Is the book reflective of general society currently?

Use this forum to discuss the October Book of the Month "McDowell" by William H. Coles.
Theresa Moffitt
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Re: Is the book reflective of general society currently?

Post by Theresa Moffitt »

I think the characters were written to be realistic and do reflect society today in order to be believeable. I thought they were all different and interesting but realistic
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Post by ochiengjr01 »

Yea sure. The book reflects the current society. Most of the people in current society are self-centered as seen in Hiram. They are always after benefing themselves.
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Post by abbiejoice »

The negative image of the characters may indeed reflect today's society in certain aspects. There are, however, certain attitudes that are not only reflective of this time but of humanity in general throughout history.
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Post by bootsie0126+ »

This book is definitely a reflection on our current society. The sad thing about that is the truth that this is nothing that has just happened. This has been around for centuries. The rich get richer and people don't care about stepping on others to get there. People strive for fame and fortune at the expense of others and women are and have always been at the bottom of the ladder. Women status in this world has improved but it is still not where it should be. History has shown that women are considered inferior to men and can be treated any way they want.

Rising to the top means that you have to lie, cheat, and steal to get there. This country was built on hierarchy status. Those at the top of the ladder lives by a code of privilege which dictates how those below them are treated. So many people in this world are self-centered and out for only themselves.
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Post by Anju_9 »

It depends on what part of the society we are considering. Sure there is positivity in the society that we live in, but it is hard nowadays to ignore the way the negativity is growing and getting noticed around by people. So, I would say that it reflects the general society in some way. The thoughts we write are inspired from somewhere, and this books just proves it.
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Post by Franc93 »

Of course, it is. Most of the social problems highlighted by the author are a mirror reflection of how our contemporary society is at the moment. It is a sad fact.
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Post by stalliongirlke »

While it is unfortunate, the characters in the story do reflect the way things are in the society. Atleast in the society where i am, thats how things are. However, i am hopeful that things will change one day.
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Post by leanne_brown17 »

I felt that the book did reflect certain aspects of general society today. However, they were presented through a rather liberal lens. I noticed many references that echoed today's left leaning pop culture including feminist topics, social justice, a disdain for police, and racism, to name a few. This is the general zeitgeist of now, so the author definitely hit his mark if he was going for something currently relatable. Thankfully, these themes were not overwhelming which would have made the book seem more like political propaganda than a novel. Rather, there were only hints of these topics which gave the book a feeling of realness, like it could have been an excerpt taken directly from someone's life from 2015 on.
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Post by holsam_87 »

To a certain degree, I think that this book reflects the way society is.
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Post by cvetelina_yovcheva87 »

I think that the book presents quite an accurate picture of contemporary society. While McDowell is rich, he is respected by everyone, despite his arrogant attitude. However, as soon as he is sentenced, all his friends show their backs to him.
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Post by VandaQ »

I must be an idealist, but I think the portrayal of this book of what society is like is a bit harsh. I believe is quite an accurate representation of the society of the period is focuses on, but in 2018 it feels like we made some improvements in how we think and act. I don't think discrimination is quite as rife nowadays as this book presents it and sexism, while still present, is not as prevalent. I think, as a society, we are doing better.

There are still many things we can work on, that's true. For example, there is a passage early in the book where Sophie and her best friend defend this woman against an attack from, seemingly, the woman's partner. Domestic violence is still something we need to talk more about, but I believe the way we view it has changed a lot. Victims are not as afraid as that woman in the book was to speak up - and that's a good thing.

I hold hope for the future, really. We are going through some turbulent times at the moment, but who hasn't, in the history of humanity? I think we should look at the attitudes presented in this book and see what improved, but also what else can be worked on.
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Post by Surabhi Rani »

The book is exactly reflective of general society currently. The competition in profession, the relationship between Billie and Tasha, grandson Jeremy's behavior as a murderer, even the chase of McDowell by a media person, all these reflect the deterioration in the mentality and actions of people and society in modern age!
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Post by Ekta Kumari »

Yes of course, it is reflective of our society in many ways. The issues of mysoginism, lack of respect, dependency, abuse in love relationships, broken marriages are very much prevalent in our society and turning our backs on it is also very common.
"Words dazzle and deceive because they are mimed by the face. But black words on a white page are the soul laid bare."

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Post by Shalu1707 »

Yes, It does reflect the present situation of society. With aimless young children, Parents too busy to be available to children and compensating that lack with raised pocket money, breaking marriages, being inconsiderate of others while making decisions, not being there for each other, Parents deciding life choices for children in the name of care, it all reflects our today's society very well.
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Post by StelKel1592 »

I'd like to think that it's not reflective of current society. I do see a lot of caring in the world around me, and often, when people are not acting in caring ways, it seems to be because of the psychological burdens they are carrying. Perhaps that's naive or overly optimistic of me though.
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