That Hideous Strength Analysis

Culture plays a paramount role in our lives. “It is what shapes who we are and how we view the world” (Thorp & Sanchez, 1998,

Ideologies not only influence our values, but also “our interpretation of the world and how people interact” (Connolly & Harms, 2013, p.8).

Ruth Benedict’s anthropological book, Patterns of Culture explores the dualism of culture and personality. Benedict studies different cultures such as the Zuni tribe and the Dobu Indians. Each culture she finds is so different and distinctive in relation to the norm of our society. Each difference is what makes it unique. Benedict compares the likenesses of culture and individuality, “A culture, like an individual, is a more or less consistent pattern of thought or action” (46), but note, they are not the same by use of the word, “like.” Benedict is saying that figuratively, cultures are like personalities. Culture and individuality are intertwined and dependent upon each other for survival.

Culture is a strong determinant of people's views of the very nature and meaning of

Connections of commonality and dissimilarity may be drawn between a multiplicity of texts through an appreciation of the values and attitudes with which they were composed. Accordingly, the values and attitudes of the individual being may be defined as an acute blend of externally induced, or contextual and internally triggered, or inherent factors. Cultural, historical, political, religious and social influences, dictated by the nature of one’s surroundings, imprint a variable pattern of values and attitudes upon the individual. Thus any deviation in any such factor may instigate an alteration of the contextual component of one’s perspective. By contrast, the

Equality and the others must recite the pledge, "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen'" (21) every night before they go to bed. In this pledge, anyone who repeats it, is agreeing to put the good of their “brothers” ahead of their own selfish desires and wants. Everything is to be done for the brothers. The leaders of this type of society really strive to reach their goal of “equality” among their people. Therefore, when someone like Equality comes into play, and, with his intelligence, indirectly threatens the master plan these leaders have been carefully crafting, they will try to put a stop to him in any way they can. In addition to the pledge every man must make before he goes to bed, each member of society must not be better than his subordinates. Equality explains, “This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them. The Teachers told us so, and they frowned when they looked upon us'" (21). Although Equality does not try to be superior over his fellow brothers, he ends up being smarter than his peers; it was just a quality he was born with. Therefore, when the teachers notice Equality’s superiority, in the form of knowledge, the Council of Vocations would do anything in their power to make sure Equality does not mess up their

In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, everyone in society is equal. In today’s society we fight for equality, but this book is an eye opener of what true equality is really like. Equality, while it seems like it would be a utopian future, may actually turn out to be a dystopian future. Even in a society such as the one in the book, there can never be true equality. No matter how many rules they have, there is always going to be something that isn’t equal. For example in the book, Anthem, the main character, Equality, is taller than most people as well as smarter. In the book, when you leave the Home of the Students the Council of Vocations chooses your job for you. If you think about what you want to do after you leave the Home of the Students, it is considered sin. When Equality goes to the Council of Vocations, he admits that he was guilty of Transgression of Preference. The Council of Vocations gave Equality the job of street sweeper. Before leaving the Home of the Students, Equality had wanted to be a scholar. The scholars were allowed to ask questions and they invented everything. Because Equality was smart he knew everything the teachers taught him before they even taught it. The teachers forbade Equality to ask questions and he was lashed more than the other students. Equality wanted to

Responders of both texts are positioned to see familiar values and attitudes reflected in different worlds. From a “time characterised by massive

Martin Luther King Jr. once said “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” However, I will not be silent. Sexism is a thing of the past, present, and future. Women have never been seen as equal to men. This idea and concept affect how women carry out their lives. Women may act different or speak different just based on society's thoughts about their gender. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and in today’s society it is clear that because of women’s perceived “weakness”, men now dominate women legally, physically and financially.

As humans, we define generations as different types of people from different times. Each generation had its own unique characteristics that defined their time. Though the variety of each time was great, it could have some additions from the new generation. One major thing the new generation could inform the “oldies” is that, accepting others put us far as a majority. Understanding different types of people without fear can bring happiness and success to lives, without trouble.

“In any culture, subculture, or family in which belief is valued above thought, and self-surrender is valued above self-expression, and conformity is valued above integrity, those who preserve their self-esteem are likely to be heroic exceptions.” So many cultures collide. A cultural collision is a conflict that arises from the interaction of people with completely different cultural values.

Different ideas- Everyone has them. Now, do not get it wrong, the different ideas that people may share do resemble some of the same main points. Older and younger generations have the same sort of deal. "The Stones", a short story by Richard Shelton explores the contracting and comparable ideas between older and younger generations. Shelton refers to each of the generation as "stones".

Everyone has an identity which is shaped by both religious, racial, or cultural affiliations, and present day society. Amin Maalouf discusses this, calming the first group as being a “vertical” heritage and the latter being a “horizontal heritage.” Though he clearly states that “vertical” heritage, cultural and religion, are crucial, Maalouf believes that people are more influenced by society; their “horizontal” heritage. He argues the fact that we may have our different “vertical heritage,” but we depend on our “horizontal” one to live day to day.

Just as we witnessed a generational gap in ideals and lifestyles of the participants in “Young and Restless in China,” I saw similar generational differences and similarities in my own interviews and observations. I came to the realization that the generation can determine the personal experiences one has, therefore impacting a person’s ideals and lifestyles. There was also a comparable struggle of the younger generation striving to remain true to the traditions and ethics of their family’s while also keeping up with the changing society we live in today. When interviewing those of a younger generation and older generation on their views of the refugee crisis and refugees coming to America, I saw clearly how society progresses and changes

In today’s society, an individual who is a member of the dominant privileged societal assembly is not always discussed because the personal identity is taken as a guarantee due to the dominant culture. Nevertheless, culture affects the members of society because of the association with the dominant culture we become a different category consequently which leads to being treated and viewed differently (Tatum, 2000.) “Culture creates a person” (Vognar, 2012). In my opinion, culture influences how we represent ourselves; starting with how we communicate, behave, body gestures and postures. This can affect us psychologically. “Culture shapes us, but many events mold culture and we shape these just as much”. By virtue of unconsciously of us behaving in a way that we feel is culturally appropriate according to how we were raised from our early childhood years to our teenage