Please Read it all before starting assignment

Thesis: Main argument of your essay (one sentence)

• Main Claim
  • The position you are taking in your essay.
  • Overall answer to the prompt.
  • Debatable
• Because Statement
  • The reason for your position

Pick one of the questions from the essay prompt for this reading. The prompts are listed below:

1. In one section of the article, Ehrenreich writes, “Whether we Americans see it as an embarrassment or a point of pride, being positive—in affect, in mood, in outlook—seems to be engrained in our national character.” What does Barbara Ehrenreich mean by this? Do you think this is true? Why? Why not? Either way, where does this national attitude come from and what does it say about American culture? You can focus your response on one or two aspects of American culture: Economics, Patriotism, Politics, Family, Sports, Friends, Education, Physical Health, Mental Health, Etc.
2. Ehrenreich mentions that even though America often ranks poorly when economists measure health, environmental sustainability, and the possibility of upward mobility, there still exists a strong stereotype as Americans having a positive self-image. The author explains this by saying positivity is not so much our condition as it is part of our ideology—the way we explain the world and think we ought to function within it. Explain what Ehrenreich means by this and do you think this is true? Why? Why not? Either way, how does that impact the way we approach our lives?
3. Ehrenreich ends her article by stating, “Once our basic material needs are met—in my utopia, anyway—life becomes a perpetual celebration in which everyone has a talent to contribute. But we cannot levitate ourselves into that blessed condition by wishing it. We need to brace ourselves for a struggle against terrifying obstacles, both of our making and imposed by the natural world. And the first step is to recover from the mass delusion that is positive thinking.” Here, Ehrenreich says that in order for our society to reach what she sees at an ideal state, we need to get rid of the mass delusion of positive thinking. Why does the author say that positive thinking is a “mass delusion” and do you agree that getting rid of it will be for the better? Why? Why not?

• Create an overall answer to that question based on your reading and then turn that answer into a formal thesis statement.
  • Remember that your thesis needs to have a main claim and a because statement.
    • Main Claim: Overall answer to the question; the position that the rest of your essay will support
    • Because Statement: The reason for your main claim. This reason should be focused and not be a list of points. If you create a list at first, think of how all the points you listed relate to each other and make that into one cohesive statement.