Chris Ware’s comic book, Jimmy Corrigan, represents the modern day family. A family that has become part of that half of America that is no longer keeping their promise of commitment to one another. Jimmy is an only child of parents that have divorced. His mother is trying her best to raise him but quickly becomes frustrated with his childishness. Jimmy’s mother sounds unforgiving of mistakes and extremely impatient. In the beginning of the comic Jimmy remembers his mother taking him to meet superman (Ware 3). It is at this point in Jimmy’s life that he begins to associate the superhero with many missing roles in his life. The superhero goes home with Jimmy and his mother and walks out the next day after his and the mother’s one night stand. Since Superman gives Jimmy his mask on the way out, Jimmy can continue into his adulthood to associate Superman with a father figure and heroism.
Meeting Superman and receiving his mask as a present is one of the best things a kid could think of. Yet it is not enough to fill the emptiness that Jimmy feels, especially into his adult years. As much as his mother tries to repent for her short comings in his childhood by smothering Jimmy, she is completely unable to fulfill all the roles that Jimmy needs. Her attempts go as far as calling him incessantly at work (Ware 13) which just leads to Jimmy’s further frustration and isolation. For example, Jimmy needs a father figure. In lieu of one, Jimmy develops an obsession with a superhero that lasts throughout his adulthood. The superhero represents a father figure, except better. A Superhero is completely morally sound. A Superhero does the right thing and can save people when they are in danger.
Jimmy’s mother makes him crazy but without her he would be completely isolated. He goes to a job in which it does not seem to matter if his work is not done. Then he goes home and makes two bowls of soup for one person in case Peggy ever joins him (Ware 21). Jimmy is entirely isolated from the world. He does not have any friends that are interested in him beyond what they can get out of him. The only person that seems like a possible friend merely borrows from Jimmy (Ware 15). Jimmy does not feel a strong bond with his mother and barely knows his father. He is too shy to successfully ask Peggy out. He is completely alone.
Ware is trying to depict the increasing and all too common scenario in his book. There are many children out there that grow up feeling removed from the world, although not usually to the extreme of Jimmy’s scenario. I do not think that Ware is depicting all modern life because surely there are plenty of examples of families that are close in communities that are interconnected. However, I think that Ware is making a point of how the loss of the family is creating a world full of isolated and lonely people.
This change is not worthwhile. I do not think that being “elevated to the status of individuals” was worth being “reduced to the status of individuals” (Mckibben 46). The innate need for humans to have an emotional understanding of others has not declined, while their ability to satisfy this need has. Collective meaning is depleting. Ware and Mckibben both point out how devoid of emotional connections and support that our nation has become due to the loss of the family unit. I agree that we are in need of a revival of the family unit. I also believe that people would be much happier and healthier if they had learned at a young age to make substantial relationships with others to fulfill the need for companionship.
Dana - You might have spent a little more time on Kristine's argument. Your discussion of superheroes was good, but it seems like you could have done more along similar lines.
Kristine - Through this paper, you stick pretty close to things we've talked about in class, and you rely extensively on generalizations. For instance, you spend a paragraph on the disintegration of the traditional family, but talk about it only in general terms. If this was important, it was worth researching. If only the vague idea of the disintegrating family is important, you might have simply jumped into Jimmy Corrigan.
As far as your reading of JC goes, there's nothing wrong with it, but you stick pretty close to things we've discussed in class - doing more with the whole superhero thing (especially as it plays out through the whole book) would have been a good way of extending yourself a little bit.
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