Equality of opportunity Essay

This essay deals with the topic equality of hazard by analysing Tom McAfees goldbrick story This is My Living way of life and the historical source Traditional American Values and Beliefs. This is My Living Room is analysed with a focus upon the I character and Traditional American Values and Beliefs is related to this analysis by supporting these conclusions with historical facts.This is My Living Room is about a firecracker surviving in long Springs, Alabama, who is telling about his life and his family. The I character is a stereotypical redneck he is Christian, he does not trust the law, he is independent, he love his guns etc. He might be intelligent, solely he is very one-sided, his way is the moreover right way, so he does not let it show. He is very determined on his way of living and has a disturbed way of thinking. He is compulsive by a fearless and at times illogical view of his surroundings, which makes his determined character appear arrogant and violent. He onl y trusts himself, which makes his relationship towards his family peculiar your own flesh and blood, will accentuate to draw over you, stomp you, steal from you, kill you if they can (This is My Living Room, paragraph 29). He is dominant and the only thing he c bes about is his store. He is uneducated, but still he has partaged to make a living for himself.The American value of equality of opportunity is basic whollyy an ethical rule it is about fair mutation and giving everybody a adventure. It is not in the meaning that everybody should be equal but more desire a festinate. Everyone has an equal chance to enter and win. You do not wee-wee a better chance because your parents are rich and you do not have a lower chance because of your race or religion. The concept of fair play is a very important aspect for the Americans. This belief was also denotative by the president Abraham Lincoln march 6, 1860 at New Haven, Connecticut We wish to allow the humblest man an equal chan ce to get rich with everybody else. When one starts poor, as most do in the race of life, free society is such that he knows he can better his conditions he knows that there is no fixed conditions of labor for his whole life. In the short story this aspect of fair play is shown in relation to his lack of education, but as he says I make more profitthan many people I know of (This is My Living Room, paragraph 19).The price you pay for this equality of opportunity is expiration which is a vital part of the American dream. So in order to win the race to advantage you must compete with others. Therefore many Americans think that it is every persons duty to try to succeed. In the short story we see this rivalry, when the I narrator tells Ezmo I give you the best prices in town (This is My Living Room, paragraph 37). But competition also leads to bad things in the story the redneck mentions that people are jealous of him. He has gained success Ive got as much business as I need (This is My Living Room, paragraph 19), and that without an education or notes.However this idea of equality of opportunity is just not possible. There will always be those with more money who gets an advantage, or those who drive people of a different race worth less. This aspect is also shown in the text perchance theyve got better houses and ride in finer cars, but maybe they didnt make all their money like I did. Honest. I aint earned a cent crooked. I didnt inherit my money. I worked for it. (This is My Living Room, paragraph 19).ained succese redneck mentions that people are jealous of him. h that he knows he can better his conditions he knows thatBut it is not only equality of opportunity and competition that is shown in the text, material wealth, hard work, individual freedom and self-reliance is also seen. The American values are often connected and by gaining one of them, you often gain all six. It is what holds America together we all share a common set of values that make us American. We are delineate by the rights we have. Our rights are our history, why the first European settlers came here and why millions more have come here since.