Of Seigfried And Bessie Head's 'The Deep River'

If you find any other people, except you, doing wrong things, how would you deal with this situation? Would you speak out with your own opinions in front of the people, and insist on your own ideas? Or, would you give up your personal principle and join them? On the surface, Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” shows readers a tragedy that was caused by tradition and superstition. However, the primary cause of the tragedy is that people were afraid of confronting the social contract which was formed by the majority. It is the social contract that makes society function. When people are not sure about whether ideas from the majority are right, they need to question it. When people know majority are wrong, they should maintain their righteousness and confront the majority instead of conforming.

A captivating novelette in which a man’s priority is to serve only for his brothers, Ayn Rand’s Anthem illustrates a society that has suffered the ghastly consequences of collectivism. She depicts an oppressive culture in which the word “I” is unheard of and men belong to the collective “We.” Men’s lives are determined through the Council of Vocations, a group that maintains a powerful dictatorship by subjugating the public from the beginning of their lives. The idea that “If you are not needed by your brother men, there is no reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies” (Chapter 1) has been forced into average mindset of the vehemently maintained society. In contrast, Rand mocks the totalitarian civilization through the main

It is the future, and society has been ruined. The word “I” has been erased from society; the only replacement being the word “we”. Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem explores the effects of a horrific, totalitarian society. Children are separated from their parents at birth, careers are assigned, not chosen, and free will is the ultimate crime. Living within this structure, Equality 7-2521 finds himself lost in contradiction; collectivity should lead to happiness, but for him, individuality seems to be the key. Through vivid setting, a provoking major character, and symbolic details, Ayn Rand’s writing is focused on one thing: to show “the meaning of man’s ego.”

Within a single culture there are differences based on religion, politics, nationality, race, and ideology that go largely unassumed by its members. This leads to people defining others in ways that are entirely inaccurate. Members of these imagined communities who live without their identities being recognized by the larger majority are very similar to the subordinate, more “primitive” cultures that exist in the world in the sense that most of the time, they go unacknowledged by larger, more advanced powers. When these subsidiary entities are unable to make themselves known, they simply become easily influenced by higher powers since they tend to become “a quiescent, ignorant, manipulable electorate” (Pratt, 510). It is vital that these marginalized peoples learn to make themselves heard, for there are many principles and ideas that can be learnt from them.

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.

There has always been a slight apprehension towards being alone or standing alone. Students rarely want to admit to having an answer different from the rest of their classmates; some people do not want to go somewhere and do something by themselves. Notably, with more shy or anxious people, they will often stick around someone they know, so they will not be alone in the crowd. Although that company might help them make it through those nerve-wracking moments, when is the right time for them to walk alone? Should a person ever walk alone? In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Equality’s internal conflict of conformity versus individuality plays a role that Equality needs to overcome in order to complete their quest for freedom which helps create their outcast archetype and gives significance to the final word of the novel.

While it may be tempting to leave society in order to pursue one’s dreams, severing the ties with those whom one knows can result in a world of chaos and instability. One such example can be found in Jeannette Walls’s, The Glass Castle. In this memoir, Walls recounts her volatile childhood that was the result of her parent’s strong beliefs in the importance of self-sufficiency. While it is not looked down upon to be dependent on oneself, when we evaluate individualism through the scope of Jeannette Wall’s dysfunctional life one can tell that more often than not individualism brings instability and results in the negligence in regard to those around them. Thus, the consequences of individualism profoundly outweigh any benefit that is reaped because

The concept of what is "individuality" and what is not has plagued and delighted man since the dawn of time. “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy adds 302 more pages to the pile of all the works that have been on the quest to define individualism. In this novel, McCarthy takes us through four faces of the key character’s life, John Grady, to portray the idea of illusory individualism. He contends that John Grady is simply a product of a society in contrast to his (Grady) notion of free will. Simply put: Grady has no alternatives but an obligation to conform to society. McCarthy uses him to create the platform in which to comment on oppression of individuality, expectation of conformity to the values of the society and the fact that

Ayn Rand’s Anthem connects to daily life, society, and history through conformity. In some parts of the world, people are sheltered from the truth of the world, and of life. In society, people are expected to fulfill their roles, and impossibly high standards, therefore being pressured into a subtle conformity, and forced to an obligation in order to please society.

A fine line is drawn between whether a person is “right” or “wrong”, “innocent or guilty” solely based on one factor. When people interact in a social environment, they tend to be tense and anxious around those from another racial group. To which having a mentality of posturing an inappropriate comment or action may cause offense or discomfort to the other. Those who take part in another person’s culture will later express fewer prejudices toward members of that ethnic group. To what is considered a “black sheep” in a herd, they are often ostracized from society and are not wanted; however, some people accept differences in individuals for the good of society to the extent of achieving tolerances as seen by Atticus’ interactions with Tom Robinson in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, along with Juror 3’s viewpoint of the jury in Rose’s 12 Angry Men, and Sergei’s dilemma in What, of this, Goldfish, Would you Wish? by Keret.

Both Ayn Rand’s Anthem and The Soul of an Individualist display the struggles of living in a collective and oppressive society where new ideas and inventions are denied, and how the individual must break free towards an individual and creative spirit. The individual often encounters struggles along the way as they try to break free towards individualism. The struggles include guilt, a fear of punishment, and a fear of change.

Living in a diverse community while maintaining a state of accord is onerous. It is innate to regard that one self’s unrivaled conduct and notion are factual, which leads society to become perplexed by that which they deem foreign. Thus, when one denounces another's truth - chaos ensues. Fr. Gregory Boyle offers that compassion and kinship are necessary to live in harmony yet, kinship cannot stand alone, and compassion must be present to create unanimity. Kinship implies that compassion is present, but that is not always correct yet, with compassion a perceived kinship is always present. To live in a community ridden with diversity can be problematic, but despite the moments in which the novel’s anecdotes were difficult to relate to Tattoos on the Heart informs its readers about what their responsibilities are when it comes to different ideas.

In a world where people have access to anything, diversity is slowly dying. In Feed by M.T. Anderson, the death of diversity is correlated with the death of a character. Most characters have similar ideology and tendency, but one character dares to be different. The advertisement is correlated to real life attitudes of the character. I argue that the “everything most go” advertisement symbolized the death of diversity and the return of Titus’ status quo bias. More specifically, I argue that the advertisement represents the death of different ideas to move the society into a tunnel vision created by the Feed™. First, I will discuss echo chambers and status quo bias, particularly throughout the novel and today’s media. Then I will evaluate Titus’

Ursula LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” are two thought provoking works that speculate the future of human societies. Both authors portray their stories in very different but also similar ways that can also connect to society today as a whole. We do experience similar pains in our society. However, we do not or may not pay attention to it. Societies’ rules exist to balance conflicting human interests and keep order. Nonetheless, it should not cradle ones potential to grow and become more productive members of society.

The world can be harsh and sometimes people feel defeated and helpless. This can lead to feelings of confinement and desolation. While some may believe Arnold’s idea that “we mortal millions live alone” and that those feelings of isolation cannot be helped or healed by the connections between individuals, Donne’s view in “Meditation XVII” that “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main” is the closest to the truth. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Edward Hirsch’s, “Self- Portrait,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “How Much a Dollar Cost” reveal the truth behind the connection between each individual in a society as a whole.