The Orchid Thief, An Ironic Analysis

Many individuals will often experience the initial judgments of others due to their innate unconventional behaviour and actions. However, despite their strange, unfamiliar actions, they are able to embrace this individualistic nature that vastly differs from others. In the excerpt from The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean suggests that when individuals decide to embrace their eccentric beliefs and values, they are capable of instigating unexpected positive change within society and affect other people’s initial perception of them. Furthermore, because of their desire to retain their own unconventional behaviour rather than succumb to the mainstream society, the individual is capable of developing a unique, distinctive identity and earning the respect

In Initiation by Sylvia Plath, the author suggests that conformity and having friends is a wonderful idea, yet the idea of having an individual identity and being an individual is stronger. In the excerpt, Millicent is slowly realizing that conforming and being a part of a sorority is not as exciting as it sounds, and being an individual offers more opportunities to become a unique person.

of a girl who was misunderstood. Throughout her childhood and young adulthood, Daphne struggled with identifying with her feelings. Daphne was constantly searching for an answer to why she felt different. Daphne wanted to “fit in” but she knew she was unconventional. The different labels she was given through out her psychiatric stay stuck with her and left a scar of how she was once perceived.

Society’s conventions teach that immoderate desires are unappealing manifestations of basal instincts that individuals must learn to control. However, a certain sense of liberating freedom is also attached to the idea of living in uninhibited by the guidelines that society imposes. “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, a poem by Al Purdy, and Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief present two different narratives concerning the pursuit of personal desire and deal with the consequences that ensue from this behavior. Their characters’ experiences suggest that the unchecked pursuit of personal desires, at the expense of conformity within society, does not produce lasting gratification.

Social status often establishes one 's credibility and integrity within a society. The power that social status has, encourages people to heavily focus on it. With this focus on social status ever pressing, one’s identity often gets intertwined with and reliant on their place in the hierarchy of society. People become fixated on one idea they have of a person in a certain social class, that anybody who breaks out of specific stereotypes may often cause anger amongst others. In the short story “Greenleaf” by Flannery O’Connor, the main character, Mrs. May, is obsessive about the way others perceive her and her place in society. Mr. May’s identity is so strictly tied to her desire to get to a higher social class and her notions how society

Instead of expecting others to change, we should look critically at ourselves and make changes accordingly. Lin in Anne Jew’s “Everyone Talked Loudly in Chinatown” and Sandra in Connie Gault’s “The Man Who Followed His Hand” are both self-centered and narrow minded. They assume that their thoughts are right and feel isolated from their own community. Choosing to ignore the risks and problems surrounding them; only distances them further from the ones they love along with solving their complications in being secluded.

Citizens of Pleasantville have certain knowledge about themselves and society, but because there is no exposure to differing ideas, individuals are stuck with the same opportunities and values. A specific example of this includes the community’s view on gender roles: men hold power as the head of society and women stay at home to cook and clean. There are no opportunities to change this structure, as the communication of ideas is restricted to what is known and not to anything new. The town leadership fears a true deviation from the accepted social order, and as a result, the citizens of Pleasantville conform to this system to prevent conflict. While this lifestyle provides harmony and order, conformity actually limits society from growing and enhancing. On the other hand, when individuals start voicing out their opinions, new ideas challenge the false peace that society had in their conformity. After Bud and Mary Sue introduce different and rather contradictory ideas, like sex, color, and individuality, people start pursuing their own passions as individuals, rather than as a whole society. With all these changes, individuals burst into color when choosing to leave “pleasant” behind for the freedom to express personal

Alexandre Dumas was a master of literature; the sheer artistry in The Count of Monte Cristo makes this abundantly clear. His command of parallelism, his employ of subtle yet vivid characterization, and, most markedly, his frequent use of irony are the evidence. The latter in particular is common and used for a purpose. At times, irony is applied to insert a sliver of humor into otherwise heavy scenes; this is especially true with Dumas’s application of verbal irony. At other times, irony is exercised in order to act as a plot point. Overall, the author’s use of irony is crucial to the story’s progression.

