Final Exam Prompts
Choose ONE topic and write an essy (700-1000 words) in response to that prompt.
http://salvoblue.homestead.com/slowdown.html
I argue that our modern lives, perhaps especially here in America, are so busy and stressed that we have little time or energy left over for social interaction with friends, or even with family.
I also believe, though, that Americans are over-focused on the sort of entertainment that involves listening to or watching something, rather than interacting directly with other people. If you are American, do you ever find yourself ignoring or avoiding the people in your life either because you are too busy or because you don’t want them interfering with your entertainment choices? If you are an international student, have you noticed yourself getting sucked into this pattern of behavior since coming to America—i.e., being to busy or preoccupied to give your friends the sort of time and attention you gave them when you were in your own country? Even if you American or international students feel that you have not allowed yourself to become distanced from friends, do you notice this in other people, especially those you try to have conversations or quality interactions with? Use specific examples to illustrate your points. (Tell “stories”!)
2. American students (and international students, too, if this applies to you): Since I have mentioned it, have you noticed that when you are with friends you spend more time doing things that require little in the way of real conversation? Remember the story I told you about my son (when he was 20), who said that after about 5 minutes, he and his friends ran out of things to talk about, and that is why they drank when they got together. Do your social activities with friends revolve around deep conversation, or do you mostly watch things (games, sports, movies, TV shows, etc.) or go to bars and clubs where drinking and loud music limit the possibilities for conversation? If you and your friends are deep conversationalists, do you notice the difference between the way you and your friends interact and the way your age cohorts in general interact? Use specific examples to illustrate your points. (Tell “stories”!)
3. If you are an American, do you agree with my claim that American lives in general (not necessarily yours or the lives of those you are close to, because there are always exceptions to general observations) are too busy to allow for the developing and nurturing of close personal friendships—and that this goes back to the way American kids are constantly scheduled in organized sports and activities rather than being allowed to play around in their own neighborhoods with children who live close to them? If not, offer clear arguments against that claim, with specific examples to support your arguments. If you do agree, offer specific examples from your own experience and observations to help support the claim. (Tell “stories”!)
4. Many international students think that Americans students are not very friendly, even though they might seem to be friendly at first. Do you think that American students tend to form shallow friendships, as international students often think they do? If so, what do you think causes that tendency? If not, how do you account for the sense that international students get that American students don’t establish or maintain deep friendships. (Do you think that perhaps American students are just stand-offish with international students? If so, why do you think that might be the case?) BTW, it is probably not irrelevant that Jane is an international student.
5. I once enraged a class full of 101 students by saying that Americans don’t know how to form and maintain real friendships. My point was that American friendships tend to be based on doing things together that do not allow for real conversation, and also on the fact that American friendships are made transient by the fact that we are so mobile. We form shallow friendships in a hurry, and let them fade away fairly easily as we move on geographically and personally. What do you think about my claim? If you agree with me, do you necessarily think that such shallow, transient friendships are a problem? Why or why not?
6. What aspects of American culture do you think might get in the way of children’s developing the ability to form close personal relationships and to do the “work” necessary to maintain them.
7. In the essay “Got No Time for You,” I am implying that Jane was the one who was in the right, and that my inability to find time for her (and the annoyance I feel when she interrupted me when I was doing other things) was the real problem. Do you find that the pressures of modern life prevent you from finding quality time to spend with your friends and family? Do you think that many other people that you know have this problem? Has this always been a problem, or is it something that just started when you came to college? Consider the situation of finding it hard to find time for friends and family. What seems to be the underlying cause of this problem, and what do you think might be done about it—not necessarily just by individuals, but perhaps even as a matter of social change.
