Perfectly Flawed : Normality, And Social Conformity

It has become paramount that composers utilise various techniques in order to influence an individual’s perception of the world. As seen through the eyes of an Aspergers sufferer, Christopher Boone, Mark Haddon’s inventive novel entitle ‘The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night Time’, skilfully portrays how the decisions of significant characters and their relationships shape the overall message about the difficulties of living with a limiting social condition. This is challenged from the unique perspective of Christopher and explicitly seen through the relationship between the protagonist and both his parents. Haddon employs a myriad of techniques through the concepts of the conflicting nature of love, the desperation for a world of

Millions of people around the world suffer from autism and other mental disabilities that make facing their fears a challenge for them. In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, the main character Christopher Boone has autism and finds it difficult to pertain to many social situations. He fears strangers, things not going how he expected them to, and brown foods. This makes it hard for Christopher to control himself in circumstances that may seem simple to the average person. Christopher must learn to deal with both internal and external conflicts in the novel, as he becomes a stronger character through the many conflicts.

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

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.

In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon uses Christopher’s unique voice to show the importance of human connection and communication within our world. In doing so, Haddon is able to communicate the importance of order and stability in Christopher’s life. This creates a unique perspective of an aspergus sufferer, enabling an exploration of the difficulties inherent in raising an autistic child and thus alters the perceptions of the reader concerning the complex connection between disability and dependence.

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.

Conformity I was attending McLane High School and I was about 15 years old when I was in a situation that I wish I could of stayed out of. I had two best friends named Lesset and Laura. We were always together and new everything about one another. Well, one day my friend Lesset looked like something was wrong and she pulled me to the side during our lunch and told me that she needed to talk to me. So after school we walked together to her house and on the way there we talked when she told me a secret that was only meant for my ears only. It was something that she had done over the weekend and it involved our friend Laura’s boyfriend. She told me that she was at a party and she was drinking and that Laura’s boyfriend Rigo was there and some how they ended up sleeping together. My jaw dropped, eye wide open, and I was speech less.

The reader is able to observe how Christopher interprets others actions when people call him “Special” and autistic. “Sometimes the children from the school down the road see us in the street when we’re getting off the bus and they shout, “Special Needs! Special Needs!” But I don’t take any notice because I don’t listen to what other people say and only sticks and stones can break my bones and I have my Swiss Army knife if they hit me and if I kill them it will be self-defense and I won’t go to prison” (Haddon 44). Christopher does not care what other people call him and interpret it as annoying. He goes as far to say he is willing to kill them if they act aggressively showing Christopher’s actions based on other people’s actions. Additionally, Christopher’s interpretation of how people do things leads him to be surprised by what they do instead. Christopher having autism allows him to think uniquely and in ways other people might not understand. When Mrs. Shears told Christopher to put down the dog, “She bent down. I thought she was going to pick the dog up herself, but she didn’t. Perhaps she noticed how much blood there was and didn’t want to get dirty. Instead she started screaming again” (Haddon 4). Christopher thought that because Mrs.Shears bent down, she would pick up the dog. However, he thought wrong and screamed to Christopher’s surprise.Therefore, Christopher’s interpretation of others actions affects the overall narrative, as having autism allows him to see things differently than other

The Novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time”, written by Mark Haddon uses various language features to explores different perspectives. The protagonist of the novel a young boy named Christopher, who is living with Asperger’s. The novel is written in his unique perspective. Haddon does this through the use of first person narration, tone and juxtaposing perspectives. Through the novel Haddon uses first person narration and tone to create Christopher’s unique perspective on the world. The readers attitude towards mother is altered throughout the novel.

In Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the objectivity of truth is placed into question. Throughout the book, Haddon is able to assimilate to his readers the thoughts and experiences of a boy with autism. The way in which Christopher views the world, is drastically distinctive from the majority of other persons. He is unable to distinguish a vast array of emotions and has difficulty emphasizing with and understanding others. Christopher is only able to make sense of other’s feelings and emotions through logical and literal interpretation. Ironically, Christopher’s own thoughts and emotions are void of this scrutiny. As a human being, Christopher is subject to feelings and emotions like everyone else. As a result of his inability to make sense of emotions, he is often forced to construe reasons for his own illogical behavior. Through means of Christopher’s pretentious interpretations, Haddon is able to establish an underlying theme of subjectivity.

As readers, we see how the analysis of conflictive themes has been taking over literature scenarios. When reading between the lines of certain books we can perceive themes such as conformity and rebellion. Mostly these themes can be seen in writings from times of social upheaval. According to The Oxford Dictionary, the word conformity means “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards”, while rebellion means “the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention.” These terms create a constant battle among societies. A certain amount of conformity needs to exist in life in order to avoid disorder. This is the reason society has laws, rules and expectations. Literature represents life, and these themes can be found at the root of many literary works. Conformity can also be considered as silence. This silence is based on the restrictions of real feelings and thoughts in some literary pieces. During the sixteenth century, the emphasis on conformity was at its height. Works of literature from this time period have often reflected a fascination and frustration with this particular characteristic. People do not want to be restricted in terms of expressing opinions and developing certain activities. When facing oppression, denial of their freedom, they rebel, and that contributes to the part of the process of change in society. Not all kinds of rebellions are rationally fundamental, but when they are, it can transform society for the

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

“Group conformity scares the pants off me because it’s so often a prelude to cruelty towards anyone who doesn’t want to-or can’t-join the Big Parade.” The style of text I have chosen to focus on is individuality, as I believe that uniqueness of an individual is essential for freedom. Through analysing the texts Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Equilibrium by Kurt Wimmer, Blind Faith by Ben Elton, The Machine Stops by E.M. Foster and I Always do what Teddy Says by Harry Harrison. I have noticed that societies are being controlled through the idea of conflicts and religious symbolism and conformity, which are prominent in all the societies. The intent to trigger us of the dystopias that could arise in our world today is prominent. I have also

The book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, written by Mark Haddon, follows the story of a teenager named Christopher Boone suffering with autism. In the book, Christopher begins to search for the murderer of his neighbor’s dog, and while looking, he figures that it was, in fact, his father who lied to him and killed the dog. Christopher learns that this is not the only lie, and he learns that his dad has actually lied to him about the death of his mother, so out of fear for his safety, he goes on a journey to London seeking his long thought dead mother. Christopher, due to his autism, sees things in the world differently than other people. He has trouble feeling empathy and experiencing emotions,

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” is about a teenage boy called Christopher, who lives with his father in the town of Swindon, England. Christopher is the narrator of the story and has Asperger syndrome, which is a form of autism. This Syndrome makes his way of thinking different from “normal” people. One day Christopher discovers his neighbour’s dog, Wellington, dead in the front yard, and he decides to reveal the murderer. To solve the crime, Christopher has to talk to the people in the neighbourhood, even when his father and the police officer has told him not to investigate the murder any further. When Christopher’s father discovers the book, Christopher was writing, he confiscates it after he had read it. In Christopher’s searching for the book, he finds some letters from his mother in his father’s bedroom. The mystery about this is that Christopher was told that his mother was dead by a heart attack, years before the dates on the letters. After Christopher found out that his father has lied all these years, he felt frightened of him. So, he decided to find