Susan Bordo

In the New York Times article “It’s a Face-Lifted, Tummy Tucked Jungle Out There,” Amy Spindler argues that more middle-aged men are making a conscious effort to look younger. She continues that men are spending a significant amount of money on gym memberships, anti-aging resources, and even plastic surgery for more youthful looks. “Cosmetic surgeons emphasize the corporate advantage that a face-lift or tummy tuck will give the aging executive: ‘A youthful look,’ as one says, ‘gives the appearance of a more dynamic, charging individual who will go out and get the business” (210). Through this argument, we are reiterating how popular younger looking individuals have become. And although maintenance of beauty is typically associated with women, this article provides strong evidence on how male beauty is quickly becoming rediscovered. It adds much needed support to exemplify the entire argument on the increase of men being on display.

Bordo, Susan. "Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body". Ways of Reading an Anthology for

Writers. By Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. 9th ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 189-233. Print.

Spindler, Amy. “It’s a Face-Lifted, Tummy Tucked Jungle Out There.” nytimes.com. The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 9 June 1996. Web. 27 Oct. 2011

Susan Bordo

             In the New York Times article “It’s a Face-Lifted, Tummy Tucked Jungle Out There,” Amy Spindler argues that more middle-aged men are making a conscious effort to look younger. She continues that men are spending a significant amount of money on gym memberships, anti-aging resources, and even plastic surgery for more youthful looks. “Cosmetic surgeons emphasize the corporate advantage that a face-lift or tummy tuck will give the aging executive: ‘A youthful look,’ as one says, ‘gives the appearance of a more dynamic, charging individual who will go out and get the business” (210). Through this argument, we are reiterating how popular younger looking individuals have become. And although maintenance of beauty is typically associated with women, this article provides strong evidence on how male beauty is quickly becoming rediscovered. It adds much needed support to exemplify the entire argument on the increase of men being on display.

Bordo, Susan. "Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body". Ways of Reading an Anthology for

        Writers. By Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. 9th ed. Boston/New York:

         Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 189-233. Print.

Spindler, Amy. “It’s a Face-Lifted, Tummy Tucked Jungle Out There.” nytimes.com. The                                                                

New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 9 June 1996. Web. 27 Oct.

2011

David Foster Wallace

After reading David Foster Wallace’s Kenyon College speech, I consider it to be one of the best pieces of work I have come across. I like how Foster uses his own personal observation and experience to relay his message, which all commencement speeches should follow, rather than telling over-used stories with a moral lesson. This speech basically summarizes how I think on a daily basis; therefore, I am relieved that I am not the only one.

At one point in the piece, Foster discusses the reality of adult life. He adds “…I experience the boring, frustrating, crowded parts of adult life when I’m operating on the automatic, unconscious belief that I am the centre of the world.” I agree strongly with Foster’s argument that adult life is routine. For example, every day I wake up, go to class, go to practice, go eat, return for another practice, go eat, do homework, go to sleep, and start over the next day. However, he continues saying that college students are unaware of the “day in day out” lifestyle, which scares me for the future. Yet, I try to enjoy my young years as much as possible because I know that when I have a career, I am basically stuck doing the same thing for the rest of my life.

He then relates the “day in day out” lifestyle to his own experiences in the grocery store. He explains how many of us tend to think about ourselves only. We want the world to run our way in order for it to be perfect. Yet, if everyone thinks that way, we will get nowhere. I consider his main point in that argument is to consider others as well. He encourages us to look at things differently, and for us to learn how to pay attention to the other opportunities, which I feel we should all live by.

I consider this piece to have several similarities to Freire’s “Banking” Concept of Education. They both reiterate that we need to rely on our educations to be successful. However, I think more people would be able to relate to Foster because he tells us that we should not be self centered. He repeats that we never know what someone else is going through; therefore, we should consider all of the options. As a result, I believe Foster’s piece is the greatest advice we can live by because an education can only take us so far.

The "Banking" Concept of Education

In most schools, students leave without remembering much that was taught. Teachers ask the students to memorize facts and take a test on that material, which causes many students to forget what they learned after the exams. I personally believe that my entire academic career until now was a part of the “banking” concept Paulo Freire refers to.

At one point in the piece, Freire states “…problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why,” (Freire 328). Through this quote, the reader is able to conclude that Paulo Freire condemns the “banking” concept of education because of its burden. It hinders students from being creative, and having the opportunity to truly learn.

I found that quote to be powerful; it reminded me of Physics teacher. During my senior year of high school, he would always tell us to “see the significance of things or we would end up frozen and dead alongside a river.” We never understood what he meant by that, so we would just smile and nod. However, as the year progressed, we started recognizing what he meant. He believed that the only way to truly learn was to see the significance of things, which could only be achieved through imagination. And without imagination, we would end up frozen and dead alongside the river of life. So in order to accomplish that, we had to be willing to ask “Why,” which I believe could represent this specific concept of Freire.