issue question for GRE essay - could someone evaluate
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14 Jul 2014, 10:52
To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
In order for one to understand the most important characteristics of a society, one should not solely study its major cities. It is my belief that one should also spend some time observing life in other geographic locations such as the rural communities and the suburbs. Otherwise, one will get a more limited perspective on what typifies a society by only studying one sector of it.
First of all, life in a rural setting is tremendously different from that in a city. While life in the city is fast paced with people always being in a rush to get to work or attend events, life in the country is more relaxed with people oftentimes relying on agricultural pursuits to make a living. In addition, life continues at a frantic pace during the night in the city with seemingly no distinction between night and day. On the other hand, most of the communities in a rural setting seemingly close down at night with only the local bar open to patrons. In other words, people go to bed relatively early compared to those who live in the city since for the most part they get up at dawn to start in working the next day. Moreover, values seem to be diametrically opposite between citizens who live in the country versus those who live in the city. In fact, those who live in the country can often be found attending church on Sundays and are generally conservative in their approach to life. Thus, one needs to study life in the country to fully understand that major cities by no means characterize a society as a whole.
Furthermore, life in the suburbs is in many ways a middle ground between life in the big city and life in rural communities. While the pace is noticeably faster for those living in the suburbs than in the country, it is by no means up to the hectic pace that is very noticeable in the big cities. Also, people tend to commute to the big cities to attend cultural events such as plays and often to work. Therefore, they benefit from the positives that a big city offers its citizens. Yet, those who reside in the suburbs are not totally committed to living a lifestyle that is narcissistic as in the major cities, but tend to strive to maintain a life that strives to achieve pleasures gained through economic success and at the same time not forget the values that they were taught when they were raised as children. Most importantly, those who live in the suburbs consciously desire to reap the extras that are offered in the city, but at the same time do not want to get burdened by the inherent negatives that come with big city living. Therefore, people who live in the suburbs have traits that are unique to this sector and need to be taken into consideration when assigning characteristics to a society.
However, one must acknowledge that for the most part major cities do reflect an awful lot about a society. For instance, the extremes in economic conditions can be found in the city as evidenced by millionaires living in penthouses and homeless people living on the streets. Moreover, the various measures of entertainment can be found in the city which definitely reveals the extravagances that a society deems acceptable to pursue. Life in a major city is definitely more chaotic, frenetic, and oftentimes more advantageous for those who thrive in such a lifestyle. As a result, a major city can be representative of a type of people who are just one segment of a society as a whole.
Ultimately, when conducting a study to determine what best characterizes a society, one should spend concerted effort in analyzing the components of life in a rural community, a suburb, as well as a major city in order to obtain the true perspective.