Individuality Vs. Conformity: Article Analysis

In S.E. Hinton’s story, The Outsiders, group identity is so important that sometimes people overshadow their own identity. In our generation it is kind of the same way to some people, for instance people sometimes act and dress differently around the popular kids to fit in. While at home they do their normal routine and stay true to themselves. This is so important to the story for many reasons. It is also really important to kids this age in 2017.

The Catholic Church, the government, and other entities that distort natural, human desires are the cause of same-sex attractions in the novel. Through the character development of Theodore, Lewis identifies the influencing factors of homosexuality, characteristics that result from sexual suppression, and internal conflicts that individuals who express homosexual desires confront. Lewis reprimands societal institutions that misrepresent primitive drives to manipulate citizens into a vulnerable position. By identifying homosexuality as a consequence of authoritative entities enforcing sexual suppression, Lewis illustrates the irony of eighteenth century Europe; institutions are indirectly encouraging the behaviors that they are trying to

Society today is really judgemental. If you don’t wear the right clothes or have the right car then you will get judged. It’s kinda like in the book The Crucible if you weren't a puritan then you were an outcast or you might have been a witch. One of the puritan girls Abigail Williams blamed a lot of women who were called puritans and lived the puritan way. In this case people just judged them without looking into far more research.

In the novel Divergent, Veronica Roth shows the element one of many-- conformity. Conformity omits the idea of freedom and independence. Conformity appears in the beginning of the novel. Roth gives the readers an insight on the factions. All factions have a belief of conformity.

A new generation brings in a new, different culture. And somehow, it goes from different to rebellious. The adult American society will often look at the youth subculture’s homology: their choice of clothes, music, dance, and their overall lifestyle, and they will just begin to form these “personality conflicts” (O’Connor 412). If adults, more specifically parents, begin to have better understanding of why their subculture is often so different, then they will be able to relate to and raise “better” teenagers. This does not mean that every elder and adult has to embrace youth culture, but there should be an attempt to have a better understanding of it.

Fridman’s essay applies to different groups of people, as the problem exists on different layers of the society: from schools to universities and the adult life. The author’s purpose is to demonstrate

Having a different sexuality than the one expected of you, doesn’t change who you are as a person. Yes it might change how people see, or treat you, but it should never cause you to hate you uniqueness. You are who you are and nothing should ever come between you happiness even if others can’t accept it for what it is. In “Drowning in Fire” by Craig Womack, the author talks about homosexuality with the help of his central main characters that happens to be Native American.

The environment in which an individual grows up in can affect life greatly. Our surroundings influence one’s personality, self-expression, and individuality, otherwise known as identity. Finding one’s true self is the most grueling stage of life and expectations of family and society make the process even harder. One’s true identity can sometimes clash with hopes of others, thus breaking tradition and/or family ties. Pressure to change will always be present, but staying true to uniqueness will prevail.

Conformity is present in every group situation with adolescents. Adolescents are always looking to be a part of a group, usually conforming to the standards of the group. Adolescents often conform because they want to have the approval of the peers that are well liked or “popular”. A great example of adolescents and conformity is in the chick flick ‘Mean Girls’ through the different cliques in high school and how it affects the peers themselves. Caty, the main character, is faced with several difficult situations where she decides to conform with her high school peers getting her in trouble that becomes hard for her to escape.

For an utopian society to exist, there needs to be a merging of conformity and individualism in the society. Pure individualism or pure conformity in a society leads to a lopsided and corrupted society; they need to exist in synchrony. In Merry Mount, the people follow an ideology of complete freedom of thought and of individualism. The Puritan’s society shows what happens when everyone conforms and no one expresses their individual beliefs. When the ideologies of conformity and individualism merge it combines into a greater society as a whole, better than either of the individual half’s.

• Source – Literature Resource Center Middle • topic sentence - conformity; adults worried youth would not fall in

Individualism versus collectivism. Initially, a heuristic answer comes up to mind – Korea is a collectivist country. It is really so – people give a lot of focus to group and team work. They do not behave like the “smarty pants” in the class, though it was sometimes obvious that some students wanted to ask something or knew the answer to the teacher’s question, they still kept silence not to act out of line. They learn “how to do” rather than “how to learn” – that is why they do not question the material they are taught.

In today's society, the balance between individualism and conformity to society's expectations is a prominent and deceptive conflict. Oftentimes, the individual must put his uniqueness aside and settle for a view of an occupation, hobby, or idea that society agrees with. Instead of expressing original and creative ideas, they are held hostage by comparing themselves with the lives and accomplishments of others and the standards their our society. One of the biggest tools of society, social media, allows people to share ideas and interests with everyone. However, naturally, one will only post what he knows others will accept and enjoy just as he does.

In the article, it states different method of analysis that teachers should go by if they want to in cooperate books with lesbian and gay content. Before a teacher choose a book he/she must make sure the book won’t diminish self-esteem, the book language is respectful of lesbian and gay people, the book portrays lesbian and gay character in a healthy and loving relationship, and is not promoting or debunk stereotypes of gay and lesbian people? In my book, I do not feel like it diminishes self-esteem and shows a loving lesbian couple who are doing a good job at parenting Emma. Also, the article talked about the visibility for same-sex parents, which is when it is visible that the story is going to be about same sex couples. In Emma and Meesha

This altering view towards a society and its members increased the importance of the individual. In this new era, being an individual can be best achieved through being unique and distinctive. Moreover,