In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” the author creates a dilemma in identity by displaying different personal conflicts involving the main character. The main character, Elisa Allen, seems to be discontent with her place in life. However, she seems to be aware that she is doing what is expected of her and is almost afraid to change her way of life. More than Likely, this is due to the influence her husband has over her. There are three main characters in this story, Elisa, Henry and a lone traveler that rides up to Elisa asking for directions. Elisa seems to be more interested in the wandering man she encounters than her husband. The traveling man seems to find Elisa more interesting and attractive than her husband. The traveler sees the

One of the most impertinent characteristics of a happy life, is the loyalty to one’s morals and ideals. In order to thrive, one has to know what they stand for and not allow anyone to change their path in life. While growing and changing, their path may shift on its own accord, but it should never be moved by anyone other than the person who will follow it, as others who try to change it, will not walk it, and will not suffer any detriments to their life. Sandra Cisneros and Kathryn Stockett, authors of The House on Mango Street and The Help respectively, stress that loyalty to one’s character, despite outside forces, is important to one’s growth.

Individuality is held captive by people who have conformed. Development into a individual takes plenty of strife but will lead to finally discovering one's true self. Equality from Ayn Rand novella Anthem is broken down by others, but eventually will come out victorious and empowered to walk his own path. Others negativity and lack of knowledge pushed Equality to reach for his goals and never give up. He is extremely motivated to establish a world where information isn’t limited and people are able to live the way they want to. Equality has finally uncovered his purpose and is willing to fight for it. Equality’s mindset generated as a reaction from the nurture he received made it capable for him to defeat any opposition that came his way.

Harvey Fierson once said,“never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accepts no one’s definition of your life, but define it yourself.” Throughout life many people struggle to find who they are or the person they want the world to see. One can say this dilemma stems from the human need of belongingness, as demonstrated in Maslow 's hierarchy of needs. “Day of the Butterfly” by Alice Munro depicts this idea through the relationship, that is formed between the main characters Helen and Myra. Helen can be viewed as a dynamic and round character because her personality shifted a lot throughout the story. The reader was also allowed to see her battle with “self” from the beginning to end of the narrative. Myra on the other hand, would be a foil or static character. This is due to the fact that Myra remained constant and she was the reason behind Helen’s actions and thoughts. However for this analysis we will focus solely on Helen and how her character was affected and evolved. She was a very weak-minded, submissive, and scared individual, who later exhibit qualities of bravery. At the end we can see how she began to step into who she was as an individual. Now we will look at how Helen was affected mentally, socially and emotionally.

One’s identity is the most important lesson to be learned. It is vital part of life knowing who you are in order to live a fulfilled life. Without knowing your identity, and the way you perceive life, it is difficult for others to understand you, along with a struggle to live a happy life. In Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar,” Esther Greenwood struggles to find her own identity, and in the process, she develops a mental illness which helps her discover the person she is on the inside.

The man-made world seems to be engrossed in itself and has no intelligence of the natural world that it is assembled over. However, whether humans acknowledge it or not, they are dependant on the physical world’s knowledge. Architecture and roadways are constructed over the natural earth in an attempt to isolate it from their “civil” community. The societies they create are liberated of pandemonium and sinister spirits that lurk in the uncertainties of the unknown world. Although, it occasionally peeks out and uncovers the bitter reality that the man-made world is corrupt. This phenomenon that comes with the natural world, is camouflaged to most because they are completely submerged in false deception and sins of the artificial world. Nevertheless, outcasts that are forced away from the contaminated world are welcomed by the untouched world. These fugitives are insightful of the honesty and purity that the human world has concealed with their sins. In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is isolated from society because she is a product of adultery. Her state of outcast allows her access to the organic world, man-made world, and the truth they both bear. Pearls appearance in the forest, actions on the beach, and her knowledge of the truth at the governor's mansion are classic signs of how she demonstrates her supernatural connection to the natural world in all different environments, due to her state of isolation. All of these occurrences portray her inner power to illustrate unwanted

Set in the depression times of post-World War II Italy, Graziadei and De Sica’s (1948) The Bicycle Thief narrates the story of Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani), who, after finding a job as a bill poster, loses his bicycle to a young thief. He tries to look for it with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola); however, despite seeing the thief, he fails to recover his bicycle. Desperate, he tries to steal a bike himself but is easily thwarted by a group of bystanders. They plan to bring him to the police station until the owner notices the weeping Bruno and, in an act of compassion, ask others to release the thief. In this paper, I argue that The Bicycle Thief