For Bernard, he feels that he is capable of more than he has been designated to achieve. Marx challenges the boundaries that have been set for the society, in his eyes furthering the interests of society. A society such as the world state is not feasible, or sustainable. For humans, it is natural to have disdain towards oppression. Any regime in history that has mistreated the population came crashing down. No matter the amount of emphasis on total control an entity conveys, there will always be a resistance. Thus, no matter the circumstances, the individual versus society will always be reoccurring. As shown in history, collapse is imminent for totalitarian societies. Whether it be through hypnopaedia and conditioning in The World State, or propaganda and fear conducted by a regime, the power of individualism can counter the magnitude of a society. In the twenty-first century, it’s easy to see parallels between modern day society and that of the world state. Respectively, there are many differences. The citizens in Brave New World conformed not because they we’re violently forced to, but simply because they want to. Although it was a lifestyle that was state developed, the citizens harbor it as a personal choice. This is voluntary response is related to the sociological principle of obedience to authority. Citizens receive rewards when one follows all of the rules in the society; eventually developing an intrinsic belief that that one must do everything they can to please the power entity or system. This process happens daily in the modern era, whether it is a worker following orders from a boss, or a child doing anything the parents ask. In society, individuality exists, “Yet, the norm is so well entrenched in organizational cu... ... middle of paper ... ...d State and the twenty-first century societies share common social structures. Although in the modern era, individuals move about freely and can speak out without fear of punishment. For the American society, it’s important to share an even ratio of conformity and individualism. By evenly splitting the social constructs, society would be productive while retaining true humanity. No matter what the governmental structure or restrictions that are placed on a population, there will always be a resistance. Individuals standing up for what they believe even if they standalone will eventually be able to flourish. The individual is a necessary attribute to any society. Blind conformity leads to nothing but a one sided benefit, in favor of the power entity. Luckily, the modern era society embraces the practice of conformity, while pushing society to retain its essentialism.
Stanley Milgram’s experiment shows societies that more people with abide by the rules of an authority figure under any circumstances rather than follow their own nature instinct. With the use of his well-organized article that appeals to the general public, direct quotes and real world example, Milgram’s idea is very well-supported. The results of the experiment were in Milgram’s favor and show that people are obedient to authority figures. Stanley Milgram shows the reader how big of an impact authority figures have but fails to answer the bigger question. Which is more important, obedience or morality?
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.
Individualism and conformity seem to be the exact opposites of each other, but what if being individual meant conforming to the way of everyone else, and what if conformity was the key to being apart of a community? In the essay by Andrea Fishman “Becoming Literate: A Lesson from the Amish” the author looks at the conformity in the Amish culture in regards to education. However, in the essay by Stuart Ewen “Chosen People” Ewen discusses how mainstream America prides itself on individualism. Both essays explore the complexity of being an individual in societies that thrive on conformity.
Obedience has always been a trait present in every aspect of society. Parents have practiced enforcing discipline in their homes where children learn obedience from age one. Instructors have found it difficult to teach a lesson unless their students submit to their authority. Even after the adolescent years, law enforcement officers and governmental officials have expected citizens to uphold the law and abide by the standards set in society. Few will understand, however, that although these requirements for obedience provide positive results for development, there are also dangers to enforcing this important trait. Obedience to authority can be either profitable or perilous depending on who the individual in command is. In the film, The Crucible,
Bernard Marx was alienated in the Brave New World because of his general appearance. As an Alpha Plus, Bernard was unusually short and ugly. Suggested by Fanny, Bernard's condition resulted from an error when he was still in a bottle, the workers "thought he was a Gamma and put alcohol into his blood surrogate." Bernard did not fit in the structured order of the Brave New World and was therefore shunned by others. The error resulted in Bernard developing outside the barriers of his caste level. His ugliness and short stature led Bernard to become a perpetual outsider, alienated by society. As an outsider, Bernard was cynical of the order and structure of the Brave New World. He eschewed Electric Golf, and other social amusements in favor of loneliness and solidarity activities, such as, thinking. Bernard attempted to find a way "to be happy in some other way," in his own way, not the established way.
The citizens of a society must both develop and obey...
Ayn Rand's classic story of one man's desire to become an individual in a nameless society presents a compelling refutation of collectivism in all forms. The hero, labeled "Equality 7-2521" by the State, chooses to challenge conventional authority as he learns the joys of experimentation and discovery, the ecstasy of human love, the challenge and fairness of liberty, and the happiness of self-interest. Equality 7-2521 writes three unique phrases in his journal: 1. "My happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to an end. It is the end.", 2. "We know that we are evil, but there is no will in us and no power to resist it.", 3. "The word 'We' . . . must never be placed first within man's soul.". These phrases will be discussed individually in the remainder of this essay.
