The Influence of Social Pressures on Human Behaviors and Identities

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Recommended: Social pressure psychology

Different stories are written either from imagination, or based on true events. The meanings can however be the same depending on the story’s structure, plot and characterization. This paper will make use of two different stories to illustrate the influence of social pressures on human behaviors and identities. The stories to be used in this paper include “Our Precious Lunatic”, and “Hejira”, the former written by Twain and the latter by Sedaris.

In the story of Hejira, it is clear that the author extensively makes use of first person narration (Sedaris 1). This style is meant to make the people get connected to the story, seeing that the author was part of it; more so because the story talks about the author’s experiences. “Our Precious Lunatic” is a story presented in reported speech about the incidences in a court of law. Both of the stories therefore differ in their manner of presentation with “Hejira” based on first person, and the other one being presented in third person. While “Our Precious Lunatic” has a well convincing structure, Hejira does not. The former starts the story by an introduction, explains about the environment and proceeds to the body part. The story is developed systematically and then effectively concluded for smooth flow.

The story Herija is however introduced slowly and abruptly cut off, leaving the reader with many questions about the eventualities. The structure is very important in the development of better explanation frameworks. While in Herija the author is an open antagonist, in the story “Our Precious Lunatic” the main character is a protagonist especially at the start, who is supported by masses but eventually changes roles to become an antagonist.

The plot of the story Herija is about ...

... middle of paper ...

...x Differences In Human Behavior: Evolved Dispositions Versus Social Roles”. American Psychologist. 54. 6 (1999): 408-423. Print.

Fetner, Tina. How the religious right shaped lesbian and gay activism. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Print.

Martin, John P. “The Insanity Defense: A Closer Look.” Washington Post. Washington Post, 1998. Web. 3 Aug. 2011.

Melville, John D and David Naimark. "Punishing the Insane: The Verdict of Guilty but Mentally Ill." Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 30 (2002): 553–555. Print.

Rogers, Richard and Daniel Shuman. Conducting Insanity Evaluations. New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2000. Print.

Sedaris, David. Hejira. n.p., 1870. Web. 3 August 2011.

Twain, Mark. Our Precious Lunatic. n.p., 2011. Web. 3 August 2011.

Whitehead, Briar. Craving for Love. Grand Rapids, MI: Monarch, 2003. Print.

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