Analysis of Modern Concepts in “Self in 1958” by Anne Sexton Sample

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Summary

The 1950s in America were marked by a strong emphasis on conformity and mass production, which led to a lack of individuality and self-expression. People bought standardized clothing and lived in nearly identical suburban homes, while household appliances and TV shows reinforced the image of the ideal American family. Celebrities became role models, but they were often corrupt and self-serving. The American Dream became an obsession, but it focused mainly on material wealth and happiness, ignoring the emotions and opinions of the average person. This led to a society where people were treated as objects to be used for personal gain, rather than as individuals with their own thoughts and feelings.

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The 1950’s were a clip when conformance was popular. sameness was stylish. and self-expression was discouraged. The new coevals of cooky cutter Americans bought mass-produced vesture from catalogues and at concatenation section shops. New suburban houses looked about indistinguishable to each other. Kitchens were full of advertised all-electric contraptions designed to ease the load of American housewives’ jobs around the place. Television spread the image of an all-American household around the state faster than of all time before. and viewing audiences tried to copy the lives of the fictional households. frequently locking off ideas and jobs of their ain to travel along with the popular deficiency of individualism.

“Self in 1958” describes how “fake” people with plastered on smilings go through life demoing no marks of injury. choler. or any other feelings but felicity. Everything was commercialized in the 1950’s. The American Dream became the compulsion of C transcript Ozzie-and-Harriett families. Meanwhile. Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe were doped up on cleft and prescription drugs. Rock Hudson – a major American sex symbol – was in secret a homosexual. Elizabeth Taylor was twisting apart matrimonies. and the future President of the United States was entertaining a different miss about every clip he left the house. Celebrities were the major function theoretical accounts of America. for they had achieved the American Dream. but were besides the most corrupt and self-seeking. If the American Dream was about money and felicity. so they had achieved half of it.

Basically. “Self in 1958” describes the commercialisation. conformance. and insignificance of the person in modern America. Thoughts. feelings. and emotions of the “average” American are overlooked. and people are frequently looked upon by higher members of society as playthings with which they may advance themselves on the societal ladder. with whose heads they can play with and model to believe whatever they like. and whose personal sentiments are moot and undistinguished.

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