cohesive essay: Social Class and its Impacts

Visit the following website: http://tinyurl.com/mfun7

All wordings in basic language, and please also read the relative readings that I had attached.

This is a copy of a now defunct website in which a consumer details the activities of his "redneck neighbor." Read the descriptions of the neighbor and his activities and look at the pictures.

What is going on here? Why is the author upset? Is the author's neighbor intentionally trying to provoke others with his behavior? What else could explain the discrepancy in understandings of the appropriateness of the behavior (it seems fine to one person yet offends others)?

Can anything from Veblen or other authors be brought to bear on this? For a little help in making this connection, consider the following quote, which we also discussed in class:

“In order to avoid stultification he must also cultivate his tastes, for it now becomes incumbent on him to discriminate with some nicety between the noble and the ignoble [undistinguished] in consumer goods.” (Veblen, page 190)

Do the sentiments in this quote apply here? How? What else from what Veblen wrote could be used to explain what is happening on this website? What can you apply from any other authors? Your analysis should extend beyond this Veblen quote.

In 1000 or more words, explain what is happening here. Interpret the events, using some of what our authors wrote to explain them. Consider the questions posed above, integrating them into a cohesive essay.

Know your audience (ME). DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE EVENTS ON THIS PAGE. I know the circumstances and you can assume I am familiar with them (and our readings). Analyze the page, do not describe it.

Here is an example of what NOT to include in your paper:

“The author explains that the “redneck” a.k.a JD8 is driving him crazy with pretty much everything he does around his house. Some of the home improvements that JD8 does around his house do not qualify to the author as being home improvements.

Some of the home improvements included, a mailbox that was built with stolen wood from a nearby construction, a chicken coupe in the backyard, a pool table under the carport, a chain link fence which is crooked, the raising of pet pigs (which roam the neighborhood), a fish pond which stinks, a broken basketball net, gutters that are held in place by coat hanger wire, and many more. The author also states that JD8 has a thriving business and also drives nice cars and that he (the author) doesn’t understand JD8’s “redneck” ways of life. It seems that the author relates nice cars and money to civilized behavior which we can tell that there is not always a correlation between the two from this site.

There have even been a few times when JD8 has thrown wild parties and had the police called on him by his neighbors including the author. The author also explains JD8’s total disregard for his neighbors’ feelings when the author states how he cuts his grass at two o’clock in the morning and throws wild parties during the week when others have to work in the morning.”

--Student Paper

The above is all summary and offers no evidence of applying the course readings. The author has wasted almost 250 words of his essay telling me what I already know. You can assume that the above paragraph—or a better written version of it—is already a part of your paper and you can move forward from there. Show me what you have interpreted from this page. Remember, ‘everything is an argument’. Write confidently and declaratively.State, don’t speculate. But support your arguments.

Any quote from our readings that you want to cite for your essay should be brief or you should find a better way of referencing it. As an example, rather than quoting that Veblen quote back to me you could simply say, “When Veblen talks about the need to distinguish between the ‘noble and the ignoble’…”. I’ll know what you are talking about.

All work should be your own. Cite where you are quoting or basing your argument on the work of others—it shows effort and diligence. If you look at a website and it gives you an idea, you need to cite that page. Feel free to bring in other outside sources if relevant. I do not require any particular citation style. You can use (author, page)for works already included in this class. A proper reference at the end should be included for outside works (including web pages) referenced to write your paper; a simple listing of author and work is sufficient for class readings. Information sufficient to find the site myself is all you need include (a url, author, and name of the page).

All emailed papers must be attachments in MS Word (no other program). If you do not have Word then paste the text of your paper into the body of your email. No Googleshare documents will be accepted.

When attaching your paper to your email, name the file “your last name–Assignment 1”. Also use that as your subject line on your email. If your professor was submitting this assignment it would be titled, “Hildebrand-Assignment 1”.

Basic Submission Rubric:

Content of your arguments (15 points)

Penalties

Insufficient length (penalty equals percent under required length—1000 words)

No citations/references included—this includes material used in this course (1 point)

Name not on paper (1 point)

Incorrectly named file or incorrect subject line (1 point)