What is the individual's relationship to the community? I am defining “community” as American Society as a whole. The individual's relationship to the community is based on whether the individual's needs/goals are congruent to society standards. The results can vary, from total conformity to rejection of society. In the book Into the Wild, and in the essay Where I Lived and What I Lived For, the theme of conformity is diametrically opposed to the theme of non-conformity, shown in the essays Letter From A Birmingham Jail, and Small Changes. Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild and Henry David Thoreau, author of Where I Lived and What I Lived For, exhibit their non-conformity, in fighting against elitism and materialism, but in different ways. Martin Luther King, author of Letter From a Birmingham Jail, and Malcolm Gladwell, author of Small Changes, share the same belief that conformity can be a method of strengthening society.
The idea of conformity presented in the following texts in similar. The idea of conformity presented in Into the Wild and Where I Lived and What I Lived ...
A community is comprised of a group of goal oriented individuals with similar beliefs and expectations. Currently the term is used interchangeably with society, the town one lives in and even religion. A less shallow interpretation suggests that community embodies a lifestyle unique to its members. Similarities within the group establish bonds along with ideals, values, and strength in numbers unknown to an individual. Ideals and values ultimately impose the culture that the constituents abide by. By becoming part of a community, socialization...
Conformity has been a part of society for centuries. People conform for various reasons. The examples featured in "Night" by Elie Wiesel, "Asch Experiment" by Saul McLeod, and "Conformity" by CommonLit Staff portray this in different situations. These selections show why people conform. People conform because of fear, self-doubt ,and for acceptance by peers. The fear of being rejected by society is shown strongly in Elie Wiesel's "Night."
The world is divided up into numerous things: Countries, states, cities, communities, etc. However, when looking at the big scope of things, one can group the vast amount of people into a society. This society is where the majority lie in the scheme of things - in other words, the common people. Individuals do exist in this society, but they are scarce in a world of conformism. Society’s standards demands an individual to conform, and if the individual refuses they are pushed down by society.
In today’s world, we live in a society where we are subjected to follow rules, which are placed upon us by the society. Many people are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to follow the ideals of other people, or pursue their ideals and go against the prevailing conventions. In “Selections from Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, the author talks about a man named McCandless who went into the Alaskan wilderness in order to find his true self. His journey was also to escape from the societal norms of society. A person who goes into the wilderness believes that they can live their life with brute simplicity. This gives them little to no time with the complicated problems of modern society. Likewise, in “Waiting for a Jew” by Jonathan Boyarin, the author talks about one’s aspiration to find their identity and purpose in the community. He conveys that religious places, like shul, allow an individual to develop a cross- cultural self. The desires and expectations placed upon us by the society shape our strategies of personal identity; therefore, instilling fears that cause us to identify in opposition to our prevailing conventions.
In “Habits Of The Heart” Bellah et al write that “they attempt to follow Tocqueville and call it individualism”. This they say is the first language in which Americans tend to think about their lives, values independence and self-reliance above all else (Viii). Americans separate work, family and community, when in fact, these worlds must be combined. We are hiding in such "lifestyle enclaves," our isolated existence limits our ability to relate ourselves to a broader community. The virtue of community interaction lies in its ability to provide meaning to the frustrating mechanisms of politics and combat the "inevitable loneliness of the separate self" (Bellah et. al., 190).
Prouty, Charles A. Conformity in Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Books for Libraries Press/Yale University Press, 1980.
Society is ever changing and the people are just the same. Throughout history, it is shown that people change and mold to their surroundings. But when a deeper look is taken it is revealed that there is a minority that is unwilling or unable to fit these standards as most people do. These people tend to be forced into seclusion or made to fend for themselves. This is shown through the colonization of America and up into more recent times. The Native Americans are the first to make a life on this land, and when the English set up a new society, the Natives are forced onto smaller and smaller plots of land until forced to conform or to live on a reservation. The idea of this societal conformity is shown in “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie, a short story author. Society's pressure to improve an individual living differently is hurting more than it is helping.
“Conformity is a form of social influence that involves a change in behavior or belief so that one can fit in with a certain group” (McLeod). Such a change is a response to imagined (which involves the pressure of expectations or social norms) or real (which involves the presence of others) group pressure. Another definition of conformity can be “yielding to group pressures”. Group pressure can take many forms, for example persuasion, teasing, bullying, criticism etc. Conformity is also referred to as group pressure or majority influence. The term conformity is mostly used to show an agreement to the position of the majority, and this is brought about by either by the desire to be liked or to fit in, or just to match a social role. The aim of this paper is to argue that conformity is among people because they always live in groups-work groups, family, political, religious and social groups. At the same instance, they are adjusted to obey authority. A conformist mentality makes it easy for people to be influenced by others.
Imagine living in a world where almost everyone lived the same lifestyle. Same cars, styles, and personalities, almost everything was the same. There was a set social norm and if you were different, you might have been judged for the way you lived. You feel the need to change your lifestyle in order to fit in with the world’s “social norm”. There is a pressure from the people around you or the town/city that you live in. Now it is highly encouraged to be different amongst the rest of the people to stand out. However, before being “different”, many people felt the need to conform to society’s norm. In the books The Sun Also Rises and Babbitt, social conformity plays a huge role in their storylines. The term social conformity is a society or
The symbiotic relationship between the US economy and American business is very contingent. Although different American businesses contribute to our nation’s economic growth, our economy relies heavily on the flexibility of American businesses for economic growth and the creation of more job opportunities. The economic external factors can have a major impact on businesses by affecting the patterns of supply and demand within a business. Some benefits of economic growth include greater certainty in markets, demand increasing, and the size of markets increasing. As the US economy flourishes, demand increases so that more businesses have the ability to get hire more employees. Therefore creating more supply produced. By prospering in economic
The individual is able to do good deeds for the community, and in turn since the community is benefitted, and the individual is technically part of the community, the individual benefits from helping the community. However, as Bellah points out, the individual can never fully be part of society. According to Bellah, the individual “can only be valuable to society only because he is a completely autonomous individual who stands outside of it.” Even though the individual is important within the community, the individual cannot exist without the community. The community is made up of individuals who, by nature, join together in a collective group to achieve a common goal or to maximize benefits. Therefore, in a successful society, one cannot exist without the other. However I believe that the goals of the community should be slightly stressed more than the individuals. Every individual must give up some of their rights for the benefit of the community. As individuals who have our own talents and aspirations, we should use those things to achieve a collective goal as a group and maximize our reaping. Part of giving up some our rights as individuals is so that we can be protected by the community and the community can help us. In my opinion, I believe that the whole, or the community, is much greater than its single parts, or individuals. I would not be who
Though conformity is a humane feeling, many examples of conformity going wrong can be found throughout history. For example, multiple Germans conformed to follow Nazism and prosecuted millions of innocent Jews. Southern whites conformed to segregate thousands of African-Americans. By looking at multiple sources of literature, one can see conformity becomes unacceptable when innocent people are hurt and/or killed and affects the way one thinks or acts.
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.
Individuality and conformity both play a major role in society. No matter what it may be individuals will need to choose appropriately between conforming and acting individualistically about their situation. Individuality allows individuals to freely express themselves while conformity offers safety under the protection of other conformers. Both of these aspects are beneficial to many individuals and is a key to maintaining societal order; however, it is disastrous to have too much of either side of the spectrum. Therefore, there should be a balance between individuality and conformity because having too much of either side morally and physically harms components of society, such that it pressures and forces individuals to do tasks against their will, and causes individuals to think selfishly and worry solely about themselves.
Understanding the relationship between self and society should base on both individual perspective and social perspective. Wright Mill gave