Preview

Essay on Liking is for cowards, go for what hurts

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
871 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay on Liking is for cowards, go for what hurts
Essay on Jonathan Franzen’s Liking Is for Cowards, Go for What Hurts

“Liking is for Cowards, Go for what hurts” is an essay written by Jonathan Franzen who is an American novelist and writer of essays. This essay is based on the speech he gave at Kenyon College in the state of Ohio in USA. And in May 2011 it was published in The New York Times.
What this essay is about is, is the differences there are between the love people have for consumers technology and real life. “Liking” probably comes from the social website, Facebook, which is mentioned as ”commercial culture’s substitute for loving”, and shows the obsession with the smartphones, internet and other things that helps the construction of our façades, an obsession that probably is more dangerous than its good. Some of the things that damage us are the emotions and feelings, and these are quite capable of making a lot of people scared, and because of this they would rather hide behind the screen, where they hide themselves from to the world and its problems. He believes that people wants the consumer technology, is because that it might give them some different methods to keep them happy without asking for anything more, but it will give you everything which is in contrast to relationships with people you might love. There are plenty of good quotes to look at, for example “To speak more generally, the ultimate goal of technology, is to replace a natural world that’s indifferent to our wishes (..) With a world so responsive to our wishes as to be, effectively, a mere extension of the self”, this means that technology will replace the requirement of our presence in the world. Jonathan Franzen’s method of catching the eye of the audience is very interesting and quite creative. He talks about his Blackberry phone in such a way that it might have been his girlfriend, this way of talking makes it very catchy and relevant for the younger generation, because many of them have known “love” and they know

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Last but not least, Phil discusses his opinions on technology. He openly admits that he has never owned a smartphone, never turned on a computer, and has never used any sort of social media. Phil’s thesis is: “Smart phones only seem to make their users dumber.” (Pg. 2) He is an old-school type of person, and doesn’t need to rely on electronics in order to live his…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his book Hamlet’s Blackberry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, author William Powers discusses how we as a society have become too dependent on digital technology, even though it provides many of its conveniences. He uses many different rhetorical appeals, using pathos, ethos, and logos, to convince his readers of the dangers of an over-dependence on technology. For this particular writing, you’ll be discussing some of these appeals that Powers uses. First, you will be choosing one of these topics as the subject of your writing.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Patti Serino

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1. The digital lifestyle has substantially changed the way in which we live our lives and the way in which we do business. Technology is used worldwide. Businesses are able to sell to customers on the other side of the globe. The World Wide Web Consortium, along with other groups, is working to make the internet available to everyone regardless of “hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability.” Write an essay of no fewer than 250 words to answer the following questions:…

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    He does this with references to the sociological importance of one’s self developed during the romantic movement; then goes on to compare them to the his own theory that the “self” has lost significance in this day and age due to social networking. Deresiewic refers to a teenager’s cell phone bill stating that the adolescent had sent over 3,000 text messages from his cell phone in the matter of one month; this means that he had sent a text message once every ten minutes. It is this dependence that has forced both myself, and Deresiewic to find our society’s addiction to technology to be utterly repulsive. When the culture we establish demands that every teenager must have a cellular phone, and must use texts to keep in contact with friends that live mere minutes away just supports how our dependency on technology has been stretch to an unhealthy level. My point is best solidified by analyzing Deresiewic’s quote “Not long ago, it was easy to feel lonely. Now, it is impossible to be alone.” Not long ago people had the grace of being able to live in a state solitude; now it is near impossible to find even a single moment in their day when they are…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Technology has replaced what was once common for people to engage in, such as manually washing clothes and dishes, face-to-face communication, and using candle powered light. People of the United States feel compelled to possess all kinds of technology so as to make their lives more convenient. Having a smartphone is now viewed as a necessity, and something that people assume everyone owns. Even in schools those who do not have smartphones are somewhat outcasts when a teacher asks the whole class to pull out their phones. Part of the American Dream is materialistic—owning the finest of things, such as the best technological devices. The conformity of United States citizens since World War II to seek materialistic pursuits has given technology power over the lifestyles of Americans. Nowadays people cannot live without their technological devices, they have become weak and dependent upon technology, consequently giving it all the power over them and the American lifestyle. Without technology, people are unable to do the most colloquial of tasks, such as using a dictionary to look up a word, travelling without the luxuries of a car or airplane, and not rely on running water. By conforming to society’s materialistic goal of acquiring the best technological gadgets, Americans have given technology complete power over their selves and would not be able to function without…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Technology like any other resource has its limitations. Individuals, such as college students are one of the main reasons for materialism. A problem with society that has lingered for years is the distinction people cannot make between a need and a want. Now, in the twenty first century, many items are considered a need but weren’t before and that is because as society keeps evolving, people only worry about the latest and greatest thing. The American society is misplacing values into materialistic items and no longer in family traditions or human interactions. In the chapter , “Community and Diversity”, from Rebekah Nathan’s book, she discusses the concept of materialism and the evolvement of technology and how people all have their own devices and no longer need to share with others. She displays throughout her text of the impacts of materialism. “Small Change” by Malcolm Gladwell starts off by discussing the influence that social media has on activism in modern…

