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Essay all the light we cannot see
All the light we cannot see
World War II in literature
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A man of great honor: John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” While conformity is something you can stand against, flouting can lead to downfall. Through the works studied it is evident citizens of different European countries were forced to comply to the expectations of their leader during the time of World War Two. Through characters, and theme it is revealed that conforming to society during this time period was highly influenced. Through the novel Anthony Doerr 's All The Light We Cannot See it is evident characters such as Marie-Laure Leblanc a perseverant blind girl, and Werner Pfennig a boy of many hidden talents are compelled to follow in the path of the citizens of their nature …show more content…
Marie Laure was residing in Paris with her father Daniel when she was diganosed with cataracts and became fully blind by the age of six. Her father was her everything he believed in her even when she did not believe in herself and he taught her everything she needed to know in order to become successful. Shortly after it becomes apparent that Paris will be overun by the Nazis so Marie-Laure and Daniel flee the city. Marie-Laure eventually loses her father and after the devastation her character grows immensely. Conformity takes over Marie-Laure as she is no longer allowed a choice, she follows the French resistance and does not question it which can be seen when she says “But it is not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don 't you do the same?” (Doerr 1142-1143) Through this quote it can be acknowledged that although many believe that Marie-Laure is brave for overcoming her obstacle of being blind, Marie-Laure sees no sympathy for herself, she does not believe she is brave because she simply knows no other way than conforming to the society around her, she does what she does to keep her life. Therefore it can be seen through the situation and time period of the written work, conformity in which is very prevalent through the character of Marie-Laure. Moreover it is evident that citizens of the Hitler led countries were attuned with his orders because there voice could not be heard. While Marie-Laure still had the ability to see a Frenchmen exclaimed “open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever” (Doerr 123). Doerr expressed this statement several times in the novel after the Frenchmen had said it to Marie-Laure because it portrays the truth behind the quote. Although this could have been said to Marie-Laure about her blindness as she grew older
Mariet Mankiev English IV Ms.Ellis September 16,2015 1. “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever”,(Doerr 48–49) When Jutta and Werner are sitting by the radio,the Frenchman ends his forecast by saying this. Werner tries to escape the real world with Hitler’s influence by listening to the radio that he and his sister found. This quote is a reoccurring theme throughout the story.
When Marie tries to ask the protagonist to take a walk, this action shows that she is trying to achieve Pauline’s dream by getting her outside of the house. Therefore, she could finally feel the true meaning of freedom. Nevertheless, Pauline’s mother’s response demonstrates that she wants her daughter’s safety more than anything. The mother tries to keep Pauline away from the danger, so the protagonist can at last have a healthier life. However, Agathe’s reply shows that her mother is willing to sacrifice Pauline’s dream to keep her secure.
Conformist is defined by an individual that follows the rules of society. They maintain the “right” way to succeed and work hard to reach those goals. Albert is the greatest example of a conformist from the book. Albert is dedicated to researching the condom usage among prostitutes but does so in the right manner. After being turned down a time or two, she finally got the opportunity to advance her knowledge. Instead of choosing deviant acts in order to obtain the information she was looking for, her patience, motivation, and hard work paid off in the end.
In the beginning of the novella, the reader is introduced to a collectivist society that rose up after a era dubbed the “Unmentionable Times” where it is assumed there was great destruction that caused the fear of new society. This society rejects individual ideals, differences, choices, and solitude. This society is meant to be portrayed as unlikable to people who come from where differences and talents are celebrated and encouraged, such as the United States. It doesn’t fit objectivism, and actually is entirely the opposite. The use of this kind of society in the book is only a tool to show how objectivism is much better than collectivism. It is meant to show the troubles of this kind of ideology such as a boring lifestyle, lack of choice, and inadequacy of technology and advancement. This society portray as weaker and less than an individual, while Equality, who is slowly gaining a sense of individuality, progressed beyond them at a much faster rate. This shown by the way they light up their respective worlds. While the society as a whole uses candles, which are primitive, provide small amount of light, and have fragile, naked flames, the light Equality discovers is stronger. It can be made brighter, cleaner, and doesn’t go out with a breath of air. The electric light is also a symbol for Equality himself. He is stronger and taller ...
In human society, there are only a select few that choose to avoid conformity which makes them an individual in being that they can control their minds and make decisions up for themselves. A famous sociologist, Solomon Asch, conducted the Asch experiment which was a line experiment to see if people would change their answers just to fit in with the group of people around them. Astonishingly, the results proved that over 75 percent of people conform to society to fit in. Conformity in society takes away individuality in turn making humanity fade away. “Beautiful Monsters”, written by Eric Puchner, talks about a dystopian world where kids rule the world who don’t age but still look like children. The Perennials (children) are genetically born
Ellen is also one of the main characters in this book, she’s also the same age as her best friend Annemarie. Even though she is a very shy girl, she wants to be an actress, in order to fulfill this dream she first has to survive the horrible, disgusting holocaust. with the help of her best friend and she may just be able to live her dream. “thats the worst thing in the world..to be dead so young. I wouldn’t want the germans to take my family away to make us live some place else.but still,it wouldn’t be as bad as being dead”.
