Critique of The American Dream
I think Michael Moore's documentary Roger and Me can be compared to Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' "The Silent Partner." Perley, the fiance of the owner of the mills visited a couple of poor families. The poor people in who visited, basically were in the same situation as the poor people in Flint, Michigan in Roger and Me. Maverick, the owner of the mills and can be compared to Roger Smith, because neither of them chose to listen to reason. Sip Garth's home was not a pleasurable place to live. It was described as "a damp house and she rents the dampest room in it; a tenement boasting of the width of the house, and a closet bedroom with a little cupboard window in it; a low room with cellar smells and river smells about it, and with gutter smells and drain smells and with unclassified smells of years settled and settling in its walls and ceiling."(Phelps, 534) Sip is poor; this home was all she could afford. She had to work and take care of her deaf sister Catty. Perley experienced first hand the conditions in which
Perley's fiance Maverick is similar in character to Roger Smith. Both of them were self- absorbed and refused to listen to reason. Perley told Maverick of the conditions that she saw at the two homes she visited and she suggested ways of improving the conditions and that she become a silent partner. Maverick arrogantly refused to listen to her and brushed her off. Referring to the factory workers, Maverick said, "Who doesn't care a fig about them , you are right, who doesn't care a fig about them-to settle."(Phelps, 551) This showed Maverick's disinterest about what Perley is trying to tell him. In Roger and Me, Roger Smith was similar to Maverick. Michael Moore tried diligently to convince Roger Smith to come to Flint to see the after- effects of the factory closings. He even went so far as to pose as a stock holder in order to see Roger Smith, but Smith refused to talk with him. When he finally got to talk to him face-to-face, Roger Smith decided that he did not want to go to Flint and refused to listen to Moore. Although here was a one hu
Some common words found in the essay are:
Roger Smith, Bub Mell's, Sip Garth's, Nightline Flint, Partner Perley, Smith Flint, Catty Perley, Partner Roger, roger smith, Smith Smith, Silent Partner, silent partner, refused listen, doesn't care fig, home bub, garth's home, care fig, doesn't care, owner mills, effects poverty, sip garth's home, roger smith similar, pay rent,
Approximate Word count = 713
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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