30
2. Value of Progress
American people share the value of progress which leads them to have faith in the future. This attitude affects them in having readiness for changes and welcoming
experimentation Fichter 309. However, this value may drive people to expand everything they have. This is portrayed in the story when Morrie tells that the society
tends to want something for over and over. They have a view that having something for more and more is good and thus the people do not know what actually important
for them are. “We‟ve got a form of brainwashing going on in our country,” Morrie sighed.
“Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that‟s what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More
money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it
– and have it repeated to us – over and over until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged
up by all this, he has no perspective on what‟s really important anymore Albom 124-125.
This is in accordance with the characteristic of American culture as proposed
by Henry. He says that American culture is a driven culture. The American people are driven by achievement, competitive, profit and mobility drives, security, and by a
desire to a higher standard of living. These drives lead them to expansiveness Henry13-14.
It is described in the novel, in his life, Morrie always meets people who always want to grab something new. They want to have new cars, new pieces of
property, and the latest toys. These people like to say „Guess what I got? Guess what I
got?‟ Albom 125. However, this behavior, which becomes a culture, confuses people.
“There‟s a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need,” Morrie said. “You need food, you want a chocolate sundae” Albom 126.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
31 Furthermore, Morrie adds that because of this culture, everyone seems in a hurry.
They run all the time looking for the next car, the next house, and the next job Albom 136.
The value of progress has also driven Mitch in his occupational world in terms of reaching more and more material things.
I jotted some of the things Morrie was saying on a yellow pad. I did this mostly because I didn‟t want him to see my eyes, to know what I was
thinking that I had been, for much of my life since graduation, pursuing these very things he had been railing against
– bigger toys, nicer house. Because I worked among rich and famous athletes, I convinced myself that
my needs were realistic, my greed inconsequential compared to theirs Albom 127.
Mitch has already been moved by drives in his working world since graduation. According to Henry 13-14, drives exist in occupational world. Goals in
many jobs have to be achieved through achievement, competition, profit, mobility or even a higher standard of living. The drives have influenced Mitch to convince
himself that it is normal to have bigger toys and a nicer house because he works among rich and famous athletes.
In conclusion, American people share the value of progress, which may lead them to have the drives of expansiveness. It moves American people to have a view
that owning things more and more is a good thing. Furthermore, this value makes people not know what really important for them are and makes them trapped in a
confusing situation over what they want and what they need.
3. Value of Individual Success
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