Obedience is when you do something you have been asked or ordered to do by someone in authority. As little kids we are taught to follow the rules of authority, weather it is a positive or negative effect. Stanley Milgram, the author of “The perils of Obedience” writes his experiment about how people follow the direction of an authority figure, and how it could be a threat. On the other hand Diana Baumrind article “Review of Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience,” is about how Milgram’s experiment was inhumane and how it is not valid. While both authors address how people obey an authority figure, Milgram focuses more on how his experiment was successful while Baumrind seems more concerned more with how Milgram’s experiment was flawed and
The World State also uses controlled groupings of people to brainwash them further into 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. Social restriction robs individuals of their creative personalities by preventing freedom of thought, behavior, and expression; but is vital to the World State for maintaining complete control over the society. Social restriction’s purpose is to enforce obedience, conformity and compliance out of people.
Introduction Individuals often yield to conformity when they are forced to discard their individual freedom in order to benefit the larger group. Despite the fact that it is important to obey the authority, obeying the authority can sometimes be hazardous, especially when morals and autonomous thought are suppressed to an extent that the other person is harmed. Obedience usually involves doing what a rule or a person tells you to, but negative consequences can result from displaying obedience to authority; for example, the people who obeyed the orders of Adolph Hitler ended up killing innocent people during the Holocaust. In the same way, Stanley Milgram noted in his article ‘Perils of Obedience’ of how individuals obeyed authority and neglected their conscience, reflecting how this can be destructive in real life experiences. On the contrary, Diana Baumrind pointed out in her article ‘Review of Stanley Milgram’s Experiments on Obedience’ that the experiments were not valid, hence useless.
... an individual, he has his own ideas, plans, thoughts, and is his own being and is looked down upon because of it. This book shows us that Collectivist societies do not work and they lead to brainless, incompetent people who have no meaning in life. The book's theme of individuality and identity show the downfalls of Collectivism vividly and very well. Throughout the book Anthem, the theme of individuality and one's identity, shown through Equality's own ideas, own love, and own ego, are vital to show Collectivism's faults.
Bernard often struggles throughout the book, although he tries to be accepting of how this society is he is often looking for freedom. Bernard then looks for freedom in john and uses it for his own advantage. Bernard desires consistent happiness but his current society outlaws it.With bernard feeling a sense of control, he then starts to criticize how the BNW is functioning. He then leaves with Helmholtz to an island to escape the BNW society and gain individual freedom. There is so many things wrong with how the BNW is, each individual has the ability to realize it and try to make a change .This untouchable status and distinction permits Bernard both to perceive and scrutinize the defects of the World
Bernard Marx an Alpha plus specialist in sleep teaching is an example of a character that changes in the brave new word. He changes from a character that symbolized individuality to a character that just wanted to desperately belong to the society. At the beginning of the novel he seemed to be very different from the society, he acts like a rebel trying to battle against the order of things. He seemed to be an “individual” in the first few chapters. For example On his first date with Lenina with lenina he says ” I’d rather be myself. ‘Myself and nasty .Not somebody else, however jolly”(77). He wanted to be something else different from the rest of the society. However we see that his root concern is to be socially acceptable and not really about becoming an individual. In chapter 6 Bernard shows signs of undergoing a change in his character. When the Director summoned Bernard to his office for being unorthodox, Bernard goes on to brag to his friend Helmholtz Watson on his victory over the director when he says” I simply told him to go to the bottomless past and marched out of the room and that was that “(85). We get the sense that Bernard’s victory wasn’t so much about personal integrity as it was social acceptance. Finally, his character undergoes a c...
To come to understand why people act with deviant behavior, we must comprehend how society brings about the acceptance of basic norms. The “techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in a society” are called social control (Schaefer, 2009). As we respect and acknowledge these social norms we expect others to do so as well. Therefore, according to our behavior sanctions are carried out whether they are positive or negative. Conformity, which refers to “going along with peers, people of our own status who have no special right to direct our behavior” (Schaefer, 2009), is one way social control occurs in a group level which influence the way we act. On the other hand, obedience is the compliance with a higher authority, resulting in social control at a societal level. The sanctions used to promote these factors can be informal and formal social control. Informal social control can be very casual in enforcing social norms by using body language or other forms of discipline, however formal social control is carried out by authorized agents when desired behavior is not obtained by informal sancti...
In Hans Christian Anderson’s 1830s fairy tale Thumbelina, the narrator brings Thumbelina or Tiny for short, on a series of misfortunate events. An ugly toad stole Thumbelina and tried to marry her to her even more unsightly son. After she escaped the toad, a cockchafer forced her to be his date to a party, almost perished in the lonely winter months, and again is nearly forced to marry an unappealing mole. Although after a rainstorm of bad events, a rainbow appears. After Tiny’s tragic events, Tiny is finally wed to a handsome, fairy prince. Tiny’s character traits and build carried the story. Although a few characters drove the tale of Thumbelina by Hans Christian Anderson, Thumbelina’s small delicate stature influenced the story the most, because it led to the toad stealing her, almost marrying the mole, and marrying the fairy prince.