Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Possible metaphorical significance of Pyramid Schemes
Something that Children of Invention made clear is that pyramid schemes ultimately cause nothing but trouble for the people that get involved in them. They cause legal issues for the people who partake in them, even if the people do not know that they are participating in them. However, for an immigrant family that doesn't know that these schemes exist and that they may not even get any money from them, they seem like an opportunity to get money quickly. The idea of pyramid schemes could also be seen in a metaphorical sense in that it could be a metaphor for immigrants coming to America in the first place. While it is less the case now, there have been many instances in the past in which immigrants coming to America hoping for a new and better life has backfired. An example of this is illustrated quite well in the Jungle. Jurgis and his family come to America hoping for new opportunities, and instead eventually find themselves stuck in the corruption of industry, and can barely survive. Pyramid schemes seem to serve as a more modern parallel for this situation; the partaker enters, thinking they can better their situation, and they ultimately end up worse off than before.
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In most cases, however, immigrants have become successful in America. We are almost all products of successful immigrants. I think that the pyramid schemes are metaphors, just not for immigration or immigrant life.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the pyramid schemes represent how a manipulated "American dream" causes problems and frustrations in an immigrant's life. Instead of starting off small and working their way up towards the typical house, money, and two and a half children, some people want to make money fast. They want to forgo the hardships that arise from working hard, saving, and generating enough money to live up to their dream. Because of this, they get sucked into schemes that claim to make money fast. People like Betty who seem to be living examples of the "American dream" con these immigrants who don't know any better into a life of crime with promises of bright new futures and riches. The American dream seems more obtainable when these get rich quick schemes are presented. Immigrants are enticed by people like Betty who promise that money can be made in the first week, even though it never comes.