Because It Is Bitter and Because It Is My Heart
Can a person’s desire to fit in among society be so strong that it becomes the driving force of his life? Throughout Joyce Carol Oates' "Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart", the main characters are so desperate to be accepted by the society that this very desire molds their decisions and their lifestyle. The longing to be accepted burns so deep within Duke and Persia Courtney, Jinx Fairchild and most importantly, Iris Courtney that their lives are built around it.
Duke and Persia Courtney clearly base their lives around their desire to belong. First, Duke Courtney does this through his gambling habit. Through gambling, he can obtain acceptance in two aspects of his life: society and finances. Duke Courtney attends horse races where he not only makes bets, but also socializes with people of the upper class. By socializing with the men at the racetrack and forming friendships with them, he makes a place for himself in society. Although Mr. Courtney can satisfy his need to be socially accepted through gambling, his main motive is money. Money, to Duke Courtney, seems to be able to buy all happiness. With the little money he wins as a result of his bets, he indulges himself and his family with material things. By accumulating things such as expensive clothing and furniture, the Courtney family can establish a deceivingly-high financial standing in society as well. Mr. Courtney, without a doubt, strives to fit in which molds his lifestyle.
In addition to Duke, Persia Courtney also has the need to feel accepted by others. While Duke is consumed in gambling to make friends and money, Persia resorts to alcohol. This lifestyle is adopted mainly after Persia's permanent separation from Duke. Iris recalls many accounts of her mother arriving home late in the night escorted by many different men. Not only does Persia drink to feel socially accepted, but she obviously feels like she needs to be accepted by men as well. She believes that love and acceptance go hand in hand. In retrospect, Persia turns to a life of dependency, on both alcohol and men, to fulfill her need to feel accepted.
Another character that struggles with the need to fit in is Jinx Fairchild.
The question to then ask here, is whether this trait of gambling was just a simple hobby that meant nothing about themselves, or that it did infact represent a deeper understanding of who they were. Beginning with the idea of independence, Breen explains that the people within society sought no form of constraint by a higher political leader, but at times worked together to make sure their colony was stable Moreover, by understanding their preferences, it is safe to say that they w...
“We’re one family and we should stick together, just like the Rockefellers. In our own small way, I mean.” As boy living on St. Urbain Street in the ghetto of Montreal, Duddy Kravitz, the main character in Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, is budding in a society where people with wealth and power are highly respected. However, the complexity of a person’s character, like Duddy’s, is influenced immeasurably through his family. The main three people who manipulate Duddy, and also give insight into his character, are his grandfather Simcha Kravitz, his older brother Lennie Kravitz, and his Uncle Benjy.
Money can cause people to act selfish and arrogant, especially when they have so much money they do noteven know what to spend it on. In the novel,
...el, The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson accentuates the fact that society’s expectations of a character causes negative impacts upon their lives through the creation of a struggle to achieve his goal. Ian is an impeccable example of this because he is prone to adolescent tendencies due to youth. Ian struggles to achieve his goals due to the following expectations: to leave Struan, for a superior opportunity to become successful; to strive for a medical career, since he excels at the trade already; and to … Society is too abrupt in its assumptions of an individual, these assumptions often catch one unprepared, spreading chaos and confusion through one’s mind. It would be substantially more beneficial if society did not place expectations at all.
Society often pressures individuals within it to conform to different ideals and norms. This stems from the fact that individuals in a society are expected to act in a certain way. If a person or group of people do not satisfy society’s expectations, they are looked down upon by others. This can lead to individuals isolating themselves from others, or being isolated from others, because they are considered as outcasts. The emotional turmoil that can result from this, as well as the internal conflict of whether or not to conform, can transform an individual into a completely different person. This transformation can either be beneficial or harmful to the individual as well as those around them. The individual can become an improved version of himself or herself but conversely, they can become violent, rebellious and destructive. The novels Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess both explore the negative effects experienced by individuals living within the confines of society’s narrow-mindedness. In A Clockwork Orange, protagonist Alex was the leader of a small group of teenage criminals. He did not have a healthy relationship with either one of his parents or with others around him. Instead he spent most of his time alone during the day and at night roamed the streets in search of victims he could mug or rape. In Fight Club the unnamed protagonist was an outcast in his community. He chose to distance and isolate himself from others and as a result had no friends, with the exception of Tyler Durden and Marla Singer. Due to his isolation, he often participated in nightly fights that took place in Fight Club so that he could relieve his anxiety and stress. In this way, Alex and the unnamed protagoni...
