Conformity is defined as a type of cultural influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. First studied in 1932 conformity can take on many different forms and is part of our everyday lives. Conformity can be introduced via peer pressure and/or accepted social norms. Both Hook and Anzaldua talk about conforming, economically and linguistically respectively, to society. In the book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier the main protagonist, Jerry Renault, defies a powerful gang in school, called the Vigils, and must decide if conforming to their wishes is better than standing up against them and “defying the universe”. Both Hook and Anzaldua point out conformity in society based on pressures to meet various …show more content…
Her native Chicano is a mixture of Spanish and English but she could never speak it around native Spanish speakers since they considered it a “bastard language” (377). Her own people would call her a “cultural traitor” for speaking the “oppressor’s language” (375). When Anzaldua spoke her native language around English speakers she would get in trouble and be told to “speak American” (377) or go back to Mexico. Anzaldua goes as far as to call her experiences “linguistic terrorism” (377). She never felt comfortable talking to other Latinas in Spanish because of the intense ridicule she would endure. This led to a lowered self-esteem by the suppression of her language and culture by both Spanish and English speakers. Anzaldua tells her audience how she had to argue with her advisors while getting a Ph.D to focus on Chicano literature. This feeling of alienation is a stark contrast to Anzaldua’s pride in her small linguistic community when she first read a Chicano novel and felt they “really existed as a people” (379). This type of cultural and linguistic suppression obviously left Anzaldua unsure about her cultural identity and how she should and could interact with people of her own ethnicity. Not only was her self-esteem severely damaged but Anzaldua came to question her cultural …show more content…
This book follows Jerry Renault, the main protagonist, through his freshman year of high school and the punishments he receives from a gang called the Vigils and a teacher name Brother Leon. The Vigils give demeaning assignments to other students in the school to complete. Students follow these orders because they are scared of the power the Vigils hold. A chocolate sale sponsored by Brother Leon comes up and everyone is expected to sell chocolates by order of the Vigils. Jerry decides on a gut instinct to not sell any chocolates. Jerry is joined by other students and the Vigils see their power on the student body slipping. The Vigils plan to physiologically and physically destroy Jerry to alienate him and his rebellious attitudes. After constant brutal physiological and physical punishment Jerry finally concedes that it was wrong of him to fight the Vigils and he never should have “disturbed the
2. 	In the exposition of The Chocolate War, Jerry Renault, the freshman quarterback, was receiving constant blows from opposing players. Jerry was trying to get the ball to his receiver, the Goober, but not having any luck.
In ?Everyday Use?, Alice Walker chooses to develop the idea of poverty by focusing exclusively on the environment in which her protagonists live. Setting attributes, such as the ones used to describe the house in which the protagonists reside, enables us to better understand the theme. In fact, the dwelling does not even have any real windows. Instead, it has holes cut in the sides, like the portholes of a ship, but not round and not square, with rawhide holding the shutters up on the outside. Then, Walker proceeds with inside description of the house as she points out that the protagonists use benches for their table instead of chairs because they cannot financially afford any. Further, the author supports the theme by providing us with some physical description of specific objects. The use of quilts that ?Grandma Dee? sewed from the scraps of her dress and the churn that Uncle Henry whittled from the wood is not derived from the protagonists? intention to preserve ?family values? but rather from a necessity to ?survive?.
Conformity; to comply with the rules, standards or laws. Ray Bradbury uses conformity in Fahrenheit 451, Roald Dahl uses it in “Lamb to the Slaughter” as well. In Stephen Vincent Benet “By the Waters of Babylon” they use conformity, and in “Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin. The similarities of theme in Fahrenheit 451 and “Lamb to the Slaughter” are noticeable and deserve complete study. Most obvious comparisons are Mildred and Mary, having to face choices about conforming, Montag and John are both non conformers, Captain Beatty and Captain John Barton are both conformers. Comparing these two stories shows that conformity can affect a character's judgment as well as actions.
