Merriam-Webster defines conformity as, “action in accordance with some specified standard or authority” (Merriam-Webster). With this definition in mind, one may discover that it is quite easy to conform into a society ridden with cliques of people and individuals that have similar interest as oneself. Although it may be easier to conform, conformity prevents the surrounding society from growth, inevitably making the society and its people horrendously boring and incapable of being a working individual in the stated society. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron”, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” written by Joyce Carol Oates, and “Musée des Beaux Arts” by W.H. Auden all vaguely discuss the necessity of individualism, understanding …show more content…
Now, if one looks at Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, biblical references play a very prominent role. In the short story, Oates writes about a girl named Connie, who wants nothing more from life than to escape her home of conformity and rebel against her mother. Connie saw her dreary life as nothing more than something to leave behind and grow from. Although the individual tempting her out of this life happened to be the devil himself, she saw this opportunity as a possible outlet to take advantage of. Oates explains,
“Connie sat with her eyes closed in the sun, dreaming and dazed with the warmth about her as if this were a kind of love, the caresses of love, and her mind slipped over onto thoughts of the boy she had been with the night before and how nice he had been, how sweet it always was, not the way someone like June would supposed but sweet, gentle, the way it was in movies and promised in songs; and when she opened her eyes she hardly knew where she was, the back yard ran off into weeds and a fence-like line of trees and behind it the sky looked perfectly blue and still”
From the opening lines of, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates, readers are immediately introduced to the character, as well as indicating the story is being told by a third person narrator. The use of a third person narrator lets readers know what connie is thinking allowing them to identify with her on a more personal level. The beginning of the story is also introduced in past tense. This could foreshadow the fact that something bad might have happened to connie, also suggesting the theme of violence.
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", "The Veldt", and "Story of an Hour" are all short stories where the author uses rhetorical devices to convey their themes and messages. By using techniques like imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing, and other devices, these stories draw the reader in and keep them engaged. Each of these stories uses rhetorical devices to create a lasting impression on the reader. "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin is a story that employs several different rhetorical devices to express the author’s themes and ideas.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" was written by Joyce Carol Oates and the poem “First Love: A Quiz " written by A.E Stalling both have a lot in common. The poem takes the ancient Greek myth of the rape of Persephone and reconstructs it, for today’s society. The short story takes place in 1960s Middle-America. Both demonstrate allegorical figure of evil to illustrate the theme of love and the loss of innocence.
Kevin Billy Professor Lane ENG152 Section 17 1 March 2023 An Old Fiend Elements from the Bible have been incorporated in literary works all throughout time. Characters in all sorts of stories throughout history have been subjected to the idea of resisting evil and being free of sin. A prominent example of this is in the story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. This short story takes place from the perspective of Connie, who is an average high school student who has become particularly vulnerable to temptations people her age face.
The cost of conformity is the loss of individualism,
What is conformity? What is individuality? Conformity is behaving according to what society accepts, following rules or laws. While individuality can be considered as the opposite. Individuality is being different from the rest, being original and being yourself, not what other expect you to be.
Webster’s Dictionary defines individuality as “the quality that makes one person or thing different from all others”, and conformity as “behavior that is the same as the behavior of most other people in a society”. John F. Kennedy says, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” Oftentimes, much like in Kennedy’s case, individualism is praised over conformity, labeling the former good or courageous and the latter bad or lazy, because individuality fuels change, whereas conformity prompts a societal stasis. However, it needs to be taken into account that humans are, in Aristotle’s words, social animals and thus, in societies as complex and intricate as ours, stasis suggests stability, which is not necessarily bad.
In today’s society the general attitude towards an individual is conform or be an outcast. It is seen in schools where people who do not fit into specific cliques become outcasts, the weird people. It is seen in the work place as well. People have conformed to standards set by society simply because society has said to do so. Society asks people to change themselves to fit in.
Conformity is very important to society. Many people conform every day. Conformity is important because it brings people together. Among the Hidden, in this story we see people conforming because of the situation they are in. Society encourages conformity through higher level people, social groups, and media.
Even though there are numerous individual opportunities and benefits for not conforming to society, internal, subconscious desires compel individuals to forego their individualism and assimilate to
Another example of conformity in today's society is bathing. I guess it is showing good hygiene, but if a person does not shower every day that doesn't make them weird. If you don't want to bathe every day, do not. “I’m antisocial they say. I don’t mix.
Conformity and individuality are important themes. We apply them to our lives. Conformity is everywhere, but individuality is very rare to find because everyone is afraid. Conformity versus individuality is important to study in order to better understand
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” Throughout his career, famed German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche criticized conformity; he viewed it as the regression of human society. It is not necessarily a negative trait, but like any dangerous virus, it remains dormant until a sickness exposes the host.
Firstly, conformity creates a safe atmosphere and a safer environment for the citizens to live in. Conformity eliminates all the negative and positive differences in each other. Yes, individualism does urge people to pursue personal achievements, which creates competition between individualism with a desire to besiege each other that can unfold a war within the civilisation, an onset of development of dangerous, harming and deadly weapons that lead to illness, mental and physical disorders in addition to deep dejection in the society. To prevent this from originating, we can abolish all the distinctions between each other and as Jonas said “we can gain control of many things.” which can be achieved together as a community.
In society, conformity is very common to see in many different situations. It is seen in groups of friends,cultures, and even through strangers. It can be shown in numerous ways, positive or negative. Conform means to comply to rules or standards. Throughout life, conformity and its ideas are good for society because it creates companionship,organization,and tradition.