Analysis Of Modern Friendships, By Phillip Lopate

The traditional idea of American friendship has evolved drastically over time. In this age, no longer do you see the close group of friends chatting at the ‘Central Perk Café’ or engaging in many misadventures in the basement of Foreman’s house, such as they did in ‘That 70’s Show’. The aged image of a group of friends and their wise, perceptive teacher, Mr. Feeney, happily standing in the halls of John Quincy Adams middle school is fading out. This overused 1970’s-1990’s idea of friendship no longer applies to most American friendships today because our culture has swayed into a more modern viewpoint, due to the

In All Kinds of Friends by Judith Viorst, she explains how there is six type of friends: Convenience friends, Special-interest friends, Historical friends, Cross-generational friends, and Close friends. The one friendship that I can relate to the most would be to a close friend. The one person that I consider to be a close friend would be a tiny little Asian named Brittney. We met during our junior year of high school. How we came to be friends was through a basketball teammate that introduce us while we were hanging out.

In “The Limits of Friendship” by Maria Konnikova, social media has significantly changed the way we interact with friends and family. Everybody thinks that using social media is the best way to talk to friends and family, however, in my opinion, they are wrong because it doesn’t give you the face-to-face connections we need as humans for social interaction. On the other hand, the great thing about using social media is you can connect with more people, but in a superficial kind of way. Therefore, we do not get the face-to-face interactions with our friends and family. We, the people that are addicted to social media, learn that without face-to-face conversations we wouldn’t have a normal “social” life outside of social media. The question

“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, that is a last drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindness there is at last one which makes the heart run over” (Bradbury, 71)

Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the contribution of an ethnographic approach to research on friendship. I will be looking at, and including evidence to support both sides of the argument as to whether or not this research method is in fact useful when it comes to gaining knowledge about friendship. As well as evaluating this method, I will compare it against others to reflect on the strengths, weaknesses and the typical data collected. I will look at some of the questions about friendship that have been addressed, and then whether this is the best method or if there are others that could have been more suitable.

From humanity comes friendship, but friendship may not be as one-dimensional and simplistic as the common person believes it to be- it may not stop at the surface level. In David Whyte’s book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, he writes on friendship, exposing the true facets of an authentic friendship that oftentimes are overlooked by many people. In Whyte’s opinion, friendship is an eternal experience, or at least an experience in which people take part over an extended period of time. The need for continuous support and forgiveness from and for both parties in a friendship presupposes this prolonged temporality. Naturally, as friendships take constant conscious effort, they require interest

Friendship is something most people have experienced, but there is an uncertain path the two friends will follow into the building or demise of their relationship. Maintaining a good relationship is something that is very hard to do, as there is likely to be many mental obstacles to avoid. This element in friend relationships is shown all throughout the book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. One of the main messages that is relayed in the book is that friendship is a delicate element that requires care to maintain and that the competition and jealousy in the relationship can really impact the future friendship.

In “Friendship in an Age of Economics” by Todd May, friendship is defined as different types of relationships. Todd May starts the article off with a story of him being in the hospital. A friend of his had come by and sat with him for some time. May then goes into the different types of relationships and friendships. He finishes off the article with this quote, “To be able to sit by the bed of another, watching him sleep, waiting for nothing else, is to understand where else we might be”. This quote is very meaningful because it reflects on one of the true meanings of friendship. You should be able to be with that person regardless of the situation, you should always be there for your friend, and supporting

Life’s friendships are an integral aspect of everyone’s daily routines. Some are waning, some lasting and others, the chance meeting of two strangers, like ships passing in the night. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men were written about fifty years apart, nonetheless, the two friendships expressed by the two have components that make for strong friendships. The character pairs of Huck and Jim, and George and Lennie, have the qualities that make long lasting friendships. By comparing and contrasting their friendships, the pair which shared the strongest bonds can be determined.

One can see many different themes of friendship throughout Chaim Potoks book, The Chosen. For example, Reuven and Danny have a ‘classic friendship,’ while Reuven has a silent friendship with his father. Furthermore, Reuven has a father-son friendship with his dad at first, but later it changes into a ‘friend-friend’ friendship, where they are no longer in the classic state, in which the father guides and teaches the son; but that they guide each other. Three different types of friendship display themselves in these characters, Danny and Reuven, Reuven and Mr. Malter and Danny and Reb Saunders. The differences between these types of friendships are quite vast, and one must look at the type of interaction and the people involved when analyzing them. For the people one must look at the roles they play on society, and for the interactions one must identify a superior and observe the nature of the friendship.

The novel Friends in High Places by Toni DeMaio evolves around the importance of family, forgiveness, and love. Angelica Donovan was a successful model that seemed to have everything. However, she held on tightly to a horrible incident that took place in her childhood and it kept her from ever experiencing true love as an adult. Then a month before her thirty-fifth birthday, she suddenly dies from a heart condition in her sleep. After visiting loved ones who have passed in Heaven, she is given the task to spiritually guide three souls on Earth.

he few studies of friendship conducted between the 1950s and 1970s (Reina 1959; Paine 1974; Gilmore 1975) emphasized the instrumental functions of friends and their structural significance. Analyses of social networks (e.g. friends, patrons and clients) in urban centres (cf. Whyte 1955; Boissevain 1974) also attempted to uncover a structured form for urban relationships. Instrumentality, or the exchange of practical and emotional support between friends, was the chief aspect of friendship emphasized by functionalism. But this is only one of the possible characteristics of friends. Above all, friendship is often perceived and valued as an affective and voluntary relationship, in which sociability and equality between friends are stressed. Although

So the social structures, divisions and agencies which underpin society influence friendships. Analysis has identified many different types and formations of friendship of varying degrees of intimacy. Perhaps the key to understanding friendship is to understand that different friendships thrive in accordance with the different needs of each person, and that finding a person who or a friendship which meets personal expectations is where the relevance lies. A ‘symbolic interactionist’ sociological approach to future research would ascertain how that understanding between two people is reached. So, friendship exists within the social and economic context in which it was formed, and if this context alters, so does the nature of the friendship. The way in which humans manage and create friendships reacts to changes and evolves in order to sustain itself as part of the human condition. This is evidence of the value and necessity of human connection, be it friends or family, to the life experience. Studying friendship provides knowledge of social developments and changes. This is valuable in understanding human interaction and future policy within health and

In life there are many changes that can cause a true friendship to go wary such as marriage, divorce, birth of children, new careers, and sickness. However, through each of those events the two must remember to keep the intimacy, the letting down of emotional barriers and the expression of innermost thoughts and feelings, “that which makes friendships thrive must be an enjoyable one” and to “always interact” (Karbo 3). Although psychologists continue to research the formation of friendships the great philosopher Aristotle knew exactly how friendships formed and how the lasted.

“No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world (Aristotle).” Humans are social beings, social beyond any other creature in the world. Human interaction is a must for survival. It is in our nature. Aristotle understood this, he even had his own analysis of friendship. In the Nicomachean Ethics written by Aristotle, books VIII and IX are based off of friendship. Today, the definition of a friend is, “A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations (Oxford Dictionary).” To Aristotle, friendship is much more than this. In this research paper, I will evaluate whether or not Aristotle’s analysis of friendship is applicable to the modern world.