“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” These wise words from Ralph Waldo Emerson nicely sum up why individuality is better than conformity. Stepping out of your comfort zone and being a leader amongst a world of followers is an incredible achievement. Individuality is extremely important because it allows society to grow and promotes creativity. Without individuality, society would not continue to grow as it does now, nor would it be at the advanced state we are currently in. Modern day think tanks are an excellent example of this. A think tank is a body of experts providing advice and ideas on specific political or economic problems (dictionary.com). Basically, a …show more content…
Born April of 1930, painter, architect, and set designer Anatole Krasnyansky is a great example of the creativity that being an individualist can bring. While living in the U.S.S.R., Krasnyansky received his master’s degree in fine art and architecture (wikipedia.org). He soon realized though, that the freedom of expression he needed for his art could not be found in the Soviet Union. Working as an architect, Krasnyansky was only allowed to paint the structures he built, as that was all his employer granted. However, as soon as he moved to the United States, a place where his individuality was embraced, he found success in a new watercolor technique he created himself (wikipedia.org). The ability to act as an individual allowed Krasnyansky to grow in his skills and broaden his …show more content…
This denial did not discourage them, however, it actually boosted their determination and inspiration, ultimately bringing even more attention to themselves and becoming the best-selling music group in history. Their individuality allowed them to defy rejection and expand their creativity, opening them up to a world of new and incredible opportunities. Much earlier, in 1903, creator of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford used his individualism to creatively meet the overwhelming demand for his new revolutionary vehicle, the horseless carriage. Ford introduced large production plants and, in 1913, the world’s first moving assembly line for cars (history.com). Growing up, he was often outspoken and criticized for his anti-semitic views and writings (history.com) but didn’t let that stop him from becoming the unique individual he was and completely advancing the world of industry and factory
Conformity can be very crucial, infact a lot of people eventually start hurting themselves or doing drugs just because they don't feel themselves anymore.Why can't society change? why can't that one kid that always follows everyone in the back can turn into the kid that just hangs with the people they really wanna hang with?We need to embrace ourselves so we can stop all this conformity from consuming us.Tupac was a nonconformist, he always did what made him happy and always told the truth.
Vladek has a very complex personality that evolved so muh because of the expereinces that he made
Individualism regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Individualism holds that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among men, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights—and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members.
Pursuing a personal desire and choosing to conform to societal expectations is a challenging decision to make. A person must decide if their personal desire is worth risking the shame and judgment of others or is conforming the route to take because it is easier. When pursuing a personal desire one must ask itself if it is worth the hardship to accomplish one's desire or if it is best left alone and repressed, in hopes of finding comfort in conformity. John Laroche from The Orchid Thief expresses his personal desire without a care for conformity or societal expectations. Nevertheless, Laroche never stopped being strange as he grew up with fascinations of many objects such as orchids, turtles, old mirrors and fish tanks.
In society, it's difficult to go against the norm. Individuals are compelled to act a specific way, or look a specific way in order to be accepted. For instance, teenagers may encounter pressure from their peers to partake in specific exercises that may not be moral, since they feel the need to fit in. This weight of conformity isn't just present in reality; it can be found in literature as well. The story "St. Lucy’s Home For Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell depicts that in order to conform to society, individuals abandon their selflessness and compassion and become selfish and apathetic.
The debate over individualism and collectivism has been the fundamental conflict both in political philosophy and in ethics. Philosophers such as Ayn Rand think that human beings are fundamentally individuals, and that everyone exists for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. But it is very rare for one to live completely alone by himself. The entire human race would not be able to evolve and reproduce, if humans were individualistic in nature, and each individual needs some form of support from group to enhance its own odds of surviving. Humans naturally are in need of each other to survive, to reproduce, and to protect their offspring. Such needs are innately built into every human being, and
Everybody wants to be accepted, yet society is not so forgiving. It bends you and changes you until you are like everyone else. Society depends on conformity and it forces it upon people. In Emerson's Self Reliance, he says "Society is a joint stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater." People are willing to sacrifice their own hopes and freedoms just to get the bread to survive. Although the society that we are living in is different than the one the Emerson's essay, the idea of fitting in still exists today. Although society and our minds make us think a certain way, we should always trust our better judgment instead of just conforming to society.
In the essay Self-Reliance, Emerson addresses his idea on individualism which allows for nonconformity because being a nonconformist in today's mimetic society, can construct an authentic identity. The social conformity in today’s world influences people into conformism, thus eliminating individual thoughts or beliefs. According to Christina Bianca, a creator from At Auburn University, claims that, “In today’s society...it’s become all too easy to let society tell us what to believe through the constant swarm of messages attempting to achieve communication with us.” Society, as stated by Christina Bianca, “attempts to carve beliefs into the human brain by any means possible.” For example, “if you were to log onto any form of social
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
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.
Mark Rothko is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century and during his lifetime was touted as a leading figure in postwar American painting. He is one of the outstanding figures of Abstract Expressionism and one of the creators of Color Field Painting. As a result of his contribution of great talent and the ability to deliver exceptional works on canvas, one of his final projects, the Rothko Chapel offered to him by Houston philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, would ultimately anchor his name in the art world and in history. Without any one of the three, the man, the work on canvas, or the dream, the Rothko Chapel would never have been able to exist for the conceptualization of the artist, the creations on canvas and the architectural dynamics are what make the Rothko Chapel a product of brilliance. Mark Rothko, born as Marcus Rothkowitz, was born September 25, 1903 in Gvinsk, Russia and by the age of ten had emigrated to the United States with his parents.
secondly, as “a theory maintaining the political and economic independence of the individual and stressing individual initiative, action, and interests.” Thoreau was the consummate individualist, engaging in a relatively solitary life for over two years. Emerson believed that self-reliance would enable a man to change his own world for the better. Franklin, a successful businessman who valued the principles of the individual’s worth and diligence, made lasting contributions to society through his own hard work.
Imagine living in a society where there is no sense of independence, individual thought or freedom. A society where the government uses disturbing methods that dehumanize people in order to force conformity upon them. Taking away any sense of emotion, It would be very undesirable to live in a society with such oppression. Such society is portrayed in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. The World State uses social restrictions to create permanent artificial personalities for people within the society. The World State also uses controlled groupings of people to brainwash them further to be thoughtless people with no sense of individualism. Lastly, the World State uses drugs to create artificial happiness for people, leaving no room for intense emotion which causes people to revolt against the World State. Within the novel Brave New World, it is seen that the World State eliminates individuality through social restrictions, government controlled groupings and the abuse of drugs to maintain control of the population.
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).
...clusion, Caitlin Tom’s essay Individuality vs. Fitting in, the American novel Little Women by Louisa Alcott, and the romantic yet empowering dramatic film Jane Eyre all exemplify the importance of a society pertaining individualism as it leads to overcoming societal barriers and stereotypes through recognition, it encourages individuals to bring about change through their unique individualism, and aids them in valuing the invoked change in relation to their individualist characteristics and traits. It is evident that individualism is very crucial for a society willing to maintain its civilization successfully. Thus, individualistic traits are the fuel which drive a society to its development and initiation through evolution. As a reminder, Individuals should use their unique individualistic traits and characteristics in order to help improve society as a whole.