GRE Issue Topic 87

Sample 1:

Image is everything. Canon used this tag line in an advertising campaign in the 1990s featuring tennis great, Andre Agassi who changed the look of professional tennis with his long hair and unconventional clothing on the court. Fortunately for Canon and the tennis world, Agassi had the game to support his image. He is still considered one of the greatest to play the game. In contrast, Paris Hilton, who starred in The Simple Life with friend Nichole Ritchie, has become known as a celebutante or "famous for being famous". Lacking any real talent, she has parlayed her inherited wealth into endorsing products that she has not created. For Ms. Hilton, image isn't everything, it's the only thing. It is unfortunate that celebrities, athletes, and even giant corporations have created images that are contrary to the reality behind their facades.

Many athletes have gone beyond the boundaries of health and ethics to create images that elevated them to the pinnacle of their individual sports and made them very wealthy. Perhaps no one in the twenty–first century has fallen more catastrophically than Lance Armstrong. A cancer survivor, Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour de France races, the most difficult biking competition in the world. Millions of people adorned their wrists with the yellow bracelet imprinted with the Livestrong logo in support of Armstrong's cancer foundation. Just this year, the world watched as Lance Armstrong confessed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he was guilty of doping. He has been stripped of his titles and banned for life from professional cycling. It is fair to say that Armstrong was more concerned with his image than with the truth behind that image. Other athletes whose images have been tarnished by accusations of drug use include Roger Clemens, one of MLB's greatest pitchers, and Alex Rodriguez, whose career with the Yankees will likely end on a sour note.

The corporate world is not immune to the need for a positive image or concealing the truth behind that image. Wal–Mart has parlayed its image of lower prices all the time into becoming the world's largest retailer. Television commercials show smiling, friendly employees touting the benefits of shopping for all of your needs at Wal–Mart. When the corporation is planning a new store in a small town somewhere in America, it holds seminars for local businesses in which they reveal how these small businesses can survive and thrive after the new Wal–Mart store opens. The image is one of cooperation. The truth behind the image is that many of those small stores will close in just a few years because they cannot compete with Wal–Mart's low prices. An additional truth is that Wal–Mart is a large recipient of corporate welfare. Their image as a great place to work belies the truth that great numbers of Wal–Mart workers need public assistance to satisfy their basic needs.

Money is the biggest motivation for cultivating an image intended to mask the truth about an industry, a business, a star athlete, or a celebrity. In the 1950s, Rock Hudson was a tall, dark, and handsome leading man in some of the most popular movies made in that decade. He was also a homosexual. Although some in the movie industry suspected this, the studio that employed Hudson took measures to cover up the knowledge for many years, going as far as arranging his marriage to a woman. Those outside of the studio's top executives continued to adore Rock Hudson, and box office receipts for his movies continued to be high. When the truth about Mr. Hudson came out in the 1980's, he was dying of AIDS. Pictures showing his gaunt face and ravaged body replaced the image so carefully cultivated over several decades.

It is unfortunate that, today, image has become more important than the truth behind it. We have been told that the truth shall set you free and that if you always tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you have said to others. Those who attempt to conceal the truth – athletes, celebrities, giant corporations – must spend an inordinate amount of time and energy remembering which lies or half–truths they told and to whom they told them. It is additionally unfortunate that the general public must bear some of the responsibility for these false images. People's desire for bigger, better, faster, and cheaper have driven the fabrication of these images in the pursuit of fame and fortune on the parts of the famous and popular.

Sample 2:

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. This saying holds true in the modern world where you can consider yourself to have an appealing personality only if it appears the same to the people who are looking at you. Everyone likes to be in the company of people who are entertaining, jovial, witty, successful, wealthy etc. Therefore, it is obvious that creating an appealing image has become very important in contemporary society. The reality behind the image is not of any consequence as people can now hide their actual selves from the eyes of the public by effectively utilizing their right to privacy.

The importance of your image in the eyes of others assumes alarming proportions if you are a person whose career depends on his image. Politicians are an example of people who fall in this category. It is imperative that such people create an appealing image for themselves or else they may not get the kind of support that they require from the society. They have to show to the world that they are honest, trustworthy and responsible. The actual truth may be far from what is being projected, but it is necessary to present an appealing image or else the politicians are unlikely to be voted into power. This is the reason why whenever elections are around the corner; there is a huge drive to dig out the past of the leaders of the opposition parties so that their images can be tarnished in some way or the other. All this happens because it is a well known fact that having an annoying or disagreeable image will adversely affect the vote bank of the politicians.

It is true that the actual reality behind the images is more important, but the bitter truth is that the society no longer wishes to see the reality. Who would be interested in dining with a host who is formal and has a disagreeable disposition? What if such a host is the owner of a business establishment? He will not be able to get the best out of his employees if they do not like him at all. They will probably switch companies the moment they get a chance. This is because no matter what the boss is like in reality, all employees would like to work for a boss who appears to be pleasing and this can be done only if the boss presents an image of himself that is appealing in the eyes of the others. Therefore, the owner of the business will have to forcibly present himself as an agreeable person who is open to discussions with his employees and is willing to make adjustments for the comfort of the people who work under him. He may be an entirely different person in reality, but it will be more important for him to create an appealing image for himself if he wants his business to be successful.

The present society is easily swayed by the pleasing attitude of others. Everybody wants to be with those people who are good to get along with and are pleasing as well. Therefore, it is evident that it is far more important to create an appealing image rather than concentrating on the reality behind that image, especially if you are keen on succeeding in life.