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love in La

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Love is a powerful force that drives one person to draw a deep affection towards another. When analyzed, the short story entitled "Love in L.A.," by Dagoberto Gilb, shows how one can see many reasons in seeing irony and even satire by the story's title. Through "Jake," the protagonist's definition of "love" is expressed in different fashions, none result in anything positive; He portrays being lazy, irresponsible, somewhat poor, and perhaps something of a con artist, looking for his freedom. Several essences reveal the main character’s true identity throughout the story: a love for image, self-conceit, and daydreaming.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today's society, the world revolves around technology. Technology has become the basis of life for a large portion of the world, and it is depended on in everyday society. As great as technology is, complete dependence on it could be problematic. The word technology covers a broad aspect of topics. It applies to everything man made in the world.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    These build pressure to us in the need of having the latest either phones or computers. Journalist Quester claims, “Technology has infiltrated its way Into our personal lives, our jobs, and into all aspects of business at an alarming rate forcing us to move up with it.” Keeping up with Market Research Technology. We are trying to stay on the same track with the technology today because, it helps us live a more efficient and healthy life, in the business sector and also keeping in touch. Even though, technology can help us discover the three things to happiness, we are convinced that, by going this direction we have the freedom we are seeking, but in real sense, this only hold us back, not giving us the freedom we thought we had. Meaning it is a failure if we continue relying on this notion and we have become dependent to technology which is opposite of…

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, Andrew Sullivan’s Ipod World story helps you give thought to how technology is impacting our lives.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article slaves to technology which appeared in signe Wilkinson Editorial cartoon on 2007 the writer Karen Lui argues that we human are nowadays control by technology. She use critical tone making the reader to feel that we human being completely depend on technology. Imaginary image of cartoon has been used to make the reader realize how technology wastes our precious time. The writer’s main contention is we human should stop adoration of technology.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to “Hell Is Other iPods: The Aural Loneliness of the Long Distance Shuffler”, the author, Casper Melville provides an issue about the dominance of the iPods in the worldwide society nowadays. The author accelerates the issues about how iPods influence our society today. In the article, Caspar Melville supposes that Apple’s products, impulse people’s craving when they see others around get one. IPod is a typical example that can illustrate this consideration. Indeed, the iPod has lots of attractive points toward people. It is beautifully designed, and convenient. Besides solving the various choices in taste of music among individuals, iPod also prevents people from suffering their dislike kinds of music. However, through the example of Andrea, Melville indicates that even though the iPod is attractive and popular, but also includes some objections for social communication. For my opinion, I think iPods have more positive effects than negative as result of using modern devices. These electronic products are a symbol of modern society and a manifestation of social development. They are widely used to improve and facilitate our quality of life, to promote social and economic progress, and accelerate the dissemination of information.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I can’t see you….but I know you’re there. Somewhere, someday I will find you. I’ve heard things about you. The way you surprise people when their least expecting it, or jump at them when they want it the most. You are happy. But you have your days, where you can be down. Oh love, how I wish to feel the warmth of your wrath that others have felt. I wait. And wait. But nothing seems to come.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Romeo is madly in love with Rosaline. Romeo bewails how Rosaline cannot return the feelings that he has for her. The fact that Rosaline will not even accept rich gifts in exchange for her love emphasizes the one-sided love. This quote also indirectly characterizes Romeo as a foolish and masochistic boy. He believes that he is experiencing true love, even though it is unreturned. He also associates love with pain and enjoys it. This quote is important because it portrays Romeo as a boy whose head is in the clouds about love and is convinced that love is a euphoric and painful experience.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Our World

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Our world is changing every day. New technological advances are making our lives much easier, but at the same time people are losing important values. We have a strong commitment to technological progress and this fact causes society to neglect other values such as education, family and protection of the environment.…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays