Free Custom «The Gilded Age» Essay Paper

The importance of the Gilded Age has been well recognized within nineteenth century America, for the purpose of acknowledging industrial and technological developments. It is in this period that America attained most of its success stories in the field of modern and updated technological instruments. As the Gilded Age has been identified as a prominent phase of American society, from 1875 to the completion of 1900; this paper is analyzing its appropriateness and characteristic features. Under the articulations led by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, the paper is also investigating the influential effects of Gilded Age over American society. The elements of paradoxes used by these authors are investigated in particular to bring the relevance of their write up. The overall assessment has been structures in the basis of a comprehensive illustration of Gilded Age in reference to the selected text, 'Mark Twain's Works, The Gilded Age, A Tale of To-Day Volumes I and II'. The approach is related to the process of evaluating the interactions led by the authors in creating the transparency about the understanding of the Gilded Age.The Gilded AgeThe Gilded Age, of American society, from the year 1875 to 1900, is actually rooted in the activities related to industrialization. Its approaches are recognized under the persuasion of heavy industry. This industry in particular was inclusive of railroads, factories and upcoming coal mining. New discoveries and inventions were encouraged in developing raw material and resources for an increases access to the economic as well as corporate expansion. The performance of Gilded Age was so systematic that the developments related to American manufacturing sectors surpassed the total productions initiated by a collective quantity of Germany, Great Britain and France. The sectors like railroad mileage got developed at a tripled ration, between the periods from 1860 to 1880. It further got six times the original statistics by 1920. The opportunities and industrial developments opened in new areas for enlarged commercial farming for national marketplace. This further inspired a great boom in the coal mining divisions along with steel production facilities. By the end of 1900, entire the US was concentrating over economic and industrial developments by means of adopting new technological supports. Tremendous increase has been marked in the adoption of mechanical apparatuses and equipments.The motto of Gilded Age was to obtain sophisticated means of production. These means are the process for collecting more products with less investment. As observed by Taylor (2007), the levels of efficiencies in every industrial sector can be increased by the use of right kinds of tools and technologies. The entire age was engaged in creating new technologies to increase the speed of productions in every industrial sector. These infrastructural developments added surplus wealth to all those individuals who are integral to this process of progression. There were people who were earning in abundance and were growing affluent with regular paces. Issues related to greed and corruptions are the core matter of content in the story.Twain and Warner on 'The Gilded Age'

 

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Continuation of paradoxical demonstrations can be well marked in the approach of understanding Glided Age by Twain and Warner. These authors demonstrated the age as the foreground of technology for a futuristic world. At the same time the declarations were also added regarding the discriminatory practices of the society. Basically their interpretations satirized the essence of Capitalistic greed of the Age. They further represent the political corruption of the post-Civil War America. In a way the title in itself is an ironical representation of the 'Golden Age' as 'Gilded Age'. As the meaning of the word 'gild' means a thin layer of gold over a baser matter, Twain and Warner tried to interpret the age a kind of glided over the technologically developed infrastructure. The process of getting counted among the affluent class of the society by the Tennessee family is the base of the plot. These proceedings highlight the 19^th c. of the US as a kind of developing society in terms of capital owned rather than the real estimations made over the same.The approach led by Twain and Warner is very much about the relationship between the state and the existing psychology of the society. As fortune gets piled over the state there is an obvious emergence of discriminatory practices. Corruption and political inequalities were the matters that were discussed to evaluate the age. The authors acknowledged the technical developments and mechanically upgrade status of the age, yet they were also very specific regarding the racial and gender suppressions. The paradoxical representation of Washington, D.C., with the probabilities of being filled with 'would-be power brokers' followed by 'humbug', clarifies the notion of being under gilded influence. In spite of existing poverty and affluent class cannot accept the fact that the society they are living in is also a part of the poorer section of society. There was a lack of political speculation in the field of establishing judicial dominance. This aspect has been elaborated by these authors as an influenced core of conduct to impress the ruling affluent class. The rich are represented with a paradoxical eye of being villainous, whereas the poor population represents innocence and sufferance. This is a paradoxical narrative foreground that satirizes the society and its so-called speculative notions over socio-political participations.Criticisms related to Glided AgeThere are innumerable criticisms added to the developmental process of Glided Age. These criticisms are made in order to focus over the paradoxical discriminations and empirical adamancies. The point of views of Carnegie (1889) was very straight regarding the process of dealing with wealth. He advocated the technological supports provided to industrial sectors during the Gilded Age. However, at the same time he looking in to the condition of disposing off of the excessive wealth earned. Carnegie came up with three specific modes of dealings with the surplus wealth earned by industrialist. The foremost mode to dispose the extra wealth to the families' belongs to the decedents. In the second mode, he advised for bequeathing the entire wealth for public purposes. For the third mode Carnegie suggested the process of administering the entire wealth during the lives of the industrialists. This is an approach that has got practical declarations. Added to the empirical touch, this particular point of view creates room for a state where the society gets focused for the wealth earned. Andrew Carnegie was himself a billionaire and was much involved in revolutionizing the steep industry in US. As he makes such declarations there is a sense of satire in the process of accepting wealth and in the modes of dealing with it. The issue further highlights the issues of racial discriminations and capitalistic dominance during Glided Age in US.The issues related to racial discriminations and capitalist dominances are well interpreted by 'Ten Commandments' initiated in Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen's Monthly Magazine II (1877). These 'Ten Commandments' are declared on the behalf of all those people who were growing rich and affluent on day to day basis. These commandments interpreted the process of suppressing the poor and the deprived racial and ethical groups. The American society during Glided Age was more recognized for extremely rich class and the poor working groups. The society was hardly meant for the middle class style of living. Capitalists were ruling the society and a clear discrimination were marked in the socio-political format of US. The Ten Commandments are representing these kinds of newly developed racial inequalities in the Gilded Age and was pursuing the satirical identifications of dominating the society by the capitalists' group.

Willard (1889) on the other hand, elaborated the issues of gender discrimination in the US society during the Gilded Age. In his approach the discriminations decided over the positions of women has been broadly explored. With diversified demonstrative instances Willard explains the status of women in comparison to the developmental strategies of industrial US. Though people are much engaged in technological developments, they were also getting conscious about creating supremacy. In this approach, the positions of women were often tossed amidst male chauvinistic nature. Willard exemplified his demonstrations, by exemplifying college girls and an old lady, who experienced the male chauvinistic approaches and were representing social submissiveness. There is a regular declaration of personal experiences and these experiences are the basis to make the reader realize the essence of supremacy among men, creating suppressions over women.Appropriateness of Gilded AgeDevelopments of the Gilded Age have been much appreciated by many critics. These critics were determined to elaborate the developmental issues in relation with the progress attained by people in general. The context of "Populist movement" of 1880s is an integral part of these persuasions. The World Almanac (1893) presented Gilded Age a revolutionary age, initiated by the declaration of Independence and the rule opted by People's Party of America. The role of People's Party in the process of establishing equality has been considered as the core intention for a multicultural America. Amidst all kinds of discriminations, the People's Party came up with legislative structures for equalizing some of the basic discriminatory levels. There was a practical illustration regarding the possession of gold and silver by many capitalists. The People's Party provided regulations for equalizing these kinds of possessions and thereby abolishing the contexts of racial and gender discriminations from the society. Dealings with labor forces and handling wealth within the country were some of the primitive concerns of the People's Party. This added the notion of settling governance under social and political arena. Issues related to land, transportation and communication were handled with more efficient legislative supports. Importance of Glided Age has been marked under specific administrative notions. Logansport (1896) further added the importance of Democratic governance for the process of distributing wealth earned and consumed.The democratic governance and the process of establishing democratic regulations in the political scenario of Gilded Age, is definitely a tough job. However the initiation led by Logansport (1896). It has been well established that Gilded Age believed in encouraging democracy as against any rebellious notions, forwards equal grounds for both the capitalists and the labor groups. The discriminations were handled under strict regulations and the scopes were provided on equalized basis. With the emergence of democratic political persuasions, the Gilded Age is very appropriate for the establishment of the modern age. The aspects of social discriminations are much consciously dealt with in this age to pave way for a multicultural US society. From 1875 to 1900, America experienced tremendous transformation and that helped it in attaining a very balanced social structure during the modern age. The racial and gender discriminations were marked during this age. However, steps related to the abolition of the same have been developed within this age.Importance of Gilded Age gets recognized on the basis of technological support provided by the age to the international industrial structure. Relevant transformations are in the socio-political domains were also much realized during this period. There are many critical comments added to the persuasion of discriminatory practices adopted by the capitalists. However with the emergence of democracy all these aspects were deemed to minimal levels. As the paper discusses the interpretations led by different critic, it adds the element of comprehending Glided Age as an amalgamation of suppression and dominance, followed by democratic persuasions in the later phase.The elaborations made by Twain and Warner are very comprehensive. Their ironical approach towards the social as well as political set up is very distinct. As they demonstrate the existence of gild in the socio-political scenario, they tried to represent the superficial essence of sophistication amidst the discriminatory practices. The process of managing levels of paradox is the key element to the plot. Contributions of various critical speculative notions add to the revelation of the actual picture of the Gilded Age. It can be well established that though Gilded Age was developing with its technological supports, it was also equally suffering from the evils of poverty and inequalities. There was hardly any instance of getting hold over the social discriminations by political legislative. Though acceptance towards democratic formulations added essence of independence to the society, yet the rule of the capitalistic class can be well detected. Gilded Age is thus a paradoxical representation of the Golden Age, and just like the guild, the notion of being 'affluent' is a kind of mischievous practice attained by the capitalist class over the poor class. Discriminations related to race and genders are common elements that were often ignored in this age for the purpose of keeping capitalists dominance and thus the 'gilded' entity.