The Naked Citadel Essay

Behavior can be defined as an individual’s response to an action. The provoked feeling that propels someone to move or strike is a general example of behavior. Behavior is influenced by many different factors and comes forth in different forms. Some examples of these factors include one’s genetic makeup, environment, individual thoughts, and feelings. What makes one person’s behavior uniquely different from another comes from the diversity of the world, in terms of different habits, cultures and sex. This diversity is what sets individual behavior apart from one another. However, does this mean that people are wired to function according to the expectancy of society? In order to answer this question, it is essential to understand how the effects

She further describes the environment of the Citadel and notes the different changes that occurred in the behavior of the cadets over time. An example of this would be when the “men were stripped of their identity” (Faludi 282). Stripping, in this context, is when the original identity of the person is removed and then reconstructed. This new version of the cadet typically made their behavior more violent and extremely emotional. The changes observed at the Citadel are supplementary supported by Malcom Gladwell’s essay “The Power of Context.” The power of context described how a person actions and decisions are impacted largely by the environment. This “power of context” is displayed throughout Faludi’s essay. Both essays provide a connection to the environment of the Citadel to explain the behavior, renewed mindset, and new actions of the

The Citadel was created to have an environment that foster an image of being the ideal man in the cadets. However, the cadets did not portray that image. Instead, the cadets felt like they were in womanly roles, like taking care of other cadets and helping each other with problems. The cadets saw these behavior as something mothers would do. This behavior is not something men would do. Men were tough and do not share problems. They can also take care of it themselves. The upperclassmen cadets acted masculine by abusing the freshmen and haze others. The upperclassmen behavior was to cover up the emotional side of them. “The essence of the Power of Context is that the same thing is true for certain kinds of environments - that in ways that we do not necessarily appreciate, our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances” (Gladwell 243). The cadets of the Citadel had romantic relationships with the drag queens because of the effect the Citadel had on their emotions. Some felt that drag queens were more of a woman than real women are. Many cadets felt that they did not need real women in their life because men were better at both roles of women and