...Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” is an essay by Jonathan Franzen. It is based on his speech at Kenyon College, Ohio, USA. And the essay was published in The New York Times, May, 2011. “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” deals with the differences between peoples care and love for consumer technology and real life, such as love and nature. Jonathan Franzen starts by talking about his relationship to his smartphone. He is impressed how far the technology had advanced over years. Jonathan Franzen mentions that the social websites, like Facebook, has substituted the way to live the real life. It represents the obsession with the internet, smartphones and other things that contribute to the construction of our façades. People are afraid of their emotions and feelings and being hurt, scares them. Therefore they want to stay behind their computer screen, where they can be safe and keep a distance from the real world. He thinks that people have a desire for consumer technology, because this technology gives them other things which purpose is to make them happy without asking for anything, but instead gives them all they need. All the hating comes from love, it’s not the technology which is the problem, it’s the human reaction which is the real problem. We personify objects to make them likeable, they give us much without we’re giving back, as many see like a perfect relationship. As Jonathan Franzen mention, the primary...
Words: 921 - Pages: 4
...B- Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts ” Write an essay in which you analyse and comment on Jonathan Franzen´s essay ” Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts”. Part of your essay must focus on how Jonathan Franzen tries to engage a young audience and on the message of the essay. The essay “Liking Is for Corwards. Go for What Hurts is written by the American writer Jonathan Franzen. The essay was published in The New York Times on may 28th, 2011 and is based on a speech by Franzen at Kenyon College in Ohio. Since the development of technology, the world is built up on mobile phones , text messages, Facebook and “likes”. What does the word “like” really mean to us? People like pictures, marital status and status in general on Facebook. Do they really like it or do they go with the flow? And what is the difference between like or real love? Jonathan Franzen debates the two images of loving and liking and how technology might have influenced us to change our point of view.First of all he starts telling the reader about his new Blackberry, which is an prior version of the Blackberry generation. His description of his own phone is great in details and the reader gets the impression of the miscellaneousness of the phone.The fantastic fact about such a mobile phone is that “ the beloved object asks for nothing and gives everything, instantly, and makes us feel all powerful, and doesn´t throw terrible scenes when it´s replaced by an even sexier object”. It might mean...
Words: 688 - Pages: 3
...Essay on “Liking is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” We’re spending more and more time online and less time out in the real world. But is modern technology really doing us harm? And are we missing out on a lot of important stuff when we hide behind our screens and use a mouse as our mouthpiece? These are some of the important question that arise from reading Jonathan Franzen’s essay, “Liking is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” from 2011. The 51-year-old author puts our daily internet routines into perspective and forces us to think critically about what we are doing online. But he beats around the bush for a while before he starts presenting his actual message. He thus starts out sharing a personal experience of getting a new smartphone and uses this as a starting point for voicing his concerns. Jonathan Franzen is aware of the danger of scaring off those young readers who might be fed up with older people complaining about the youth of today, “Very probably, you’re sick to death of hearing social media disrespected by cranky 51-year-olds” (ll. 140-142). He therefore catches this young audience’s attention by comparing his relationship to his outdated smartphone to a relationship of romantic nature. He uses familiar expressions like “trust issues”, “accountability issues” and having “outgrown the relationship”. In this...
Words: 888 - Pages: 4
...Linking Is For Cowards. Go For What Hurts Is the social media corrupting the youth of the world? The technology in our modern society affects the youth in many ways. “We star in our own movies, we photograph ourselves incessantly, we click the mouse and a machine confirms our sense of mastery.” The social media is like a machine that creates an imaginary self-image of its users. In the essay “Linking Is For Cowards. Go For What Hurts” published by Times Magazine May 28, 2011, is the author, Jonathan Franzen, describing how the social media has influence on the youth of our modern society and furthermore how love is affected by the social media and how real love should be like. The title “Linking Is For Cowards. Go for what hurts” refers to the Facebook-function “like” which is basically just a command which is an expression for your interest in a status/picture etc. This function though, has a negative side-effect according to Jonathan Franzen, “But if you consider this in human terms, and you imagine a person defined by a desperation to be liked, what do you see? You see a person without integrity [..] You see a narcissist” by this quote, he tries to inform the audience about his attitude to the subject that the social media emerges narcissists. The subject is the social media and its effect on the society as well as the comparison of the facebook “likes” and real love. This is an ideal subject as approximately 95% of the audience, which are the College students of Kenyon...
