An Analysis Of Susan Faludi 's ' The Naked Citadel '

Children need a safe and steady place to grow up in. Kids looked up to their parents and aspire to be just like them when they grow up. Rex and Rosemary Wall have different beliefs when it comes to taking care of their children. Although they seem to love each other, Rex and Rosemary, from The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, create chaos and instability in their home with their volatile relationship. Creating an unstable environment making it difficult for the entire family, it always made the children terrified when they fought because it usually ended up Rosemary getting injured physically or mentally, as time passed by Rex began to leave more frequently and not come back for days, making Rosemary and the children without money for food and just worried about Rex in general.

In the world created by Ayn Rand, where collectivism is favored by the leaders of society, self-government is denied. In her novel Anthem, the characters are forced to live in an imperceptible prison surrounded by wilderness. Being an individual, having self-confidence, and the freedom to choose are key pieces to a successful society, but some of these concepts are foreign to many. In numerous societies like this one, the citizens are under strict social rule and do not enjoy natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While being independent is important, it is also crucial to be united and act as a group. If there were no common thought, there would be chaos. At the same time, common thought should not be forced upon

Society forces people to conform to its standards. “Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater.” (Self-Reliance) To live deliberately is to live according to one’s own standards. McCandless sought to escape conformity by living on the edge of society, he chose to ignore government

The practices of a collective society such as the one in this book disregard all belief in the individual. By doing this, the society and its leaders brainwash the people into having no personal priority or authority. Everything is done with the betterment of the entire group in mind, no sense of self involvement. Their life is fated in almost every

There is a machine that take people, and makes them into things. It takes passion, creativity and individuality, and strips it away leaving not even a person but thing embraces monotony and conformity. Every person who embraces it, simply becomes a replaceable clogs to eventually be thrown away. They becomes destin for a meaningless life devoid of purpose.This disastrous machine is society. These views are the only way one can live life to the fullest through the views of nonconformity and self reliance while being willing to accept the consequences it entails

“Have I ever let you down?” (Walls). Rex Walls asks his children this question numerous times throughout the book. It shows how he is denying all the times he acts out and damages his family. In the children’s opinion, Rex is destroying the family piece by piece by being selfish with his intimidating threats. Leaving the children scared gives him more power and control over the family. Although well intentioned, Rex, from The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls, is self-absorbed, and thus impacts his children in a negative way.

In today’s society, a lot of people tend to take for granted what they have. Every once and a while, something drastic will ensue them, and that’s when they finally grasp what’s been right in front of them the whole time. In many different societies, for example the societies in The Hunger Games, and Anthem, the individuals that are living there are forced to listen to the ruler, or rulers, do not have an opinion in some of the choices that are made for them, and are also forced to accept the rule of selflessness. Based on the themes of the Power of Knowledge, the Image of Self, and the Consequences of Free Will, the novella, Anthem, and the

Individuality arises when an individual encounters and endures a life, taking their first step with their family which is the first society an individual faces. Through their lives, individuals promote their own exclusive originalities, while Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem characterizes a totalitarian society suppressing individualism. In the society depicted in Anthem, individualism is oppressed by the society imposing children live away from their families which is one form of totalitarian dictator’s authority. The intention of totalitarian dictators enforcing the arrangement of children living apart from their families is to impede individualistic society- avert dissimilarities transpiring in the process of family influences in education, forfend the enlightenment of emotions, and the establishment of collectivism.

Markinson disrupted social order by effectively disobeying Jessup, but Little and Fromm would coherently agree that the individualistic courage to disobey displayed by Markinson was extremely difficult and nearly impossible; however, this disobedience was greatly needed for an effective outcome. Although breaking social order is viewed as unsuitable and “out of character”, Brandt, an experimenter from Milgram’s research, demonstrated a clear break from authority which made disobedience a simple and rational deed (Milgram 80). Stephen Covey, an American educator, author, business man, and keynote speaker, wrote “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, which puts rational deeds into fundamental concepts called principles (Covey 34). According to Covey, principles are self-evident natural laws and part of the human conscience that act as guidelines for human conduct which are proven to have enduring, permanent value; furthermore, obedience is declared a permanent principle (Covey 35). Markinson refutes this claim by telling the truth about Jessup’s intentions which displays someone’s ability to break a “permanent principle”. Milgram’s concept of disobedience acting as a principle contradicts with Covey’s more effective justification of obedience being a principle. In the end, Fromm and Milgram conclude that Markinson did have the choice to disobey, just as any other soldier would possess, even with the difficult struggles that Little