Cormier was born in Massachusetts. Like his characters in The Chocolate War, he attended a private Catholic school in New England. In the school, like many other students, he had both bad and good experiences. One of these good experiences originated from a teacher who had enjoyed Cormier's writing and encouraged him to continue. Although this teacher started Cormier on his career path, her presence and importance in his life could not balance out the horrible incident he was faced with at that school. One day in class, Cormier saw his house on fire from the window. Knowing that some family members had been home at the time, he wanted to leave class immediately and hurry back to his home. This was before cell phones, so he could not just dial
Many people often meet different characters in literature and in life that they admire or despise. They conclude if those characters are good or evil and at the same time they reflect on the choices and responsibilities that those characters have. From The Chocolate War I admire Roland Goubert or The Goober based on his actions. I despise Archie Costello (The Assigner of The Vigils) because of the choices that he made and also because of his actions.
Stories about life 's struggle to survive in everyday America can make one think twice of the American dream. In David Shipler’s book The Working Poor, David tells many different tales of people living in poverty and also analyzes what 's wrong and why. The book’s portrayal of the poor is not for the meek however, as one reviewer exclaims, “Through a series of sensitive, sometimes heart-rending portraits”, (Lenkowsky). In the book a lot of American ideologies are turned on its head as The Red Phoenix explains how our poor are viewed as, “Wealth and decadence are the tell-tale signs of hard work and brilliance paying off, while poverty is a sign of laziness, irresponsibility and a disposition or work-ethic undeserving of the
Downs, Doug. "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics." Writing About Writing: A College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 520-33, 581-594. Print.
Throughout the chapter, Shipler displays an extreme liberal bias involving people in poverty. His view in this chapter is that the childhood majorly affects a person’s future. He states, “Their future is crippled by their past” (Shipler 143). This quote is somewhat true. The adolescence years are the most important in shaping a person. However, Shipler takes this idea to the extreme and makes it seem that if a person has a bad childhood, he or she will end up in poverty. One real life example he puts in this chapter is the story of Peaches. Peaches had never known her birth parents, lost her adopted family before she was five, and was forced into a foster home. Because of her dark skin she was discriminated against and also suffered from verbal and physical abuse. ...
The definition of conformity is the compliance with social standards and laws in a particular culture, environment, society and time. If this occurs the individual changes their attitudes, beliefs or actions to align more holistically with those in the surrounding groups and environment, as a result of real or perceived group pressure. This is ultimately a direct result of the power which a group has over the individual. There are two types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. The motivation behind normative conformity is the desire to be liked and accepted in society. This is most widely known as peer pressure. For example, a student begins smoking because their peers
hooks recalls from personal experience the lessons she learned when she was growing up in a poor family. She says that in her household, no one was ashamed of living in poverty; instead, it was a “breeding ground of moral integrity” (hooks 433). hooks remembers her parents and grandparents teaching her about the value and the worth of a person. She grew up knowing that a person’s value was worth more than their material possessions (433). In addition, her grandparents informed her that no matter how many degrees a person may have, it did not prove their intelligence nor integrity (433).
She starts talking about how she started to see herself as poor. She had no money for school, and the only way she went was by loans and scholarships. She thought of the world as two categories, who had money to spend and who did not. Hook talks about how she went to college knowing there was no connection between poverty and personal integrity. She relates this word poverty to an experience she had in her past. This encounter took place in her college classrooms. She pointed out the professors and even the people in the class viewed the poor as unworthy. Some labels were put onto the poor such as laziness. College also came with stereotypes against the poor. Hooks was so shocked to see that people believed these stereotypes and listened to them. The poor people soon began to feel worthless they became ashamed of where they had come
Conformity, compliance and obedience are behavioural consequences of social influence (real or imagined social pressure) that occur in the presence of a group or other individuals (Elsenbroich & Xenitidou, 2012). Often these concepts are misinterpreted as being the same or even synonymous and while they do have similarities they are also very dissimilar. In social psychology conformity, compliance and obedience are distinct concepts that coincide due to their effect on behaviour in the presence of others. Pascual, Line Felonneau, Guéguen & Lafaille (2013) define conformity as an altering of behaviour and beliefs in an individual in order to reflect the behaviour and beliefs of the group that holds influence, though Myers (2014) emphasises that
Elliot Aronson (2012) provides a definition of conformity, two social psychological processes that underlie a conformity and cited examples of reasons why people conform in the book, The Social Animal. Aronson (2012) defines a conformity as “a change in a person’s behavior or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people” (p.19). In accordance with Aronson’s (2012) definition of conformity, people do conform owing to the social influence, which are two main social psychological processes: belonging and getting information.
Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings.
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.