1. What is the “captive supply” of cattle? How do the meat packers and cattlemen differ on their value and purpose?
The "captive supply" of cattle are cattle that are either maintained in company-owned feedlots or purchased in advance through forward contracts (pg. 138). Cattlemen don't really know the true worth of their cattle. Meat packers claim that they need to have their own stock of cattle to keep everything running smoothly. They also need them incase there is a crisis, like wide-spread disease.
2. What does Schlosser mean when he says “Ranchers and cowboys have long been the central icons of the American West”(136)? What is an icon? What is the icon of the American East? Of Baltimore?
Schlosser means that cowboys and ranchers represent individualism and freedom from the restrain of mainstream society. They live freely and independently because they need do things for themselves. For example, hunt, fish, and raise their own cattle. An icon is a symbol of something important; it represents something. An icon of the American East is big business owners and entreprenuers like Rockefeller. An icon of Baltimore could be Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens.
3. What does David Foster Wallace mean when he says, “Our own present culture has harnessed these forces [fear and contempt and frustration and craving and worship of self] in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom”(363)? Include in your answer an example of something you worship.
David Foster Wallace means that people have a fear of the need to succeed and they're driven by that fear. People try to work hard because they're afraid of failure. They continuously try to improve and are never satisfied with their lives. People worship themselves (physical fitness), they are always worried about how they feel imperfect and they could always look better. I feel like i could always do better with my grades.
4.David Foster Wallace says that the problem is “arrogance, blind certainty, a closed-mindedness that’s like an imprisonment so complete that the prisoner doesn’t even know he’s locked up”(357). Can you explain what DFW means by this? And can you find an example in your life? In our American life?
People aren't open to new ideas because they are so set on their own. An example is politics: people don't want to try someone else's idea because they're convinced their own are best and someone else's won't benefit them.
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Group 3: Reading Quiz 6
1) Our answer as to what captive supply is was very similar to the lead group's, with the addition that we think the industry uses the captive supply to control the market.
One difference we noted between the meat packers and the cattlemen is that the cattlemen only run cattle, while the meat packers might have additional sources of income. Also, we had the impression that the cattlemen have more concern for the condition of the land, since they will eventually hand it down to their heirs, than the meat packers, who are most interested in making a profit.
2) Our answer to this question was different from the lead group's; we believe that Schlosser meant that when you think of the West, one of the first things that comes to peoples' minds is a cowboy.
The definition of an icon that our group used was an image or idea that represents the general population's view of something; it can be very similar to a stereotype.
Our icon of the American East is a big city scene.
Our icon for Baltimore is the blue crab.
3) Again, our answer to this question was very different from the lead group's. We believe that David Foster Wallace meant that the majority of our society no longer follows the traditional Christian ideals of caring for others more than yourself. Also, our culture no longer looks down on a "me first" attitude.
4) Our group felt that David Foster Wallace meant that our society has an unconscious focus on negativity, that leads us through an endless downward spiral.
An example of this in American life is our habit of driving through fast food windows in a search for speed, even though we know that we lose quality.
An example of this in our lives is spending time on the Internet talking to others because of its convenience, instead of pursuing human contact by going out and actually seeing people.
Group 2-Reading Quiz 6
1)Our group agrees with the leading group as well as the addition in group 3, that a captive supply of cattle is a means of acheiving a greater effiency, not controlling cattle prices(p. 142) Pretty much back-up cattle in an emergency measure.
The number of head kept by the meatpacking industry is a sort of “insurance policy”-- if the number of cattle in the channel suddenly drops (if, for example, thousands were to die due to flooding), than the “captive” stock can be used to supplement and keep supply, and therefore prices, stabilized. Cattlemen see this is a means to fix prices and keep them low, while packers argue that the stabilization of the supply is their only intent.
2)Our group differs from the lead group, as we said that an icon is a physical representation of an idea. By this Schlosser means that most people would think of cowboys if asked to describe the American West, or the cowboy hats.
The American East would be represented by coal miners, if we’re keeping up the “salt of the earth” symbology.
Baltimore represented by Edgar Allen Poe.
3)Our group agrees with the leading group for this question. We think that since the commencement speech by Mr. Wallace was given in 2005, it’s influenced in part by the effects of post-9/11 American politics; particularly his references to fear and contempt. Those two emotions particularly have been wielded by various political factions to steer the attitudes of the American people in the period immediately after the attack. Also, the American fascination with wealth and celebrity have caused the majority of us to seek greater success and prosperity, both materially and emotionally, than our parents and their parents before them. Our example of something we worship is electronics. Technology is advancing increasingly everyday, and lust after each new product is typical of the way some people lust after a new car.
4) Our group's ideas are similar to the leading group's in a way-- that in America there are many obvious examples of blindness or arrogance that imprison us, such as race relations, gender equality in the working world. But we aren’t even aware of these things half the time unless they are pointed out to us. An example would be the selfish pursuit of success that each of us exhibits to greater or lesser extent, that prevents us from identifying and empathizing with our peers.
Group 1: Reading Quiz 6
1) Our groups answer to the "captive suppy" was the same. We had also addded that meat packers were used to kill and distribute the meat to the companies. The cattlemen were to raise and help the development of cattle. The cattlemen were the keeper of the profit and threfore made little on their own.
2) In our answer to how cowboys and ranchers were icons we had also mentioned that people and little children looked up and admired cowboys and their lifestyle. Our group also added more to the definition of icon. We had mentioned that this also involves something or someone being the object of great attention and devotion. John Waters or Michael Phelps could be considered an icon of Baltimore. Right now Michael Phelps is definitely a center of attention.
3)We agree with the explaination of the David Foster Wallace qoute. Another form of worship could be your future. Many People obsess about their possibility of happiness and success in their future: big house, lots of money, perfect family etc. Also our group came up with the worship of pleasing others and tangible things.
4) Our group's ideas were similar to the leading group's in the explaination of the quote. In American life we also can see that through any kind of prejudice, atheism and religion, self-centerdness (human instinct), and hunting (killing animals for the fun of it because we're more intelligent therefore it is our "right"), there is blindness and arrogance .
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