Words: 1103 - Pages: 5
...That technology has revolutionized every aspect of our lives, from communication to relationships, is an almost universal knowledge. However, differences abound in our opinions of technology’s effect on the latter. This very debate forms the center of Jonathan Franzen’s article, ‘Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts.” Franzen claims, “Technology provides an alternative to love,” thereby effectively pitching them against each other. He is of the opinion that the (admittedly likeable) advancements in technology are the result of markets discovering and responding to “what consumers most want.” He goes on to say that the ultimate aim of technology is to replace the “real” world, indifferent to individual desires, filled with heartache and opposition, with one that is so amenable to our wishes as to be a mere “extension of the self.” This world of “techno-consumerism,” based as it is on the risk-and-commitment-free ideology of “liking,” is threatened by the very concept of “real love,” its only recourse being that of the offensive. For instance, the entire wedding industry is based on the concept of the “commodification of love.”...
Words: 601 - Pages: 3
...loved in some kind of way. We love our parents, significant others and even our friends. But we can also love other things like animals or material things. But what is the difference between loving and liking? And is it better not to love and feel pain or to love and be hurt in the progress? Jonathan Franzen seeks to answer these questions in his essay “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts”. The essay “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” is, as mentioned, written by Jonathan Franzen and published in The New York Times, May 28, 2011. Jonathan Franzen is born in 1959, and he is an acclaimed American novelist and essayist. The essay is based on the commencement speech he delivered at Kenyon College in Ohio, USA. “Our technology has become extremely adept in creating products that correspond to our fantasy ideal of an erotic relationship, in which the beloved object asks for nothing and gives everything, instantly. (…)” As Franzen claims in his essay, many people can feel like they love their technological object. It gives them a satisfaction, which human interaction maybe wouldn’t. Franzen however thinks, that people in general don’t love material things: they like them. There is a major difference between loving and liking – even though it might appear small. “Liking, in general, is commercial culture’s substitute for loving.” Products are made to be likeable, but if that concept in transferred to a person, you would instantly see a narcissistic person, without...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...”Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” Focus points: congruence and working in quotes All over the world, the media is becoming a dominating part of people's everyday life. Pages such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and so on are affecting the society. We replace the bad things in life with technology, and we do not realize it before there's nothing else left. The kids who grow up in this world are so easily affected. The media raise them. They're raised by the idea that likes and comments are the definition of their popularity and how likeable they are. This is also some of the topics Jonathan Franzen talks about in his essay: "Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts". In the essay by Jonathan Franzen, he passes through a lot of topics. He's very critical towards the technology, which has developed aggressively throughout the last couple of years. He uses a lot of experiences from his own life such as when he talks about his new Blackberry (s. 1, line 1-4). He also talks about how we all want to be likeable. We all want to be accepted and liked by everyone. But it is just not possible. We use the technology to hide behind. The world of liking becomes dominant and that takes out the meaning of loving someone. Because when you love someone, then you expose yourself, which makes you vulnerable. So we hide on the social medias. We do not expose ourselves, but we can portray ourselves just as we like on the media. No one needs to know all the bad stuff. ...
Words: 1166 - Pages: 5
...Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts The author of “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts”, Jonathan Franzen is an acclaimed American novelist and essayist, he was born in 1959. The essay gives the reader a lot to think about when Jonathan Franzen expresses his feelings about the two types of relationships in which he was involved, the liking and the loving. He starts his article out by being overly obsessive about his BlackBerry Bold cell phone. I would say that he was being sarcastic. Jonathan Franzen talks about how humans use technology to replace the “bad things” in life. He appeals to his readers through pathos. He tries to speak to our feelings by saying “We can handle being disliked now and then, because there’s such an infinitely big pool of potential likers. But to expose your whole self, not just the likable surface, and to have it rejected, can be catastrophically painful.” He claims people are having a relationship to their cell phone or other technological devices. Through this essay Jonathan Franzen builds up an instance by using arguments saying we do not appreciate the physical world enough. Jonathan Franzen is using examples from his own life, how he did not appreciate it before he got his interest in birds. He means many people use technology as a replacement for something more and they do not realize it until it is all they have left to hold on to. Technology has evolved so much. Our devices will do what we want, when we want them to. They will...
