Three Different Stories - Essay Example

Response to article Reading ‘Why I quit the company’ was an enlightening experience. To work for one of the most prestigious company is something most of the students dreams of, not only in China but in other countries too. To discover that the fulfillment of that dream may not, after all, prove to be satisfying is a fact difficult to believe. Reading the title, everybody would agree that the writer must be crazy to take such a step but as one reads through, the plight of writer, becomes clear. It makes us to seriously reconsider our dreams, are they really worth it? I didn’t know that the environment of the companies could be so depressing, so difficult and inflexible. The situation of the writer and his colleagues seemed like they had sold themselves, their freedom, their comfort, their opinion to the company in return for the fulfillment of their dreams. More appalling is the strategy utilized by the company in order to restrict the movement and the world of the employees by providing such facilities which appear to make their life convenient but in reality is a tool that lets the company control their lives. Next is the exploitation factor on behalf of the company, which takes full advantage of the social norm – ‘For leading a prestigious life, secure a place in the most prestigious firm’. Unlike the author, there are many who succumb to this illusionary idea of happiness, and try to make up for the long hours of working by indulging in wasteful and expensive activities like shopping, drinking etc. Also, in the enthusiasm to work well, the employees forget their sense of well being, and do not mind the extended working hours without extra pay. This inhuman treatment of the employees shows the unfair attitude of the company towards its employees which they accept due to lack of spiritual factors and the brain washing intentions of the company. The trap is laid by the company to catch the most intelligent and sharp brains and providing them with such facilities that they are left with little time to reflect on their condition. This demonstrates the ugly face of a seemingly beautiful reality. After reading about the writer’s experiences and this description of the companies’ policies, I am forced to think deeply about my dreams of joining a top company (which are not different from the writers’). This, article brings to light many facts which one may learn after or not learn for a long time even after joining the company. It reaffirms the idiom, “Not everything that glitters, is gold”. So, before joining the company, one must scrutinize the policies of the companies towards its employees, carefully and see that they are fair. Also, I learned from this experience of the writers’ that materialism is not the way to happiness and contentment, one must really ask himself what he really wishes and not follow the social norms blindly. The writer took the right step at the right time to improve his life, and was also successful in inspiring other novices, like me, to think. Response to article#2 The article ‘You’re short besides’ is about different attitudes of people from different cultural background towards handicapped people, and is effective in giving a positive direction to the reader’s attitude. This article uncovers the mentality and attitude of a handicapped person towards life and towards the world in general. This story of the writer written in her own words is inspiring in the sense that she, even though being a deformed person, is full of courage and optimism. But the role of her family members in her life cannot be overlooked. Her parents are both compassionate and understanding provided her full physical and moral support. They didn’t loose hope in their daughter and kept making efforts for her development and betterment. It was the combined effort of the writer and her family that made her progress in life. As a result, she was able to make the best use of her capability, becoming an outstanding teacher. I could never have thought that a person with some physical deformity could manage to live such a successful life, in both, personal and professional ways. But it seems very clear, after reading the article is all that matters in life is attitude, if a person has the right attitude his life can become very easy. The incident which she described that made her become immune to ridicule was remarkable, at the point when she fell in front of the audience; the most expected reaction from her was that she would loose confidence to face the audience ever again. If, I being a completely able person fell on the stage like that, I would be too embarrassed to continue my performance. But in her case, the mockery only fired her spirit and made her stand up and give a wonderful performance that led her to overcome all her fears and doubts. My view about the attitude that one must adopt towards the handicapped used to be that of a merciful nature. But after reading the article, I realized that these people also want to be treated as equals, they also aspire to be self-dependent. Over protecting nature of concerned persons can sometimes hinder their growth is a fact (as was the case when the writer’s former professor suggest her not to go for the teaching line) which I found to be both interesting and ironical. The writer’s super positive attitude towards her state makes her conclude that she is at least, better off when compared to people of same age when they grow old. Since, she had already dealt with the burdensome feeling of a limp body in the early childhood, so the old age’s physical pains did not hit her hard. Overall, the article was an eye-opener, and in my case, succeeded in changing my attitude towards life and towards handicaps. If a handicap person who has all the reasons in the world for not performing very well and be unenthusiastic can show such a spirit in life then well bodied people like us who get easily depressed and disappointed need to look upon them for inspiration. Response to ariclte#3 The article ‘Television: yes, America has a class system’, tries to affirm the fact that class system does exist in America and backs this argument using the instances from various sitcoms aired on the television and the kind of response they got. The various classes which it identifies like working class, middle class, rich class etc. are held responsible for the difference in behaviors, attitudes and preferences of the people belonging to them. I somehow, agree with this speculation, it’s true that a class structure based on economic status could be identified in the American society. I often observed my parents judging the level of sophistication of a family or in other words, class, by the kind of furniture they had, the car they owned, the locality where they resided. I follow this same practice, when trying to determine somebody’s status as well as do my friends. In my opinion, America now has a class system because America isn’t only inhabited by Americans but many other people who come from different cultural backgrounds. Latin Americans, Africans, Indians, Chinese, Italians, and many more now form a good part of American population. This diverse population consists of people with different values, different prospective, different lifestyles that has somewhat resulted in the categorization of people into various classes. Overall, the article was successful in highlighting the effects of various cultures on Americans leading to an unintentional building of a class system, which does not exist in theoretical terms but whose presence cannot be fully denied. But the class distinction here, in my opinion, is mostly based on differences in tastes, attitudes toward life, and the path (career) one chooses to follow in life. Read More