I was reading back over some of the Noon Wine postings and found the one, Keeping Up Appearances posted by Chelsea Oaks. She asks several questions about why it is so important to keep up appearances with the neighbors. For me the answer is found in two places.
The first is in the class system in the United States. We live in a stratified capitalist system. Our power and status is linked closely with the what we own and what we have. The more we have becomes a symbol as to how much income we are entitled to, and the more income we are entitled to, the more status and power we have. There seems to be a common fear to be the person at the bottom of the rung, as long as there is someone beneath you are at least higher than that person. Another common trend now is debt, the idea of play now and pay later. It has become "easier" for individuals to keep up appearances, and to keep up with the Jones' to say, by piling on more and more debt.
The second comes, I believe, through the dichotomy between the self and other. George Herbert Mead talks about the implications of the self as viewed through the eyes of the other, (it is the difference between the me and the I). In order for the self to understand the I, the part of the self that takes upon it the judgements of others, the social context of the self must be evaluated. So for the self to be fulfilled in terms of the I, the view of others must be a good one. It is through the moral obligations and values imposed by the culture that the sense of "good" comes. Maybe, that is why Mr. Thompson kills himself. There is an alienation between the me and the I. The me, of Mr. Thompson, does not believe that the I has been accepted in the community, and the only way to create this acceptance is through the act of taking his own life, to prove his innocence.
Tags: Brittni Traynor, classes, Noon Wine, response, self
1 Comment:
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- Chels said...
April 6, 2008 at 5:01 PMI still wonder why Mr. Thompson thinks that the only way (or perhaps just the best way) to prove his innocence is through suicide. I agree with you on the motives for wanting to prove innocence because I agree that he wants to show that he should still be a part of the community. But I still wonder why it is through suicide that he hopes to accomplish this. Is it just that this is an act with such finality that no one can try to contradict his final words (at least to his face)?
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