Words: 871 - Pages: 4
...------------------------------------------------- Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts Today’s society is extremely affected by the media and social devices, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter etc. Many people measure their popularity and look solely on how many “likes” and positive comments they attract on these media sites. Especially a lot of the young people who grow up in a world, where they see this phenomenon as completely normal, even though it’s far from the real one. “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” is an essay by Jonathan Franzen, an acclaimed American novelist and essayist. The essay is based on his speech at Kenyon College, Ohio, USA, and was published in The New York Times, May 28, 2011. Whit this essay Franzen tries to remind people of the true meaning of love and not being so terrified of rejection. Even though technology might be at its peak and has features “Like a magician’s incantations” (p. 1. L. 38). Besides the newest technology including fancy gadgets, materialism in general seems to be taking over the entire western world. According to Franzen you don’t show love to another person by showing interest in their life and have regular conversations. Not even the words “I love you”, measure up to actually receiving something material. “… if you love somebody you should by stuff” (p. 2. Ll. 76-77). However there is one thing that in today’s society battles out even giving or receiving material things: the “like” you give, or receive, while...
Words: 992 - Pages: 4
...In Jonathan Franzen’s essay: ‘Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts’(2011), he talks about the problem with actual love in our modern ‘techno-consumerist’- society. Franzen starts out by describing the almost infatuated love he has had throughout the years for new gadgets. He considers his ‘relationship’ to his old Blackberry as having been almost like the sort of relationship you would normally have to another person. Furthermore he points out, that our technology has become extremely adept at creating products that correspond to our fantasy ideal of an erotic relationship. To support this statement he draws attention to the fact that the word ‘sexy’ almost always is used to describe the latest gadgets on the market. Our beloved gadgets don’t ask for anything, but they always obey our smallest winks -instantly. These sexy gadgets substitute the natural and real world, that’s indifferent to our wishes and personal needs. Problematic, Franzen thinks. A related phenomenon is the commodification of love. If you love somebody you should buy stuff for them, whether that would be diamonds as a symbol of your everlasting love or an automobile for Christmas as a symbol of your big wallet. Another nauseating tendency is Facebook and the verb ‘to like.’ To like something on Facebook – and in general, is like a commercial substitute for loving. I must say, as a frequent Facebook user I am embarrassed. There is this term of abuse, a ‘likehunter’ that is being used about a person who is...
Words: 1075 - Pages: 5
...Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts by Jonathan Franzen “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” is an essay by Jonathan Franzen. The essay was published May 2011 inside The New York Times. It is based on his speech at Kenyon College, Ohio, USA. This essay is about the contrast between peoples love for technology and real life. A very new and common expression is called “Like”. This originates from the social website, Facebook. This is mentioned as ”commercial subculture’s substitute for liking something. ”. Our parent’s generation has expressed popular terms. It is understandable, as we are entering a modern age, where everyone wants a little taste of this new world of technology we are entering. They are representing our era and the obsession with the Internet, smartphones and other things that contribute to the construction of our massive shield of technology. A lot of people use social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. to express their emotions. It is an effortless way to hide from the actual issue and emotions that are inside you. Jonathan Frenzen thinks, that people have a desire for consumer technology. It gives them a different point of view, which in a way satisfies them, without giving them anything at all. It is a contrast to an actual relationship with a boyfriend or a girlfriend. The author, Jonathan Franzen, has a very creative and different way of capturing his readers. He makes this essay very interesting for the younger generation, as...
