<p>I seem to be worrying about a specific aspect of the essay. When I read the question, I did not think to include any historical or literary references since it was asking about modern society. Rather, I included three examples: cars, homes, and music players, talking about how success should not be marked by how nice their possessions are. Will I be okay for not including any other examples, and, what type of score will I be looking at if it was well-written?</p>
<p>I have the opposite issue. In search of literary/historical examples, I chose the Great Gatsby (reasonable, I think, since many CCers cited this as their example...) and, in desperation for a historical example, I discussed stagflation during the Carter Administration of the 1970s (Ah!). I said that because prices rose, Americans basically wanted to hop on the bagwagon and gain more; therefore, they purchased more, which only inflated the rates more, and caused widespread economic trouble. Their obsession with materialism, and lack of concern about "the big picture" shows why materialism should be criticized.</p>
<p>This example is definitely obscure. But will a readers see my point??!?? Perhaps, since this essay was a bit difficult to find an example for (all previously thought out historical examples basically had to be eliminated)...they will interpret my "stretched" example as worthy of some points? </p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>P.S. Sorry, ND/BC for not answering your question and just asking another...
personally, I think that if your examples supported your thesis, and it was well written, then your essay will be considered for a high score</p>
<p>want2bIvy, your historical example, if presented correctly, certainly applies.</p>
<p>United States historical examples included the Harding and Coolidge administrations with policies sympathetic to business interests, resulting in overspeculation and the subsequent Great Depression, the economic policies of the Carter and Reagan administrations, which raised inflation at a time in which people had money to spend, etc.</p>
<p>Literary examples included the Fitzgerald novels of the '20s, the Salinger novels of the '50s, the Arthur Miller plays [namely Death of a Salesman and All My Sons], Shakespeare, etc.</p>
<p>I used the cause of the Great Depression and Brett Ashley of The Sun Also Rises. My literary example was a great strech, as materialism was not a major theme of the novel. I cited that Brett was without love and ultimately unhappy with her life, despite her lavish possessions and trips, reasoning that she masks her discontent with alcohol.</p>
<p>Overall, I would say my essay is somewhat strong. The writing is there, but it is not as concise as I wanted, with some sentences in improper order.</p>
<p>how screwed am I if i only used fitzgerald's gatsby and lorraine hansberry's a raisin in the sun</p>
<p>i forgot about the overspeculating in the great depression :-(</p>
<p>I used the Great Gatsby and a (rather weak, but I made it sound like it related to the question =P) personal example. It was solid... not brilliant. But I was happy, because I didn't completely screw up my essay, at least. My ACT essay was much better, though... =(</p>
<p>I wanted to use raisin in the sun, but couldn't remember the author.....even though this probably wouldn't have mattered too much. PAHreen--all of the examples you listed seem very strong--did those come to you all during the test?</p>
<p>I screwed my essay up so badly. I have no idea what to expect there.</p>
<p>I wrote about Henry David Thoreau and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (about the character Janie never being fulfilled when she was married to the man who could provide her with more material possessions than anyone in their town). I had no idea what to write about, but I did my best to forge a connection to my thesis, which was basically that modern society does deserve to be criticized.</p>
<p>I didn't even finish my conclusion. I had a sentence and a half left to write. I'm really freaked out about it. :S</p>
<p>I thought of using all of those examples since I have read most notable Fitzgerald and Salinger novels and those Arthur Miller plays, but I haven't looked at them in over a year, so I went with a more familiar novel in The Sun Also Rises, which now seems like a mistake.</p>
<p>I find that historical examples are quite easy if you quickly review important aspects of United States history before the test.</p>
<p>The best examples are the short stories The Gift of the Magi and The Necklace, which I thought of, but I am currently unfamiliar with the character's names.</p>