Equality of opportunity
Equality of opportunity
This essay deals with the topic equality of opportunity by analysing Tom McAfee’s short story This is My Living Room and the historical source Traditional American Values and Beliefs. This is My Living Room is analysed with a focus upon the “I” character and Traditional American Values and Beliefs is related to this analysis by supporting these conclusions with historical facts.
This is My Living Room is about a redneck living in Pine Springs, Alabama, who is telling about his life and his family. The “I” character is a stereotypical redneck; he is Christian, he does not trust the law, he is independent, he love his guns etc. He might be intelligent, but he is very one-sided, his way is the only right way, so he does not let it show. He is very determined on his way of living and has a disturbed way of thinking. He is driven by a fearless and at times illogical view of his surroundings, which makes his determined character seem arrogant and violent. He only trusts himself, which makes his relationship towards his family peculiar: “your own flesh and blood, will try to run over you, stomp you, steal from you, kill you if they can” (This is My Living Room, paragraph 29). He is dominant and the only thing he cares about is his store. He is uneducated, but still he has managed to make a living for himself.
The American value of equality of opportunity is basically an ethical rule; it is about fair play and giving everybody a chance. It is not in the meaning that everybody should be equal but more like a race. Everyone has an equal chance to enter and win. You do not have a better chance because your parents are rich and you do not have a lower chance because of your race or religion. The concept of fair play is a very important aspect for the Americans. This belief was also expressed by the president Abraham Lincoln march 6, 1860 at New Haven, Connecticut: “We … wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody
This essay deals with the topic equality of opportunity by analysing Tom McAfee’s short story This is My Living Room and the historical source Traditional American Values and Beliefs. This is My Living Room is analysed with a focus upon the “I” character and Traditional American Values and Beliefs is related to this analysis by supporting these conclusions with historical facts.
This is My Living Room is about a redneck living in Pine Springs, Alabama, who is telling about his life and his family. The “I” character is a stereotypical redneck; he is Christian, he does not trust the law, he is independent, he love his guns etc. He might be intelligent, but he is very one-sided, his way is the only right way, so he does not let it show. He is very determined on his way of living and has a disturbed way of thinking. He is driven by a fearless and at times illogical view of his surroundings, which makes his determined character seem arrogant and violent. He only trusts himself, which makes his relationship towards his family peculiar: “your own flesh and blood, will try to run over you, stomp you, steal from you, kill you if they can” (This is My Living Room, paragraph 29). He is dominant and the only thing he cares about is his store. He is uneducated, but still he has managed to make a living for himself.
The American value of equality of opportunity is basically an ethical rule; it is about fair play and giving everybody a chance. It is not in the meaning that everybody should be equal but more like a race. Everyone has an equal chance to enter and win. You do not have a better chance because your parents are rich and you do not have a lower chance because of your race or religion. The concept of fair play is a very important aspect for the Americans. This belief was also expressed by the president Abraham Lincoln march 6, 1860 at New Haven, Connecticut: “We … wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody