Analysis Of The Book ' World Record Hot Dog Eaters '

In the book Freakonomics, written by economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubne, the authors go through different parts of modern life to show how economics describes why people act a certain way as well as the way specific outcomes occur. They look into different aspects of society and view them with different perspectives. With the use of specific data and the fundamentals of economics, the very obscure comparisons and the different chapters in the book show correlation between economics and human nature. The main point of this book is to explain a few fundamental ideas through the answers of strange questions and how they play a major role in society.

Many individuals will often experience the initial judgments of others due to their innate unconventional behaviour and actions. However, despite their strange, unfamiliar actions, they are able to embrace this individualistic nature that vastly differs from others. In the excerpt from The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean suggests that when individuals decide to embrace their eccentric beliefs and values, they are capable of instigating unexpected positive change within society and affect other people’s initial perception of them. Furthermore, because of their desire to retain their own unconventional behaviour rather than succumb to the mainstream society, the individual is capable of developing a unique, distinctive identity and earning the respect

1. The first chapter in the book is about the market and its inner workings. The book briefly explains the idea of supply and demand, in which the price of a certain good or service will reach the point where all the demand is equivalent to the supply. However, the value of something is not determined by its necessity, but its desire within society, as seen by the difference in cost between a diamond and life giving water. Markets operate as they do because people try to maximize the amount of utility for themselves. Nevertheless, a strict rationalism model cannot be used for predicting all the occurrences of a market because of the ever changing behavior of people; thus economists must take precautions against

In the United States, immigrants move to the U.S for various reasons in regards of their country origin, however culture can be still valuable to immigrants once they move. Hot Dogs and Wild Geese is a narrative story about Firoozeh Dumas, who’s family immigrated to the U.S while at the age of seven. Digging deeper into culture, it is rude in our family to not try new foods or even finish a meal completely.

The movie “A Bug’s Life” greatly portrays the way humans have interacted within various economic systems. It resembles the old traditional economies like imperialism, modern market capitalism and historical revolutions.

Also, there is such a thing called supply and demand, and the consumer chooses what is needed or wanted. This article also signified the evolution of the English economy of moving away of mercantilism capitalism. Both the articles had a significant impact on the societies of each state.

Oftentimes, in the public, people have to be “normal” to be successful and accepted. Author William Saroyan believes that society steers people to be conformed and fit in, but he wants people to be able to be diverse. In the short story “Gaston,” Saroyan shows that carving a unique path can turn out to be erroneous. Through symbolism and contrast, Saroyan conveys the theme that society does not always accept people’s differences.

Ana is a girl who followed trends and participated in activities the “cool kids” attended in high school. At first, she follows trends because an abundant amount of students claim it seems entertaining. However, that was not the case for her. Ana came to the conclusion that the activities were not amusing; she only followed trends because she thought it would create a popular reputation for herself. She decided to be unique and became determined to achieve what was best for herself. Such a follow-the-leader type situation is not uncommon in high school as it inhabits people to follow others’ actions to fit in. Fortunately, a person like Ana will always strive to be an individual and live the way he or she assumes is best. Unfortunately, a willingness to practice nonconformity such as Ana’s takes time to develop, and other individuals in society frequently then overlook their freedoms and are commonly unaware of living in censored communities. In this type of restrained community, people follow laws blindly and shield themselves from reality. Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 to protest such societal censorship depicts Guy Montag as an evolving deviant, rebellious protagonist.

However, Levitt, in the introduction of Freakonomics, declares economics to be a simple “science of measurement” depicting reality compared to and distinct from morality considered as ideals or utopias of that reality. In my opinion this statement underestimates the significance of economic theory in today’s world, is generalised and insufficient. Economic theory and measurements have strong implications, e.g. for the perception of national welfare, and consequently policies and regulations of a country which attributes to economics much more command than a mere supply of information. Furthermore, reality can hardly be described only by numbers since feelings and morality as foundations of our values and beliefs take a large and decisive part in life and our decisions, but can hardly be measured as such. Even the economic system of exchange is not only based on efficiency and quantitative terms but indeed on moral-based conduct as well. Overall, I consider explaining the world by mere measurements and a collection of factual data too simplistic.

