John Laroche In 'The Orchid Thief'

Joan D. Vinge once said, “We are all born with a unique genetic blueprint, which lays out the basic characteristics of our personality as well as our physical health and appearance... And yet, we all know that life experiences do change us.” In the short story, “Initiation,” by Sylvia Plath, Millicent, a teenage girl whom is being initiated into a high school sorority must go five days doing what their sorority big sister commands them to do. While being initiated, Millicent starts to realize that while being part of a group that she’s been longing to be apart of is great, being an individual and creating yourself makes you more unique than those who are part of a group. Having individuality allows you to be more free, and makes you more memorable to those around you.

Many individuals will often experience the initial judgments of others due to their innate unconventional behaviour and actions. However, despite their strange, unfamiliar actions, they are able to embrace this individualistic nature that vastly differs from others. In the excerpt from The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean suggests that when individuals decide to embrace their eccentric beliefs and values, they are capable of instigating unexpected positive change within society and affect other people’s initial perception of them. Furthermore, because of their desire to retain their own unconventional behaviour rather than succumb to the mainstream society, the individual is capable of developing a unique, distinctive identity and earning the respect

Yet, if all the people are shaped by their environment, everyone would end up the same and not have distinct uniquenesses that differ from other people. In order to still keep one’s individuality and remain separate from his or her peers and relations, a person should not allow what other people think of him influence how he thinks of himself. One example is Sonia

In the short story “The Glass Roses” by Alden Nowlan. Nowlan portrays the idea that adversity is part of our lives, and this adversity shapes us as individuals. But in the face of adversity an individual must either strive to fulfill their individual self-interests and ideas or abandon them to conform to authority. Nowlan suggests this idea through the character, Stephen and his struggle to conform to authority or pursue his ideas which suggests that humans often bring about changes to themselves in order to adapt to the environment they live in.

In Initiation by Sylvia Plath, the author suggests that conformity and having friends is a wonderful idea, yet the idea of having an individual identity and being an individual is stronger. In the excerpt, Millicent is slowly realizing that conforming and being a part of a sorority is not as exciting as it sounds, and being an individual offers more opportunities to become a unique person.

Society’s conventions teach that immoderate desires are unappealing manifestations of basal instincts that individuals must learn to control. However, a certain sense of liberating freedom is also attached to the idea of living in uninhibited by the guidelines that society imposes. “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, a poem by Al Purdy, and Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief present two different narratives concerning the pursuit of personal desire and deal with the consequences that ensue from this behavior. Their characters’ experiences suggest that the unchecked pursuit of personal desires, at the expense of conformity within society, does not produce lasting gratification.

“I find that the very things that I get criticized for, which is usually being different and just doing my own thing and just being original, is the very thing that’s making me successful.” Country singer Shania Twain explains that the things she does in her daily life, making her different from everyone else, actually makes her unique, despite the fact that it goes against social norms. A non-conformist person is someone who goes against societal norms because they are an individual who will do what they prefer to do, regardless of what others may think. In the novel The Outsider, Meursault is indifferent and passive to a

In the novel, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, it is focused around the ironically unforgettable journey of Charlie Gordon. He is a 32 year old man who has an extremely low IQ, that qualified him to be a subject for an experimental surgery to help him raise his IQ, by a lot. Before the surgery, he had very little memories of his childhood, was very forgetful, and his inability to read or write made his want for knowledge even stronger. I picked this character because not only was he the main focus throughout the book, he has changed and has not changed at the same time and I found that rather unusual.Charlie has changed because after the surgery he got what he wanted, to be smart. But by the end of the book he lost his intelligence, along

According to the theory, a person may be close to others in proximity yet does not conform completely to the system and maintains their own customs and norms. As a result, a division arises in society between “the stranger” and other of different social groups who view this nonconformity as dangerous, threatening, and suspicious. The stranger may also have different expectations placed upon them than other groups in society. This divide that separates the stranger and society is compared to a veil, like that of Du Bois. Both theories discuss a “sense of otherness” that Individuals may experience in Society (Appelrouth & Edles, 2016, p. 289). The sense of otherness produces a strain in how members may act and view the world around them.

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.

To the ignorant and self-oblivious person, the true individuality of a man’s self is presumed through his ability to possess an apt and socially preferable state of mind. Quite ironic in fact—and if I’m not mistaken—the widespread consensus regarding human identity, is that it is at its most ripe, and fertile upon one’s inevitable decision to conform to the mass. Such logic is somewhat of a paradox-in-itself and if we deconstruct the meaning of the terms ‘conform’ and ‘individuality’ their contrast is vast, and their apparent use is irrational, therefore all aspects of the human mind remain complacent, and mundane to a certain degree that it erases any former beliefs of a unique human being. Rather, human personality is an

In our discussions of Anthem, by Ayn Rand, key aspects of true individuality, including assertive and defiant behavior. Ayn Rand believes that both these components of Equality’s personality have shaped his final form of being an individual from his peers. Without his confidence and willingness to rebel against society, Equality would have conformed, acting and thinking like all the people around him. From this perspective, we see that the protagonist’s confidence elevates his bravery, while his defiant behavior shoves him away the side that compels him to accept society’s norm. Correspondingly, TED Talk, delivered by Hyeonseo Lee, agrees that courage and defiance also led Lee to become the person she is today. The difficult

In our discussions of Anthem, by Ayn Rand, key aspects of true individuality include assertive and defiant behavior. Ayn Rand believes that both these components of Equality’s personality have shaped his final form of being an individual from his peers. Without his confidence and willingness to rebel against society, Equality would have conformed, acting and thinking like all the people around him. From this perspective, we see that the protagonist’s confidence elevates his bravery, while his defiant behavior shoves him away the side that compels him to accept society’s norm. Correspondingly, TED Talk, delivered by Hyeonseo Lee, agrees that courage and defiance also led Lee to become the person she is today. Escaping from North Korea,

(Intro) In the film pleasantville, people tend to value their conventions and stereotypes very highly above other things. They refuse to let things change in pleasantville because they have grown accustom to their ways, but all it takes to change this is for someone to act out and change it or defy their laws which is what a big part of the changes in this movie are about. The director Gary Ross utilizes character development to suggest the idea that challenging conventions will shape a persons identity.

Susan Orlean’s Orchid Fever follows the story of John Laroche and his many obsessions. From turtles to Ice Age fossils to lapidaries to old mirrors—Laroche has been passionate with a lot of things since he was just a kid. This often leads him to collect every single kind of his current obsession. He is the type of person whose “passions boil up quickly and end abruptly, like tornadoes.” In the end, one of his crazy obsessions left him with fine and court costs to pay, and a six-month probation.