Do you feel free to express yourself or are you afraid of what society might think? Many people in this day and age have learned to express themselves in new, and some may say in “peculiar” ways. For example, people tattoo and pierce their bodies and manipulate the way they look. In the essay “The Sociology of Leopard Man” the author, Logan Feys, shares his ideas about The Leopard Man and the opinions on individuals in society. The Leopard Man is tattooed from head to toe and lives a happy life in solitude. He is an individual in his own way and by overlooking the thoughts of society he has achieved a form of paradise. Many are too afraid to express their true selves and are under constant pressure to surrender their individuality to the will …show more content…
Many people waste their lives striving to be someone they aren’t or to fit into a certain group of people. Everyone is unique and special in their own way and as Feys says “To be human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes, talents, values and dreams that are different from others.”(paragraph 6) Especially in High School students try more to blend into a certain group, I myself have suffered from the desire to fit in. I believe that there is always going to be someone better than me, (more athletic, or smart, pretty, creative… the list goes on) but I, as well as society, should learn to accept …show more content…
However, I partly disagree with this. I think that the author is bias because he left out the idea that it’s okay to be a conformist or not really stand out. You can be yourself without having to stand out. Despite the fact that everyone in an individual in some way, everyone is also similar to others. Not all people feel comfortable fully revealing their true selves, possibly because of society’s response. Everyone expresses themselves in big and small ways. I know people who are very private, and this is perfectly fine to keep your individuality to
In Michael Byrne “The Deep Sadness of Elk That Don’t Run,” Michael talks about how the bourgeoisie want to create conformity and approval, but Michael writes “That these are the people that don’t succeed in groups…” (Byrne, Michael. The Deep Sadness of Elk That Don't Lie. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.) They are going as to get mindless conformity that they are training students to know how to fit in, in the excerpt by Susan Cain “The Power of introvert in the World That Can’t Stop Talking.” “Children’s classrooms are arranged in pods, because group participation supposedly leads to better learning; in one school I visited, a sign announcing “rules for group work”…” With this happening in schools around the United States, stigmas are thrown on kids
The world is divided up into numerous things: Countries, states, cities, communities, etc. However, when looking at the big scope of things, one can group the vast amount of people into a society. This society is where the majority lie in the scheme of things - in other words, the common people. Individuals do exist in this society, but they are scarce in a world of conformism. Society’s standards demands an individual to conform, and if the individual refuses they are pushed down by society.
Imagine. You are a student once again and you are struggling to feel like you fit in. Everyone in your class seems to be smarter, faster, and better than you. You feel like you do not belong and are a loser. Now switch gears.
Another point I agree with is that it's a lot easier to just fit in and not lead the train and being yourself. I personally know from experience. Growing up I always tried to conform just to fit in with the people that surrounded me. It's not just me that i've seen conform to fit in, i've seen many of my friends conform to fit in with the crowd. All around me, everyday people are conforming and changing to fit in with the society.
Doris Lessing uses this to state that individuals will conform to the majority because of society’s pressures and lose individualism. Lessing uses the fact that because of western societies are well educated in different ways, free to make choices that this makes the individual, but people never think to look at their lives and see that they are no longer and individual because they are conforming to the pressures of society. She uses the fact that people often socialize with “like-minded” people often forces to make decisions that our peers make. She declares that, “We find our thinking changing because we belong to a group. It is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group.” She goes on to review several experiments that involved conforming to groups.
The things that make one different are the things that cause the world to change and lead to conformity. Uniqueness is a characteristic that is in everyone; no one person is the same. In this way, Equality 7-2521 from Anthem, a novel written by Ayn Rand, conforms to society on his outward actions to keep him safe, but on this inside, his drive for individuality and not being “normal” allows him to discover a tunnel in which he discovers multiple things like electricity. In a similar aspect, I seek to with my mind, as if a moving vehicle, swerve sharply to the opposite direction to avoid indifference and achieve my maximum potential.
This reflects back to real life where people’s social identities can alter the way others view and treat them, taking away peoples’ personal leeway for self expression in fear of a negative response from their peers. That heavily tattooed man could just be a kind aspiring kindergarten teacher, while that sweet old lady could be a subway pickpocket. Shakespeare shows in Twelfth Night that social identity does not always align with inner character; an underlying theme that shines through to our society today.
Individualism and conformity--two very commonly used terms to describe anyone in today’s time. In comparison to the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man,” written by Logan Feys, one of the most notable quotes that relates to individualism and conformity is “to be a human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes [...][and]talents [...] that are distinct from those of others. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family, …” (Feys Par. 6). To be truthful, conformity and nonconformity are used to determine a person’s inner-being, but every person is different, and in this case people will not always agree with each other on how they should live.
No one ever wakes up one day and decides to get rid of their individuality. It’s just with the way society is set up humans are limited to how they can live their life. Conforming to standards is something that is forced and never done willingly. Elie Wiesel’s article, “A Sacred Magic Can Elevate the Secular Storyteller” and Franz Kafka’s short story, “A Report to an Academy” both present different experiences of complying to people’s standards. Within these experiences it’s evident
“One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.”- Shannon L. Alder, American author. Even with all the temptation and pressure we feel just to fit in today's society, or to be normal, it's crucial that you hold on to your passions, goals, dreams, values, and to hold on to yourself. Being yourself is very hard to do especially in today’s society. Such as the short story “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath.
Society is filled with outcasts. Everywhere one looks, there is someone who is different and has been labeled as an outcast by the others around them. People fear disturbance of their regular lives, so they do their best to keep them free of people who could do just that. An example of this in our society is shown in people of color. Whites label people who do not look the same as them as and treat them as if they are less important as they are. The white people in our society, many times unconsciously, degrade people of color because they fear the intuition that they could cause in their everyday lives. Society creates outcasts when people are different from the “norm.”
The inability to conform in society can lead to unhappiness and the feeling of inequality
Conformity and Obedience in Society The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is an undeniable human need. But how does this need affect an individual? Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In her essay “Group Minds,” Doris Lessing discusses our paradoxical ability to call ourselves individuals and our inability to realize that groups define and influence us.
Attitudes towards life have changed more and more over the years as the personal interest in tattoos grow. “Teenagers create control over life when they side with tattoos to control emotions and life” (Babb’s). “Making a permanent choice with ones body through tattoos is a huge commitment” (Babb’s). Undoubtedly sometimes the personal interest is usually based on stereotypes, and self-expression. “Tattoos are usually chosen to express something that lies under the individual’s skin” (scoop). The abstract world tends to look down upon the ones who take part in this art. People choose to really show what’s on the inside by revealing it on the outside with tattoos. Which is the only way they can express either feeling or emotions?
If you were to walk into a high school lunchroom, what is the first thing you would see? Groups, cliques, friend circles, and separations. Tables split up in detached formations, almost completely unaware of the other surrounding pupils nearby. The most common groups in high school are the populars and the outcasts. The kids who have endless friends, engage in team sports, and meet the ideal teenage standards, against the ones who are quiet, solitary, and unconventional. The ones that are outcasts fall into the second description. They don’t line up with society's norms therefore, they tend to be looked upon as bizarre and atypical. Outsiders are too often misjudged and misunderstood