When I attended the talk by David Simon, the creator of the famous show The Wire, I was very surprised and taken back by how Simon presented his ideas. Instead of talking about the show, the background work done on the show, and relating that to what Baltimore is like, he was completely cynical; Simon basically told his audience that they are all worth less in this society today, and that the world is almost coming to an end.
David Simon stressed how the world needs a lot of fixing up. Simon presented the idea that all people care about is power and profit, so much so that poverty is almost being recognized as middle class. The rich are getting much, much richer. Simon said this is a period where there is a “triumph of greed.” Also, he explained how the “expectations of basic institutions are being minimized” and that failure is almost being regarded as success. He said that a lot of questions in today’s societies leave people hanging. For instance, we tell the children of America to say “no” to drugs, but then what should they say “yes” too? Overall, David Simon does not have a lot of faith in our nation. He really believes that the world needs a lot of improvement, and if things do not change, soon the cities will be completely isolated from the rest of the country and undoubtedly ruin our nation.
Personally, I do believe that people need to change their behaviors and begin to praise the right morale (which Simon stressed). He talked about how we are responsible for our behavior right now, and how that will affect the world’s future (however, he did not give any intentions or guidance to what our generation should do/accomplish). I would not go as far to the extent as Simon did, but the world needs some definitely improvement. People are doing more and more harmful things to the people around them and to the earth, and things need to change. Moreover, people need to have hope that things will change.
Revenge and punishment are becoming too much a part of our society. Revenge is becoming something that is purely accomplished for greed which Simon expressed is becoming the center of our society. Revenge can also be a mechanism to make one’s self feel better. Punishment varies, being from criminal policy (a good thing) but also being punished in a way that is immoral; people are punished for expressing themselves, and for being who they want to be. People are becoming less accepting in this world, and focusing more on who they are, and how everyone should be like them. Simon also discussed institutions, and how implementing ideas on the people of America might not always be the best idea – Simon can “find something wrong about every institution.”
Furthermore, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe and “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning both reflect the idea of people just pursuing and doing terrible things. These characters do awful things that make as a whole society worse, because it shows what terrible things people are capable of. In some sense, these works show why some people do not have hope, as David Simon does not. “America” by Tony Hoagland shows these terrible things in a different light, he shows the whole picture. He describes the world almost as a dirty place to live due to greed and people neglecting to praise the right ideas. And lastly, “Ode to American English” by Barbara Hamby is the piece that is different than all the others. This is a light-hearted, optimistic work, showing America in not such a terrible light.
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a piece about revenge due to a family motto. The main character, Montresor, seeks revenge on Fortunato because of some insult he has caused. Montresor tricks Fortunato to come search for this cask with him, so much so that he locks him up and leaves him to die. Now why, the reader may ask, does someone kill someone because he has been insulted? As Simon stressed, people are doing things for the wrong reasons – for pride. Montresor had no reason to kill Fortuanto, for what he did can be seen as almost evil. Getting a man drunk and leaving him underground to waste is a terrible, heartless thing. Montresor just shows what a person in society is capable of. People should not be able to live with themselves after committing such a thing. However, Montresor can, which shows how terrible people can really be.
“My Last Duchess” is also a story due to too much pride, expressing the idea of what evil people can commit in our society. The speaker’s wife is now deceased, but the question that is raised in the beginning of this poem is “why?” The speaker’s dead wide seems to have flirted or maybe even had affairs with other men. He says, “she thank men…I know not how”(31). The speaker felt as though she did not appreciate his “name” or being married to him. The reader can tell he was angered by this, and insulted. Because of this feeling of anger, the speaker “gave commands; Then all smile stopped together”(45/46). This woman took the speaker’s pride away by not staying truthful, and because of it, he got rid of her. Why is a man in society so angry about his pride that he needs to have his wife murdered? This is another instance of what humans are capable of. It can almost be seen in a light that is pure evil. There is no necessary step to take by ending someone’s life because she brings insult to a last name. As David Simon said, people are doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. This society has become all about yourself, and anyone that brings you down must be punished. In some sense, this idea of extreme pride or greed can be seen as ludicrous, and is negatively affecting our society.
“America” is another poem that looks at our society in a dim light. The entire poem criticizes the United States. First off, the very beginning of the poem describes a person that might be considered “different,” and how that person is condemned for not looking the same as everyone else. The speaker says people can be “captured and suffocated” in America due to its unaccepting nature. The poem then goes on to recognize the amount of stress people in America put on being wealthy, or having greed. Just as David Simon said, people today are all about power and profit. The speaker says, “…when I stabbed my father in the dream last night/ It was not blood but money(13-14).” American society is centered around money. Moreover, just as Simon addressed the future, the speaker talks about the “‘cries of the future’”(28). But the end of the poem is the most important part of all – it expressed stepping on people just to get to the top. Overall, this poem expresses unacceptance, greed, pride, and arrogance.These are all qualities or actions of people that need to stop in order for our nation to become a better place. This poem shows no hope for the future of America, which is the same way Simon expressed he feels.
“Ode to American English” is the only work that really has a different appeal. In the first line of the poem, the speaker is missing “English, American.” Never once, in the previous works, has there been any indication that America is even a good place to even be missed. Moreover, this poem uses quite a bit of rhyme and alliteration to give it an uplifting, almost childish feel. However, the reader can see some deviation of America being a good place to live. For example, the speaker says “the inability of 90% of the population to get the past perfect.” This poem does in fact somewhat attack the culture of America, but not in such a diligent, negative manner as the previous works.