Words: 794 - Pages: 4
...Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts Jonathan Franzen, an American novelist and essayist, wrote the essay “Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts” in The New York Times in 2011. Franzen’s essay is mainly about the increasing relationship between humans and technology, where he criticizes the development of the narcissism in the modern time. He writes about how to love and like in real life and in consumer technology. Franzen begins the essay with his own example of his relationship to his old smartphone and his new one. He describes his own addiction to the new Blackberry and he “wanted to keep fondling” the new blackberry even though he didn’t have anybody to reach. He finds safety in the smartphone because it won´t hurt you and it’s always available and writes that the “beloved object asks for nothing and gives everything, instantly, and makes us feel powerful, and doesn’t throw terrible scenes when it’s replaced by an even sexier object.” ll.49-53. Franzen describes therefore his blackberry as a girlfriend. But vanity has become more popular these days and the term “liking “ someone’s picture or status on Facebook is stated as “commercial culture’s substitute for loving” (ll.84-84), and is a superficial way of saying that you “like” the person. Franzen writes that we can form our own lives through the media and make it more interesting for others to see and he blames it because of its increasing narcissism and the fakeness of “liking”. But as I mentioned before, this...
Words: 1004 - Pages: 5
...The society today is affected by the social medias, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. People measures their popularity and look on how many great comments and likes they got on their pictures or if they uploaded something on their wall. It’s especially young people who grow up in this world, who are affected on this new technological generation. The phenomenon and world is completely normal for them that they haven’t tried live in a world without this massive technological trend. Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts, is an essay written by Jonathan Franzen, that is based on a commencement speech he delivered at Kenyon College, Ohio, USA. Jonathan Franzen tries to remind people of the true meaning of love, even though technology is being at its peak. He is also trying to reach out to the young audience and tell them, that a real life isn’t on the Internet, but in real life. The author in this essay puts or daily routine on the Internet into perspective and tries to force us to be critical about what we do online. The author stars out sharing a personal experience, which is getting a new smartphone, and he is using it, as a starting point for his concerns. Jonathan Franzen is aware of the danger of scaring all those young readers who might be fed up with some older people, who are complaining about today’s generation of technological and Internet users: “Very probably, you’re sick to death of hearing social media disrespected by cranky 51-year-olds”. Therefore he...
Words: 904 - Pages: 4
...Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts is an essay written by Jonathan Franzen. He is from America and he is a novelist and essayist. The essay by Jonathan Franzen is based on a commencement speech he delivered at Kenyon College, Ohio, USA. The essay starts talking about a relationship with his phone. He is impressed by how far out worlds technology have come and how advanced our civilization has become. He got his new smartphone and three years later, it is much more advanced than before. Jonathan Franzen is telling about how we live our lives and how we make in this case the smartphone so personify and makes us addicted to technology. Franzen is also talking about his new phone and bringing to debate about we personify and threat our new technology equipment we have with us every day. The ultimate goal with technology is “to replace a natural world that is indifferent to our wishes – a world of hurricanes and hardships and breakable hearts, a world of resistance – with a world so responsive to our wished as to be effectively, a mere extension of the self” (p.2.55-61). Then Jonathan Franzen starts debating about technology and it is trouble by real love, and has no choice to trouble love in return. The way Jonathan Franzen engaging the audience is creative and very interesting. He is admitting that he is an old man at 51 years and he have become really tired of the use of technology, but even though he admit he have become...
Words: 772 - Pages: 4
...Theme To understand a story a person must first realize the theme behind the story. The theme can be defined as the overall purpose or reason. A theme describes a central idea, thought or point of discussion that the author wishes or intends to communicate to the audience. Such a point of discussion can be presented in a literary work, song or a movie. Therefore, the theme is the message that is presented as the moral lesson in a story. Many stories were written to convey a message to their readers whether it is for entertainment purposes or educational enlightenment. (dspsweb). Themes can be used to provide the main idea or motif of a piece of work. Kate Chopin's "The Storm", Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "Harrison Bergeron" were all reviewed for the purpose of theme. Understanding the theme behind each of these pieces is important when analyzing the author's true purpose for their piece. Kate Chopin's “The Storm" was a piece designed to show how the events in life can have profuse effects on tomorrow but if all is well when "the storm" passes, then tomorrow may continue just as today did. “So the storm passed and everyone was happy”. (Kennedy and Gioia 100). The storms that Kate spoke of served both superficial and realistic natures. The storms faced by people each and every day can be viewed through Chopin’s perspective of troubled weather. The two characters continued to confess their suppressed desires for each other...
Words: 1194 - Pages: 5
