CONFORMITY As defined in Merriam-Webster dictionary, "Conformity is the fact or state of agreeing to similar behaviors of other people in a society, or a group.” In the following articles: " My First Goose" by Isaac Babel, " The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie and, "They Call Him Miracle Worker" by Michael Ryan, the authors illustrate how the characters of these essays felt pressured to conform to the expectations of others without their wiliness, which caused them to regret the mistakes they made to their lives. People, who feel pressured to conform to certain behaviors, beliefs, and expectations of group norms against their better judgment, live a life to please others without their decision. In the short story, …show more content…
Sherman Alexie begins his essay by making a connection between his family backgrounds to that of other Indians living on the reservation. He recalls the time he was reading his dad's book and how the concept of a paragraph had influenced his life, saying "a paragraph was a fence that held the words" (64). To Alexie, a paragraph was a separation between two groups of people; the Indians in American society. As he continues, the author talks about the expectations of being a failure as an Indian boy "we were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up to this expectation in the classroom...” Although it was expected of him like others to fail, Sherman refused to conform to such ideology saying, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant, I was lucky" (65). This quote is important because Sherman wanted to make his fellow Indians understand how his desperation and love for knowledge had helped him break through the idea of being a failure, by constantly reading books. Now Alexie teaches creative writing to Indian children on the reservation as a way of releasing them from their cultural limitations and allowing his people to develop the interest of gaining knowledge through books. Native-American students had been stereotyped as failures in the non-Indian world. Many of Sherman's friends …show more content…
Benjamin Carlson was once a poor black kid in the inner city of Detroit who graduated from Yale and won two prestigious awards in surgery. As a teenager, he had anger issues that nearly caused him to stab a person with a camping knife. His mother had worked in multiple jobs to keep the family together and convinced her sons about doing something in their lives. Carlson states, "She brainwashed [my brother and me] into believing we could do anything.” During his early life, Benjamin Carlson attended a junior high school with white students and won a prize as the best student in a class; that "infuriated his teacher.” Back in the inner city high school, Carlson felt influenced by his friends behavior of indulging in "all kinds of drugs and alcohol.” His mother constantly worked on him, trying to convince him to change his behavior. Carlson agrees and begins to study. Carlson said, "[He] never, under any circumstances thought of giving up on anything [he does].” Also, he stated, "Everybody has barriers and obstacles. If you look at them as hurdles, then you are going to [succeed]”. Ben Carlson began to conform to the behavior of his peers during his high school days. At that time, Carlson had just met
Imagine growing up in a society where a person is restricted to learn because of his or her ethnicity? This experience would be awful and very emotional for one to go through. Sherman Alexie and Fredrick Douglas are examples of prodigies who grew up in a less fortunate community. Both men experienced complications in similar and different ways; these experiences shaped them into men who wanted equal education for all. To begin, one should understand the writers background. Sherman Alexie wrote about his life as a young Spokane Indian boy and the life he experienced (page 15). He wrote to encourage people to step outside their comfort zone and be herd throughout education. Similar to Alexie’s life experience, Fredrick
How White people assumed they were better than Indians and tried to bully a young boy under the US Reservation. Alexie was bullied by his classmates, teammates, and teachers since he was young because he was an Indian. Even though Alexie didn’t come from a good background, he found the right path and didn’t let his hands down. He had two ways to go to, either become a better, educated and strong person, either be like his brother Steven that was following a bad path, where Alexie chose to become a better and educated person. I believe that Alexie learned how to get stronger, and stand up for himself in the hard moments of his life by many struggles that he passed through. He overcame all his struggles and rose above them
In “Indian Education”, Sherman Alexie stresses to his readers and audience the effects of discrimination within educational facilities. Sherman Alexie grew up in Wellpinit, Washington on the Spokane Reservation with his parents. Sherman’s father is a Coeur d’Alene Indian who married his mother, a Spoken Indian. Through his grade school years, Sherman endured teasing from his fellow classmates and disapproval from his school teachers when he exceeded their expectations. It wasn’t until high school that Sherman realized that his educational opportunities were limited compared to the white race. This pushed Sherman to make the decision of attending a nearby farm town high school in the town of Reardon. However, during his high school years, the factor of discrimination was present as Sherman tried to build his education.
The words that have been written are not always what is supposed to be read. Sherman Alexie uses metaphors and other literary devices to convey a message to the reader about the native youth and their experiences. The message is relatively consistent; the youth will more likely than not fall into the continuous trends of poverty and alcoholism and surrender to racial injustice just as previous generations have. It is an uninterrupted cycle that is past down to the next generation, and Alexie is only reporting the truth of what really goes on inside the reservation.