Throughout the novel Freak the Mighty author Rodman Philbrick creates a compelling story featuring the main characters, Maxwell “Max” Kane and Kevin Dillon, better known as Freak, who go through a journey testing their friendship and loyalty to each other against the forces of evil in life. Max has not had it easy, with his mother being murdered by his father Kenny “Killer” Kane, and he has “never had a brain” (Philbrick 1). These actions and thoughts have left him with no friends and immense grief. Freak has also had a fairly lonely life, being two feet tall with extraordinary intelligence leaving him an outcast. Even into adulthood, people like to isolate others due to appearance or behavior. Loretta Lee, a woman the boys meet on a quest and also an old friend of Kenny Kane, is a perfect example, as she is judged by her looks and the way she can act. Despite their looks or behavior, all of these characters have the best intentions and enormous hearts, and are living a quality life, proving that just because someone is different, does not mean they are not of the same worth as everyone else.

The author, Leslie Fiedler writes about the differences in what it means to be normal. She discusses this in a professional manner that opens eyes to what we have disguised and even been ashamed of. “The Tyranny of the Normal,” we learn much about what we perceive as abnormal and what society seems to portray normal as. We discover what we believe is normal and also what has changed through-out the history of this subject. Our minds are opened and exposed to the world of abnormalities and how we see them.

One topic subject to never-ending debate that is reviewed, revised, then and disputed among scholars, is the market and the economy. In the book, "The Mind and The Market" by Jerry Muller (2002), he discusses the different viewpoints of scholars about capitalism in the market and the influence society holds on it. This writing is comprised of summaries of several reviews from a variety of authors, which will include their viewpoints, their criticism, and an overall review from Muller 's work. These authors include Brian Fox, Patrick Murray, Charles Tilly, and Fritz Ringer. Each author originates from respected and prestigious journals from different universities, programs, and other education systems. All intellectuals are experts in their field of study with a background in either philosophy, history, or economy, making their viewpoints meaningful, insightful, and relevant. Following the summary of each review will be a comparison and contrasting piece, continuing into an evaluation addressing if they captured the book in an appropriate way. Concluding the essay will have an input of my own personal review of the book. As shown, the reviews vary with their personal opinions regarding the positives and negatives of Muller 's work.

Do you fit into the standards of society? What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you really know who you are? Margaret Atwood puts these questions at our feet in her short stories “Scarlet Ibis”, which is a work that shows a wealthy family on vacation and Christine, the mother and wife, thinks she is being looked at under a microscope by everyone around her and “Lusus Naturae”, which portrays a young girl that seemingly has a disease, Porphyria, but she could also be a vampire, she is kept at arms length with her family and others, only to be kept in seclusion, she is described as a “freak of nature”. What both of these stories have in common is societies expectations and views on what is “normal” and how the self- degrading reflections the characters see make them criticize and internalize who they are in catastrophic ways. Atwood masterfully uses characterization and symbolism to show the destructive standards that society has and those who stand on the outside attribute their lack of acceptance and identity on who they are and not to the outside world.

The non-traditional text that I will be using is an article from the Economist and it talks about crony capitalism. The news magazine, is highly respected; and it will be an interesting to analyze the producer, it’s distribution and the consumer since it has a wide range of individuals that are interested in capital in and of itself

The modern society has evolved, and it views many problems arising nowadays as not problematic anymore. However, even though the society and the people have got through some change, many issues concerning the social life of every person still remain unsolved. One of such issues in the modern life is the perception of the world through a usual prism and inability of the people to seek for other perspectives and to recognize other lifestyles. This is attributed to the fact that people tend to be inclined to use stereotypes and to build their perception of the world on them. With regard to the mentioned social issues, the essay “Superman and Me” by Alexie Sherman and the article “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner raise similar themes and express