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Non-conformity in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, Medea, and The Stranger

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Non-conformity in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, Medea, and The Stranger

We are constantly being affected our surroundings. As a result, our attitudes and personalities are a product of our experiences and the various environments in which they occurred . Furthermore, the society we live in presents to us a set of standards, values, and givens that we may or may not agree with. In literature, the society plays a major role in affecting the characters' thoughts and actions. In The Sailor who Fell From Grace with the Sea, The Stranger, and "Medea", the characters are affected by their society, and their actions reflect their conformity (or non-conformity) to it. Ultimately, non-conformity in these works create the …show more content…

His character expressed an indifferent view of the universe, with a tasteless, emotionless approach to everyday tasks. Being indifferent, he cared for nothing and no one, thus being a potential threat to society, if anything. If anything is high on the list of "criteria for being a non-conformist", it's being a potential threat to society!

In Euripides' "Medea", the characters live in a mythological society, which for the most part reflected the ideas and values of ancient Greece, with the exceptions of Gods and Goddesses. Since witches have always been a symbol of evil and mischief, it is assumed that Medea, a witch, does not conform with the society she exists in. Besides that fact, "Medea" takes place in Greece while Medea herself comes from a distant land, considered "savage" by Greek standards. With that burden, she fills no other role than non-conformist, and the position inspires her actions which make "Medea" into a tragedy.

The non-conformists in these works all seem to defy society to the point of a common act(murder), with the exception of Fusako, whose actions and lifestyle play a role of indirectly inspiring the act while not committing the act herself. In this perspective her function as non-conformist is less significant than the others'. The widowed mother of Noboru, Fusako has adapted to many western ways. In her room are "shiny brass beds" from New Orleans and European perfumes like "eau de Cologne"(Mishima 4-5).

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