Mersault Values

“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

Oftentimes, in the public, people have to be “normal” to be successful and accepted. Author William Saroyan believes that society steers people to be conformed and fit in, but he wants people to be able to be diverse. In the short story “Gaston,” Saroyan shows that carving a unique path can turn out to be erroneous. Through symbolism and contrast, Saroyan conveys the theme that society does not always accept people’s differences.

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.

In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.

This analysis have shown me how important is to be faithful to your own principles, even when the world takes you to unknown. The knowledge of the society in which each one has to life is what shows that opposed positions that seem irreconcilable are part of a whole and as Collin’s suggests, each individual has to decide what is right or what is wrong in the society and then take a position and try to change what is wrong. (Hentrhone,

Conformity is displayed through the police officer giving in to the mobs. The police officer faces conformity when the mob follows him with happy faces and all gather around him in the excitement for the elephant’s death, which would usually be unusual because the man was largely hated. ¨And

Like The Crucible, conformity is also highly present in everyday society. At a very basic level, this is seen in how people conform to “unwritten rules” of society, such as bathing regularly, and saying “hello” when greeting people. Although there are no requirements or strict punishments for not performing these actions, humans’ concern for what their peers think of them drives them to do them so they do not stick out of the norm. This is seen similarly in how people dress, like wearing suits for office jobs and how kids dress for school based on dress codes. People wear what they consider normal, or what is mandated, in order to conform to the people around them, allowing them to not stick out and to be accepted by people around them. This idea was also demonstrated in an experiment conducted by the producers of the television show “Brain Games,” where they planted some people in a doctor's office waiting room, and told them to stand up when a bell rang, and sit down when the bell rang again. They found that actual patients stood up and down with the planted extras, despite not knowing why they were doing it, essentially conforming to the group in order to avoid being the outcast. Clearly, conformity is very present in society today.

Mercutio: I believe a song to describe Mercutio and his personality “Livin La Vida Loca”- Ricky Martin. This song is a good fit for Mercutio because it is about partying and running around much like Mercutio is portrayed to enjoy to do. One of the lyrics I feel like that applies is “Upside down inside out” because the way Mercutio parties he must have is life turned upside down and inside out every once in awhile. Another lyric that may fit is “Woke up in New York City in a funky cheap hotel” not necessarily because Mercutio would wake up in New York City but because to part as often as him someone would have to wake up in a place that is unfamiliar to them.

Every society has a ‘social norm’ that everyone is expected to follow. Whether a person is a female who is expected to cook and clean for their husband while he relaxes from a hard day of work. Society believe that it is okay for a man to sleep around while it is a horrible thing for a lady to do. If a person does not follow these unwritten rules they may be shunned by people all around them, but conforming to these ‘social norms’ may mean suppressing themselves in order to be accepted. In The Bell Jar, Plath shows that if a person is to be normal they must suppress their true selves; Plath demonstrates this by showing how Esther conforms herself to act socially acceptable when she is with Marco and Irwin.

The article “The Case for Fitting In” compares to my idea of conformity because I think that it means how you change your opinion due to social pressure. My idea of conformity relates to the article because it was talking about how when people were in a group and someone said the wrong answer they usually went with it. “Each subject saw 18 sets of lines, and the group answer was wrong for 12 of them” this proves that most of the time people went with the group rather than going with their personal opinion. I think that the article really compares with my definition of conformity because I think that it causes you to change your opinion and sometimes causes you to choose wrong answers. I also strongly think that the article agrees with me because

Conformity, the definition in the dictionary is “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards.” Conforming is a way to blend in with the crowd and to not be an individual, it also can in the sense force someone to change. If someone does not conform to the socially acceptable standards they are considered an outcast and therefore shunned by all that are conforming to the rest of the crowd to not be labeled as an outsider themselves. In the playwrite “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller, demonstrates ways in which conforming can be the difference between life and death itself. In the play, a young woman by the name of Abigail who is madly in love with a married man named John Proctor, was set on eliminating Elizabeth Proctor

As conformity becomes ever more common within a society, individuals isolate themselves, but only because the conformists have lost their ability to reflect on their decisions. Similarly, while Bernard and Lenina watch the sea in peace, he makes comments about individuality and its benefits, which startles Lenina, who exclaims, “And how can you talk like that about not wanting to be a part of the social body? After all, every one works for everyone else” (Huxley 91). Here, Lenina is absolutely shocked that Bernard would not want to be with everyone else. However, the sole reason why people only want to conform is that they cannot begin to express their own thoughts and feelings. A person’s individuality is what sets them apart from the rest of society, and when taken away, they become generic. Even though conforming can cause a lot of problems in a person, they are able to agree with a group of people and are able to convey ideas clearly as well as not feel left out. Furthermore, in the story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin, there are many examples of conformity when it comes to witnessing the child that is responsible for the “happiness” in

Conformity always plays a large factor in everyone’s lives whether they are aware of it or not. In As I Lay Dying written by William Faulkner it is as present as it is today but hard to spot if one isn’t looking close enough. The deceased matriarch, wife, and mother of the family, Addie Bundren, had been conforming outwardly during her life. Yet, while also questioning (and rationalizing) what she was doing inwardly. This behavior lead to the request of her burial in Jefferson as well as being the main reason for the morbid story detailed in the novel.

Through the use of these quotations, I tried to produce a powerful and reflective atmosphere to enhance the viewers understanding of the theme, the individual versus society. In Dr. Seuss’ quote, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” and Emmeline Pankhurst’s’ quote, “I would rather be a rebel than a slave” give the viewer an insight as of what drives individuals to go against society to make a change. The quotes, “Don’t let society manipulate you” by an unknown source and “We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces: we become the powerful forces ourselves” by Leo Buscaglia is a metaphor which implies that the people of society are puppets under the control of the societies leaders which have cut their strings and are no longer being manipulated. “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples” by Mother Teresa and “You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose!” by Dr. Seuss proposes that any change will still make a difference and to make a difference, all that is required of an individual is to steer themselves in the right

Truth and honesty is the aspired driving force within one’s life but it can be as destructive as deceit and dishonesty. People always yell, “Tell the truth, be honest with me!” but when all things are said, their first reaction is to call out the lack of sympathy of the person. In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault lives his life through truth and honesty but societal morals and values often bring him down in more ways than one.