The Bead Game Analysis

Words: 780
Pages: 4

The average life expectancy in many countries is dropping dramatically. “More than 1.2 billion of the worlds population lives on less than one dollar a day, while a mean for two at a good restaurant can easily top $100. (Nanda & warms 348). Changing the perspective during the in class demonstration helps some understand the struggles of being indigent, and shows others the benefits of being rich. Yet, in the end, the same tasks and end goals were shared between the entire population; the only difference was the way that individual in society went about reaching these aspirations. The Bead Game and the topics of Global Perspectives have many similarities, involving their inequitable fortune, the difficulties of surviving in a stratified society …show more content…
Each student was given a card as they walked into the group, mine was yellow, the middle class. I was given an understandable set of directions, a decent amount of beans, but still had no idea what the point of the game was. The whistle blew and I began walking around, switching beads at random with no communication between my peers. Every five or ten minutes a whistle was blown and the administrators were to collect one red and gold beed from each person. I had no idea this was going to happen, but luckily I obtained the fare to pass the first round and began searching for those two colors solely to survive as long as I could. I realized I was lucky to have been given the directions I was given, some people were given almost nothing. The lower class was handed directions that consisted of symbols, completely foreign language to the reader. The people that got eliminated the first round had no idea what they needed to do to survive, but the people that got eliminated as the rounds continued died off because they could not reach their goal or from people not being generous and sharing their beads with you. It is hard to communicate that you want to trade with them, not necessarily just take their …show more content…
(Lampe 2015). Majority of people live comfortably, being able to afford the essentials with having extra spending money to enjoy it with their wants. Then, as always, there are a few people who skew the normal distribution, having an obnoxious amount money or barely having enough money to survive. The higher class has a combined income of more than 500,000 annually. They have cars for each family member, multiple bedroom homes, and have healthy, educated children. Yes, this seems like the American dream, but this style of living has many negatives that come along with it such as the expense of college, hospital pills and the competitive expectations between families in that society, later taking a mental and physical toll on the parents. On the other hand, some houses make less than 500 for their annual income. These families live in a single roomed home, spending majority of their free time working when parents and children are commonly illiterate. Only a fraction of the children get the opportunity to attend school, and it is a struggle to bring food to the table each night. (Nanda & Warms, YEAR: 346) Yes, these are both extremes, many falling in-between. It is important to not only recognize these differences in contrasting cultures, but it is important to be conscious of ones place in this society. Think about your way of living, why money