In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedict rant about marriage for most of the beginning of the play, while Claudio raves about how wonderful it will be being married to Hero. Yet in the end, Claudio exchanges his marriage to Hero for an opportunity to bash her in public, while Beatrice and Benedick marry despite that they were mortal enemies for most of the first three acts. How did the situation swing around to this degree? Beatrice and Benedick had been using the most extreme metaphors to demonstrate their scorn of each other and of marriage, and Claudio had been doing the same to demonstrate his love of Hero. Not only did none of these three characters mean what they were saying, but meant the reverse, and the people that plotted to bring them together or pull them apart plotted because they understood on some level what each really wanted.
Conformity is an entity that occurs in the lives of the ordinary; an infinite precedent and inner machination of the enigma people call human nature. Consensus from hordes of people and authority influence independent thoughts, actions, and consciousness, a fundamental social mistake that consequently leads to stripped individuality and ultimately orthodoxy. In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, all plebeians’ voices are spoken as one and are universal. The plebeians display no debate or disagreement and are easily moved by the speeches of Brutus and Antony. In George Orwell’s 1984, the proletarians are all content; they have no need to rebel. Winston, the protagonist, is desperate to guard the ‘spirit of humanity’ while withholding his will to seek truth, yet he falters and joins the majority that will continue to maintain class hierarchy. Both, works delve into the instinct of human beings and the power of social pressures, showing that many will adopt views and beliefs even without realization, ultimately giving up one’s own individuality and free thinking. The fickle love of the plebeians in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and the ignorance of the proletarians in George Orwell’s 1984 portray conformity through the majority’s natural instinct to follow authority.
Society has always functioned on the premise that a person must adjust their behaviour in accordance with what is deemed socially acceptable at that time. If administrated to the fullest extent, the theme of conformity can be detrimental to the stability and growth of a community. Through analyzing the dystopian narrative elements of Sherri Jacksons’ works, readers are able to distinguish how the theme of conformity is still prevalent to humans today as it expresses the need for order and organization, eliminates fear of the unknown, and promotes society functioning as a whole with limited individuation. The author depicts this reoccurring normative event, to stress the notion that there is something fundamentally wrong with society.
In the United States, a country created out of rebellion, society seemingly celebrates the idea of uniqueness, individuality, and nonconformity. However, in Brave New World and 1984 , conformity is strictly and, sometimes, brutally enforced. However, in reality, is nonconformity really respected or are there more structures in place than we are willing to acknowledge to encourage conformity, even in the United States of 2017? While we seemingly celebrate individuality, in reality, we do many things to discourage nonconformity.
When pondering about what an individual thinks of you, people have varying views. Some people are not concerned; to others it is the most critical matter on their mind. The feeling of being judged is a very potent emotion. Likewise, conformity is one of the largest controversies in today’s society; the behavior of someone in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. So if someone personally made his or her expectations on what you should be like evident, would you change? In Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook, he illustrates that judgment and expectations conform a person into someone they are not due to their personal identity. This can be seen through a character’s loyalty to another, dominance and the vulnerability it includes, and a character’s love and devotion. Conformity and the reasons for its appearance will be analyzed through samples from Matthew Quick’s bestselling novel.
Invisible Man ends with the narrator running away from the police for being accused of doing something he did not do. Scenes like this from a novel that was written sixty years ago can still be recognizable to readers today because of police brutality. Since the narrator was near Ras the Exhorter, he was guilty by association. Other unfortunate events led the narrator to be expelled from school, unemployed, and released from his organization. There was always a person of higher position over the narrator who had a distorted view of race relations. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines white supremacy as “the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial groups, especially black
Imagine living in a world where almost everyone lived the same lifestyle. Same cars, styles, and personalities, almost everything was the same. There was a set social norm and if you were different, you might have been judged for the way you lived. You feel the need to change your lifestyle in order to fit in with the world’s “social norm”. There is a pressure from the people around you or the town/city that you live in. Now it is highly encouraged to be different amongst the rest of the people to stand out. However, before being “different”, many people felt the need to conform to society’s norm. In the books The Sun Also Rises and Babbitt, social conformity plays a huge role in their storylines. The term social conformity is a society or
As far back as we have the ability to look, it seems that figures in humanity have always been fighting against conformity, against submission, against resignation. It is in our nature as humans to strive to do what we believe to be the best and for many, this comes in the form of non-conformity or rebellion. Many authors over time have wrestled with this subject, from Henry David Thoreau with the government to Quincy Troupe with the educational system. The educational system is a very important factor in the idea of conformity as it is mandatory and strict and monotonous; basically a plethora of words that come to mind when one thinks of "conformity" and "obedience". Why is it that in such a fast paced, ever-changing world most of us regard those who choose not to conform; the "hippies", the "mavericks", "bohemians", the "vagabonds", and "vagrants", with an air of arrogance?
Conformity is defined as behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. This is not a good or bad thing, this just is. It exists as a compliment to earlier humans congregating into larger groups, using agriculture and domestication to create sustenance. Also, conformity is essential for life. We need people to share the same ideas, ideologies and a way of thinking in order to work efficiently and effectively. There many examples that exist like, at work or in your house and even within yourself. Sigmund Freud has explained the phenomena of group psychology in a piece titled, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Using Freud’s theory of conformity I will explain the self, what we call “me”,and its different constituents using The Principles of Psychology by