Conformity : The Power Of Individuality In Society

We’ve all know what it feels like: walking down the halls in middle school or high school while you feel like you’re being watched…analyzed…critiqued. It would almost seem like every person you passed would be silently judging you for what you’re wearing, how you applied your makeup, how you did in the last soccer game, or what they heard you did with Jonny. The passerby’s in the hallway would place you on the high-school-hierarchy-of-coolness scale based on superficial characteristics even before getting to know you. Adolescence is a time of learning and forming an identity but it’s also a time where you are constantly being watched and evaluated by your peers, sometimes even put down by physical or verbal means. Bullying has always been

I strongly believe that individuality should be valued over conformity. Today I will tell you how precious and rare individuality is, and why we should value it over conformity.

In Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, Huxley creates a futuristic world governed by conformity and submission to society. Citizens of this World State are conditioned to follow a set lifestyle determined at birth in order to create a stable civilization. However, there is still some form of individuality in each person, specifically in the characters Bernard, Lenina, and Linda. Within each of these characters, their difference in personality does not fit the norms of society, and they therefore try to suppress their own traits with unique methods such as soma. In times of sadness and despair, Bernard, Lenina, and Linda each give up a part of their own individuality and ideology, sticking to the

Patrick Henry, an attorney and politician, delivered a speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond. Virginia on March 23, 1775. This speech was later considered the “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” speech due to it’s powerful conclusion. In the speech Henry discusses the colonies’ freedom-freedom from the royal crown, Britain. He attempts to explain that this revolutionary war in inevitable and the more it was delayed, the more difficult it would be to fight for their freedom. Patrick Henry’s motivation behind this proclamation was to influence his audience into raising an army, to fight for independence. For decades, the colonists were under British control, but Patrick Henry used the power of rhetoric to motivate the colonists. Patrick Henry uses a number of rhetorical strategies to persuade the delegates that war against the British is absolutely needed for their freedom.

Many individuals is faced with the decision of conforming or choosing personal desire, and it is not an easy decision. It is hard because being shunned by others for being different is not a good feeling. Choosing to conform over personal desire, often leads to loss. On the other hand, personal desire is what sets others apart and gives them joy. In the poem, “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, Al Purdy discusses the good and bad memories he has experienced. He goes through his memories of when he had fun and made mistakes, but he reflects on what he could have done better. The author of “The Jackhammer Syndrome informs against choosing the welcoming joy of conformity over the long-term gains of personal desire. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire may seem easy at first, but if the choice is to conform, the joy it gives will not last. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire Conformity may seem to give joy at first, but it does not last. When Al is playing pool with his brother, he wants to win badly, but losses. However when he did not care to win, Al wins! Conforming can lead to loss but personal desire has much to gain. If the choice is to conform, personal identity may be lost. In my life, I recognize several instances in which I found several similarities between Al and myself. I have made decisions that were not always good ones such as swimming across long distances with friends.

During the Revolutionary War, writers and orators publicly revealed their thoughts on how to respond to Britain’s further subjugation of the American colonies. After a futile hope for reconciliation and failed petitions to the British government, several patriots, such as Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry, called for the colonists to take up arms against the British. Through Paine’s Common Sense and Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention”, they displayed an adamant message for the colonies to fight immediately. Both used the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos within their respective works, and their various applications to the three elements allowed for their arguments to reach all ears and influence the majority of the population towards the fight for independence.

“Give me liberty or give me death!” Was expressed by Patrick Henry some 241 years ago. But why did he say this? What caused him to say this? This famous quote was said in a speech at the Virginia Convention in 1775, just when the American Revolution commenced. What is the American Revolution? Well let me break it down for you. Essentially, there were 3 key factors that contributed to the American Revolution; first, The French and Indian War and the distance between Britain and the colonies; Second, the sudden transmutation in British policy and the placement of obligations; Third, the American’s desire to oppose the British.

Conformity is a concept that has been heavily researched in the field of social psychology. Conformity is defined as a change in behavior, beliefs, and attitudes due to group pressure perceived as real (encompassing the presence of others) or imagined (encompassing the pressure of social standards) (Myers, 2010, p. 192). The concept of conformity is a powerful influence on the tendency for people to arrange their thoughts, perspectives, and ideas with others, especially when in a group. This takes away from a person’s individuality because they want to feel accepted by others and therefore, a person will accomplish this basic need of approval through conforming.

“Give me liberty or give me death” were the famous words spoken by Patrick Henry in the struggle for independence (Burnett 62). He addressed the first continental congress in 1774 and started the process of American political revolt. This revolt eventually climaxed in the rebelling of Britain's American colonies and the establishment of what would become the United States of America. The Second Continental Congress accomplished independence through organization, rebellion, and finally declaring independence. This was the beginning of the American Revolution.

Our great nation was built upon love for God, knowledge and understanding of human rights, and bare bravery. The start of the foundation work for our country can be marked in the spring of 1775-- a time of great controversy for Americans. Many colonists were divided about the idea of going to war for our freedom from Great Britain. Patrick Henry, a Virginia lawyer, was rightly named "the Orator of Liberty" due to his moving speech in the Virginia Convention. As one of the earliest opponents of British rule, he was very skilled in public speaking and in suggesting Americans break from their mother country. many rhetorical devices, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, were strategically placed, making a stirring plea for his cause.

In 1775, Patrick Henry gave America one of the most inspiring speeches that will bring soon bring them together with war on the rise. “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” has become the battle-cry to the people in the colonies to take a stand against Britain’s rule and make America their own country. Even after the attempted peace between the two countries, it has been exhausted to the breaking point, and it has come to the time where fighting for their own freedom is the only viable option. Henry’s speech spoke volumes to the American people of the truth, the false presence of peace, and the cry for battle against Britain.

The American Revolution was the beginning of equality and freedom in America, whose biggest influence was the powerful speakers and political activists that stood for the Independence of America. The colonist in America were predisposed by individuals like Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry who through powerful writings, conveyed a since of patriotism and compelled the people to fight for their independence. These men used a combination of Pathos, Logos, and Ethos to achieve their purpose to show the people around them and the world the justice in their fight for freedom.

“Give me liberty, or give me death!” is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry, which he used to close his speech to Virginia Convention. During this time period, the 1770s, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson all made arguments in favor of separation of the American colonies from Great Britain; many of these appeals were persuasive for different reasons, whether that be logical, emotional, or pertaining to credibility and trust, which is to say logos, pathos, and ethos. First of all, we will examine Henry’s arguments during his speech at the Virginia Convention. Then, we will identify Paine’s appeals in a part of his essay, The Crisis n1. Lastly, we will evaluate Jefferson’s myriad of arguments in a part of his Autobiography.

Prior to the Declaration of Independence and the conception of the United States that the present day knows, English colonists were facing unfair treatment from their mother country. This mistreatment escalated to a breaking point, where certain men were proposing a war to rebel against Britain. One of these men was Patrick Henry, a respected and passionate revolutionary. In his speech to the Virginia Convention Henry uses ethos, pathos, and logos to support his argument that Americans should wage war against Britain.

Willa Cather's "Paul's Case," displays the conflict between conformity and individuality through the main character, Paul. On a number of occasions, Paul is forced to lie and steal to escape the conformists who wish to control him and stifle his unique imagination. However, his lying, stealing, and attempts to escape the conformists, only force Paul into isolation, depression, and feeling a sense of shame for his individuality. Throughout the story one might see Cather's constant contrast of individuality versus conformity, as well as Paul's lying and stealing. Cather seems to draw the conclusion that extreme individuals, much like Paul are simply misunderstood, and not offered the acceptance they desire