The Psychological Costs of Societal Ideals in The Glass Menagerie

So many people today are still in this error of what success is. Having a lot of money, houses, cars, etc, is a good thing but it is just an aspect of success. You can have all the above mentioned items and more but you are not close to being successful. On the other side, you may not even have a dime in your bank account and yet you are successful.

Another area many people tend to aim to be successful in is the concept of the American Dream. It is thought that if you live in America you need to fulfill the goal of achieving the American Dream and if it is not achieved or not meant to be achieved then the life lived has been a failure. Older generations and even present generations want the younger generations to get good grades, have a ‘successful’ college life, get a professional job, get married, have kids, and buy a big, just because that is normal to everyone but some may choose to live their life not as vanilla. William Zinsser talks about how everyone just follows the social norm in order to be seen as successful, “Our advertisements and TV commercials are a hymn to material success, our magazines articles a toast to people who made it to the top... He is our national idol, and everybody else is our national fink” (Zinsser 601). Becoming a specific type of successful is being pushed onto teenagers who are still struggling to find out who they are and what they want to do. They may want to figure out a different way to become successful in their own independent way.

We as human beings all strive for success. We use success as a measure of everyday life.

Ever since the existence of civilization, a fine boundary exists between human’s self-motivation and the expectation of social mechanism. As society progresses, this boundary is being gradually pushed against the will of individuals and favors the social construct. Unlike how people in the past were often inspired by their individual desires and goals, members of the new generation develop a perception of success that is heavily bounded by society’s expectations. Nonetheless, there are still individuals who are also motivated by their own values and dreams. These people are willing to step outside of the realm of ‘standard success’ and strive for what constitutes as success in their opinion. The following texts- “Project Classroom

Before success, there is always a process in which you first start with. Many people start after acknowledging a moment in their life that motivates them to do more. Many of these successful people come from a variety of unique backgrounds and a lot of them from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as poverty, a single-parents’ household, or even abusive parents. These causes, however do more than inspire themselves, but others who see their success story. This results in a way where it gives people a change of mindset to prove those people wrong and move on from that disadvantaged background. Another thing that can come from this is the support of others and being able to create new and healthy relationships with others who would help lead them to success. I see

Many people seem to think that successful people possess extraordinary qualities that set them apart from the rest. It is little known that their “[…] success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky-but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all" (285) just normal human beings who are given extra tools to work with. These tools are the components to success. Three of these components are putting in ten thousand hours of practice, having negotiation and communication skills, and being in the right place at the right time. With these components, an extraordinary person is born out of an

In a perfect world, we would all be successful from the first day of school. However, such a perfect world does not exist within our reality. For most of us, success is determined not by how well we start the race of life, but how well we get back up when we fall over. Through failure and redemption comes wisdom. That wisdom is what makes my stepfather Ryan Mclean, a networker for Broadband, a success. When asked how he evaluated success he responded, “success is determined by how happy you are and how little you have to worry. If you can survive without a struggle and can find happiness in what you are doing, then you are successful”. What is interesting about Mr. Mclean’s view on success is how it is applicable to any economic group. A wealthy

“In our competitive society, stress is placed on personal achievement. This is measured by accomplishments, such as economic ones. Success emphasizes rewards. Success is involved with activity; failure is often assigned to character defects. success is often equated with bigness and newness.” Achievement and success drive the modern day American. America is a place where success can be grasped but not by everyone. This is why success and achievement do not accurately describe American society.

These similarities, while sometimes bringing the two together, also make their disagreements more intense. The pressure Laura’s mother puts on her to be just like every other girl has had an negative impact on her growth as a person. By refusing to acknowledge Laura’s personal and physical issues, Amanda has installed a lack of confidence and an inferiority complex in her daughter. These issues have hindered Laura’s social skills, as well as caused her to frequently detach herself from reality to escape her problems. Laura’s relationship with her mother has had an obvious negative impact on her evolution as an individual.

One’s success depends on their desire and ambition to accomplish their goals. Ambition is a powerful force, that determines the capability of an individual. Success can be defined differently for every individual being that everyone wants to be successful at different things, for me, success means accomplishing something that I have set my mind to. As suggested in Bob Hicok’s poem Prodigal, individuals are capable of anything their ambitions allow, regardless of their so called starting point. This notion is what gives myself, and others hope in living the best version of life.

Success and the American Dream are largely intertwined, but success cannot be used as a standard among all people striving for the American Dream. Success is personal; what one might consider to be a success another might see it as another typical day. A person’s definition of success is also largely incorporated into their social class and economic standings. If the root of the American Dream is ultimately to achieve success in one’s own life, then it is also up to the individual to define their own success. With this said, every American can achieve the American Dream if they are reasonable and set their idea of success at an obtainable goal. If this is truly the case, then

Ironically, society views success as the amount of money you have or expensive belongings you own, most even go as far as to say success is what job you have or the type of house you live in, or car you drive. Sandra Kappes my mother, and a customer service worker for Altron magnetics, however, is successful not only because of her gentle, caring personality and where she is today but because of what got her to where she is today. When asked if Ms. Kappes viewed herself as successful she stated: “Yes, it wasn’t easy raising two kids by myself while holding down multiple jobs”. Undoubtedly, Ms. Kappes’s view of success is not based on

The dread of doing well in life is rooted deep in the unconscious. Nobody deliberately sets out to wreck his or her own career. And people are so adept at rationalizing their own mistakes, or misinterpreting those of others, that fear of success can be hard to distinguish from; incompetence, arrogance, inattention, burnout, or any of the 101 other gremlins that can send a career into a tailspin. Often fear of success shows up in the exceptionally talented as a long pattern of underachievement, of clubbing along in the same old rut. James O'Connell, a psychologist says "People who have an unconscious fear of success won't set ambitious goals for themselves, so they achieve far less than they're capable of and this is the tragedy of it, because ultimately it stops people from getting what they really want or even from asking for help. Psychologists have been studying the unconscious fear

Success does not come easily. A person will have to use his full potential to achieve his goal. I grew up in the city of Memphis, Tennessee where many young adults around my age are afraid to use their full potential. When a person does not use their full potential, he could forfeit opportunities towards him. For example, a boy is studying hard for his upcoming test. He becomes familiar with all of the information that he needs to know for the test; Although, he did not try his very best

I've always been fascinated with success. Not just how you get it and what it means, but also the age old question can you have it all? Achieving success can be a complicated process or an easy one depending on what one chooses to pursue. We all have different definitions of success, for some of us it means academics, wealth, happiness, or health. This topic interests me in particular because it is something we can all get into common grounds with. No matter who you are or what you do the pursuit of success is the thing that makes you get up early in the morning and stay up late at night. I have always wondered what people did to succeed and what drove them to get past hard times. The reason I am curious to find out more about this is because