Growing up on a reservation where failing was welcomed and even somewhat encouraged, Alexie was pressured to conform to the stereotype and be just another average Indian. Instead, he refused to listen to anyone telling him how to act, and pursued his own interests in reading and writing at a young age. He looks back on his childhood, explaining about himself, “If he'd been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity” (17). Alexie compares the life and treatment of an Indian to life as a more privileged child. This side-by-side comparison furthers his point that
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 purpose of this story was to help other Indian children that are in the same position he is at to save their lives with reading. Why with reading though? Because reading is a basic skill of knowledge that will lead your to more and more intelligence. He shares in the last paragraph of his short story that there are two different students. The ones that are already saving their lives by reading his stories and fleeing to him when he comes to the reservations and those that have already given up and are defeated in the last row in the back of the class room. Sherman Alexie effectively states clearly “I am trying to save our lives.” He uses pathos, logos, and ethos effectively to describe his difficult life in the Indian reservations and how he persevered and strikes the world as an intelligent boy. Alexie says. “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike. We were indian children who were expected to be stupid.” Even though Alexie became and incredibly smart, he never became an of those things. He was known as an idol, trying to save the lives of young Indian children in the
As an American Indian boy growing up with stereotypes and challenges already against him, Sherman self motivates himself to learn, and this leads
Adjusting to another culture is a difficult concept, especially for children in their school classrooms. In Sherman Alexie’s, “Indian Education,” he discusses the different stages of a Native Americans childhood compared to his white counterparts. He is describing the schooling of a child, Victor, in an American Indian reservation, grade by grade. He uses a few different examples of satire and irony, in which could be viewed in completely different ways, expressing different feelings to the reader. Racism and bullying are both present throughout this essay between Indians and Americans. The Indian Americans have the stereotype of being unsuccessful and always being those that are left behind. Through Alexie’s negativity and humor in his essay, it is evident that he faces many issues and is very frustrated growing up as an American Indian. Growing up, Alexie faces discrimination from white people, who he portrays as evil in every way, to show that his childhood was filled with anger, fear, and sorrow.
Award-winning American novelist Ann Hood states, “I was… an outsider growing up, and I preferred reading to being with other kids. When I was about seven, I started to write my own books. I never thought of myself as wanting to be a writer. “ Her statement is similar to that of Sherman Alexie’s life, where he was written off by society just because he was a Native American. Growing up he fell in love with literature, and ended up writing young adult literature. In his essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, Alexie successfully appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos while effectively employing several other literary devices in order to emphasize that one is capable of overcoming their individual obstacles.
Conformity: (n) action in accord with prevailing social standards, attitudes, and practices. People are faced with the pressure to conform to social standards in their everyday life. In “Sociology of Leopard Man,” Logan Feys critics the choices of a nonconformist. Do they do things differently because they want attention, or is it because they simply like different things compared to others. Feys also states that “Conformity can be seen as the world’s most common but dangerous psychological disorder” (Logan Feys, “Sociology of Leopard Man”). Feys argues that the desire to “fit in” has lead people to acquire self-inflicted diseases such as alcoholism, eating disorders, and panic attacks. Feys is accurate in asserting
Sherman Alexie is an author that uses his experiences in life living on the reservation as tool to create his stories. Alexie describes the misery, alcoholism and poverty that shaped the lives of Native Americans living on reservations. Alexie writing emulates hatred and sadness but leaves readers with a sense of understanding, and compassion for characters who are portrayed in apparently hopeless circumstances. Alexie’s creations incorporate characters who struggle to survive a constant battle of their spirit, mind and body by White American society that they live in and their own sense of powerlessness and self-hatred of themselves. Through Alexie’s life he strives to be the
Mark Twain once said, “A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.” This quote revolves around the idea of conformity. Conformity or collectivism is the tendency to align attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those around you. It's a powerful force that can take the form of overt social pressure or subtler unconscious influence. As much as people think of themselves as individuals, the fact is that we're driven to fit in, and that usually means going with the flow. The problem with conformity or collectivism is the loss of individuality.
Conformity is defined as behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. This is not a good or bad thing, this just is. It exists as a compliment to earlier humans congregating into larger groups, using agriculture and domestication to create sustenance. Also, conformity is essential for life. We need people to share the same ideas, ideologies and a way of thinking in order to work efficiently and effectively. There many examples that exist like, at work or in your house and even within yourself. Sigmund Freud has explained the phenomena of group psychology in a piece titled, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Using Freud’s theory of conformity I will explain the self, what we call “me”,and its different constituents using The Principles of Psychology by
Hence, conformity is only acceptable when others are not hurt and their thoughts are their own. In The Giver, conformity cannot be tolerated, because innocent babies and seniors are being killed for the sake for their society. In “The Pedestrian”, conformity has gone wrong due to the fact “different” people, like Leonard Mead, are being punished for their uniqueness. Prisoners are currently conforming to an unacceptable degree in North Korea, believing their horrible dictators are gods, instead of the causes of their misery. This matters because as seen in the article “Life in a Labor Camp”, overboard conformity is currently harming others. Thus, humans must learn to stop conforming when conformity alters one’s thoughts and actions and/or harms them.