The Problem Rethought

Dana Renick
Dr. Kaye Adkins
English 112: Honors Composition and Rhetoric
1 October 2003

The Problem Rethought
As I read Ray Oldenburg’s excerpt “The Problem Place in America”, I realize that many of the details he discussed were issues in today’s world. Oldenburg basically believes that suburbs are the reason we as Americans are losing touch with our communities and friends. I, however, believe that the severe modernization of American society is to blame for the fragmentation of American lives. I also feel that suburban areas are helping in the fight against the loss of community togetherness.
Oldenburg’s excerpt begins off with his thesis in which he states: due to the automobile suburbs, American life has become disjointed and that the American people are restless and discontented. The author then goes on to describe suburbs. In one paragraph Oldenburg states that in a suburb, “a man works in one place, sleeps in another, shops somewhere else, finds p...