Ever since its inception, human civilization has been run by a pecking order; a small group of elitists on the top of the chain of command dictate the social norms for the remaining individuals on the antithetical end of the spectrum. Individuals with traits outside these norms are ostracized and looked down upon by the hierarchy. Cathy Davidson’s, Project Classroom Makeover, promotes the use of customization in the education system to accommodate every students’ learning habits over the current use of standardization and curriculum based teachings. On the other hand, Karen Ho’s, Biographies of Hegemony, is about how one’s environment is engineered by institutions, which in turn establish hierarchies who set standards for society. However, Son by Andrew Solomon describes how horizontal identities, traits influenced by peer groups that separate individuals from their families, are seen as abnormalities and those with such identities are on the bottom of the said hierarchy. Based on Davidson’s, Solomon’s, and Ho’s works, individualism does into question because society forces individuals to conform to the standardized norm in which they are not allowed to have unique identities.

Throughout life, in any society we develop a sense to conform and adjust to our surroundings but why? Our values in our society determines our norms and why we do the things we do. I recently sought out to break these social conformities that violated the values, and norms we hold as a society. Every society is different and, in every society there are different and similar values, norms, sanctions folkways, and mores. Breaking them up and analyzing them we began to understand why these terms and values are so important to us.

Individuals go through many experiences in life, and through their experiences they learn about the world, and how to react to the way it treats them within a society. A society has many expectations that mold people 's attitudes and moods. Throughout life, people are constantly changing themselves to fit into the society and once people fulfill its requirement to meet its expectations they can fit into the world, because the world is built on society’s expectations. The society can make people distant from themselves, when they are busy, and are always being pressured to complete a certain task on time. The society can impact people 's decisions by alternating their ways of treating them. They can be strict, and force people to put their ego aside, while in other situations they want the the people to only think about themselves, and what they want, and how they should value themselves more often, Especially children, who at a young age are trying to find their place in society. In “An army of one” by Jean Twenge, many children are surrounded by coloring books, and other activities that support their self-esteem, hoping to build a concrete understanding of the importance of self. In “Project Classroom Makeover” by Cathy Davidson, students are surrounded by rules, and regulation, that always lead to standardization, and a way for students to forget about themselves, but Davidson wants to change that with technology and restore the students’ self-esteems. The ability for an

Leadership many times can be misinterpreted by many individuals. Leadership is an ability that not everyone is meant to have nor develop. In fact, many can be called, “leaders” but that does not imply that their leadership role plays a positive impact on others. At times, some people seek leadership in a form to only obtain power and abuse it for their own self-interest. While there are others that create great influences to following generations. For instance, there are those like Plato and Thomas Jefferson who have established philosophical thoughts that for past centuries, have revolutionized many people’s ideals. Through their principles many people have identified, what they consider can exemplify, true characteristics that make someone have successful leadership qualities. In their own way, they have influenced others, with the purpose to communicate a foundation of important ideals which have helped guide many. Whether it is one or a group of individuals. Many people should consider in practicing and adapting to those philosophical principles, manifested in Plato’s, “The Allegory of the Cave” and Thomas Jefferson's, “The Declaration of Independence” essay who illustrate certain ideals and aspects of leadership in their own unique way.

We as a human race have become a byproduct of our society. Through media, technology, and social pressure, humans no longer run society, but it seems like we are run by society. The quote from sociologist Peter Berger states “Not only do people live in society but society lives in them” This statement is referring to a form of social control were groups and the people in those groups conform to society partially knowingly and partially as a reflection based on dominant social expectations. As I further explain Berger’s statement I will explain how individuality, identity, and freedom fit in to such a predetermined future.

This process is essential for social reproduction – the reproduction of a new generation of workers schooled (disciplined) into accepting their role in society. For instance, schools reward punctuality and obedience and are dismissive of independence, critical awareness and creativity – this mirrors the workplace expectations’ (Thompson, 2008).