The lives we lead and the type of character we possess are said to be individual decisions. Yet from early stages in our life, our character is shaped by the values, customs and mindsets of those who surround us. The characteristics of this environment affect the way we think and behave ultimately shaping us into a product of the environment we are raised in. Lily Bart, the protagonist in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, is an exceedingly beautiful bachelorette who grows up accustomed to living a life of luxury amongst New York City’s upper-class in the 20th century. When her family goes bankrupt, Lily is left searching for security and stability, both of which, she is taught can be only be attained through a wealthy marriage. Although, Lily is ashamed of her society’s tendencies, she is afraid that the values taught in her upbringing shaped her into “an organism so helpless outside of its narrow range” (Wharton 423). For Lily, it comes down to a choice between two antagonistic forces: the life she desires with a happiness, freedom and love and the life she was cut out to live with wealth, prestige and power. Although, Lily’s upbringing conditioned her to desire wealth and prestige, Lily’s more significant desires happiness, freedom and love ultimately allow her to break free.
As clever as human beings are, we still rely on social groups for survival. We evolved to live in cooperative societies, and for most of human history we depended on those groups for our lives. Like hunger or thirst, our need for acceptance emerged as a mechanism for survival. But when we don't have that, we tend to become disconnected from society, which ultimately leads to social rejection. Being socially rejected can also be the reason why people commit horrific acts. In the novel Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult shows that being socially ostracized can affect someone's life significantly.
Oftentimes, in the public, people have to be “normal” to be successful and accepted. Author William Saroyan believes that society steers people to be conform and fit in, but he disagrees. In the short story “Gaston,” Saroyan shows that carving a unique path can turn out to be erroneous. Through symbolism and contrast, Saroyan conveys the theme that society does not always accept people’s differences.
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.
The novel “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, and the novella “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James, both display the treatment of pride for upper and lower class similarly. Furthermore, the treatment of pride will be compared and contrasted in this essay to examine and understand how pride is treated. In novel and novella both the lower class characters believe their pride makes them superior beings. Although the pride of lower and upper-class characters led them to their corruption. Moreover, the upper-class characters in each narrative maintain their respectability by their pride. However, in “Jane Eyre” all casts must have their emotions controlled by their pride, or this will lead to inappropriate behavior. Nevertheless, in “The Turn of
Societies standards are what everyone wants to fit into it is the norms that are used as a guide to living life. The grandmother and the misfit in O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” follow the way of social values, thoughts, and way society sees one another closely in 1953. Both the grandmother and the misfit are different in many ways, but have one common value of society’s views are important to them. The way society views and judges people causes both the misfit and the grandmother to act differently but subtly makes them more alike than either of them could tell. The shared value of society’s point of view on a human being can explain both characters views, behaviors, and actions because of how heavily it weighed on the grandma and
In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical
Of course, one can never truly escape from the influence of society. A person is born and raised with the beliefs and customs of society, and it will always be a part of someone and will always influence how one thinks, how one reacts, how one speaks, and how one acts. But one may try to supress that immediate thought, the product of society’s influence, and think and react according to one’s new set of ideas.
Portraying the characters rejection to conformity, American literature illustrates the distinctive following of one's own standards. From what has been analyzed previously, the authors are trying to display a message of change through the characters words and actions. Many times it is apparent that the characters are in there times of most comfort when they are acting in such that makes them their own being, stepping aside from the standards of the rest of society. Writers try to express the importance of stepping outside of that comfort zone in order to grow and develop as a human being. How will one ever know who they are if they conform to be what everyone is told to be? The biggest advocate of rejecting the norms of America is Chris McCandless.
...udice in the social ladder. The Bennet family, although wealthy, was looked down upon, is relation to their social status. They were seen as low on the social ladder, because they had "new money." Lady Catherine, is another example of pride and prejudice displayed through social status, "Now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation…" Lady Catherine noticed flaws in everyone and used her position and title of "Lady" to rise above everyone and make herself seem superior to them. Her position gives her pride and she flaunts it in a negative way.