The Act of Conformity and Nonconformity Conformity is a struggle that people encounter everyday in society. There are many examples of the different types of conformity in the world. Some of these types are in the examples I am going to discuss. In “The Sociology of the Leopard Man”, “Two Kinds”, and Dead Poet Society we learn that it is not always a good idea to conform. Although conformity can be good, I believe that it is even better for people to step out of their comfort zone and not be afraid to show who they really are. The first example of conformity is in the story “The Sociology of the Leopard Man”, written by Logan Feyes. Leopard Man is a nonconformist who takes a break from society and expresses himself freely in the wild. An example of him being a nonconformist is, (page 1, Logan Feyes) “Tom Leppard, now in his 60’s spends most of his days in a small cabin in the Scottish Wilderness. A second example to show his nonconformist is, (Page 1, Logan Feyes) “ He is, according to society a freak.” And the last example is (Page 1, Logan Feyes) “ He doesn’t live for other people reactions, …show more content…
It is about a daughter being forced to be someone her mother wants her to be. one evidence in the story is “You want me to be someone that I’m not!” I sobbed, “I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be!” (106) ,shows how she wants to be herself and not be someone another person wants. Another example is in page 1 is, “Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient Daughter!”, (106) states that the mom doesn’t want her daughter to be open minded, but to be enforce with her own idea mind. The last evidence in the story is “I could feel the prodigy in me” in page 102 which states that Jing-Mei lacks motivation. In the end, it is best to be yourself and do what you like and do greater things than to be someone else and suffer all the pain you go through doing
In the novels “The Giver” by Lois Lowry and “Anthem” by Ayn Rand it gives examples of radical Conformity and the results. In The Giver it states “two children - 1 male, one female to each family unit, it is written very clearly in the rules.”. This gives us a basic idea on just how controlling the society is and how the people think of as it normal. In order to lead a joyful and stressless life one must find a balance between individualism and conformity.
conflict is the major theme of this story because Jing Mei's mother lived an extremely difficult life in China so she pressures Jing-Mei to excel in America where its easier for a girl to be successful. The problem is that Jing Mei's mother says success for her daughter is being exceptional at something. Jing-Meis mother makes her take piano lessons in order to become a protegee. So she can grow up and become famous like her mom's expectations for her. The title of the book refers to Jing Mei's mother's statement that there are two kinds of daughters in the world those who obey and those who rebel and when her mom pushes her too far she rebels. Jing-Mei as an adult, she can see a little bit of both in herself and is now mature enough now to
The act of people conforming is seen every where. Any activity performed by someone that is “in the ordinary” is them conforming to the norm. In the crucible, all the girls conform to the norm, set by Abigail Williams. When Abigail faints, the girls faint, when Abigail screams, the girls scream. They mirror her in her every action due to their fear of what would occur if they did not. Same concept is seen today, for example, when you shower regularly you are conforming to the norm. You shower in fear of judgement if you were not to shower, and you shower in following the actions of others. This common action of following in others footsteps affects us by causing people to become identical and influencing people to ignore their personal morals and follow the mob of society blindly. People force physical change upon themselves due to fear of being that one
Throughout second semester we have read many stories that have strongly illustrated the idea of conformity, but in Fahrenheit 451, Swamp Boy, and Harrison Bergeron the theme of conformity is most prevalent. The characters in each of the three stories become trapped by the act of conforming to their societal norms. The people in the societies participate in confirmation because it is what everyone else is doing, and they crave acceptance from others. As humans, we conform to the world around us because it is expected and we fear any individual that abides by the social norms.
Why are people conforming to soctiety? In the article, "The Sociology of Leopard Man", by Logan Feys uses Tom Leppard as an example of both a conformist and non-conformist person. Tom Leppard also known as Leopard Man, is tattooed from head to toe, but he does not live among society. Instead he lives in the scottish wilderness, in a small and isolated cabin, away from people. In this article, Feys argues that some people change their appearance because they want attention. In my opinion, I agree with Feys when he argues that certain individuals change their appearance just to be notice by others around them. On the other hand, I disagree with the fact that Feys believes that all people change their appearance for the worst and not for the good.
“Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family, etc.” (Feys, P.6). Logan Feys, the author of “The Sociology of Leopard Man”, states that society is persistently under pressure to change our individual likings, personality, change the way we look, etc. to feel accepted and approved by society. The desire to fit in and not be an outsider with social groups causes people to feel pressured and change themselves to fit in. Fey’s statement is correct that people conform with society to not be an outsider or avoid the fear of possibly being an outsider.
Like The Crucible, conformity is also highly present in everyday society. At a very basic level, this is seen in how people conform to “unwritten rules” of society, such as bathing regularly, and saying “hello” when greeting people. Although there are no requirements or strict punishments for not performing these actions, humans’ concern for what their peers think of them drives them to do them so they do not stick out of the norm. This is seen similarly in how people dress, like wearing suits for office jobs and how kids dress for school based on dress codes. People wear what they consider normal, or what is mandated, in order to conform to the people around them, allowing them to not stick out and to be accepted by people around them. This idea was also demonstrated in an experiment conducted by the producers of the television show “Brain Games,” where they planted some people in a doctor's office waiting room, and told them to stand up when a bell rang, and sit down when the bell rang again. They found that actual patients stood up and down with the planted extras, despite not knowing why they were doing it, essentially conforming to the group in order to avoid being the outcast. Clearly, conformity is very present in society today.
In the essay The Sociology Of Leopard Man, by Logan Feys explains how society affects the way people live their lives. I do agree with Feys opinion on how society affects people's individuality.
“To be human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes, talents, values, and aspirations that are distinct from those of others. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family etc.” (paragraph 6). Logan Feys, the author of “The Sociology of Leopard Man”, from The Rebirth of Reason, stated that masses of individuals in society are continually expected to be similar to others or at least fit in, socially. The desire to fit in is mostly each person’s desire, but not Leopard Man, he is distinct but he just wants to live his life in solitude and at peace. People in society expect others to be the same, but to be human is to be unlike others.Each and every person has unique differences, but society discriminates each other. Logan Feys is right about how society is wrong for judging others by appearance and not accepting the differences within those people.
The concept of individuality is one that has been debated over the decades. Each person holds their own definition of this vague idea, but no one truly knows it at all. The theory of conformity versus nonconformity is based on how a person reacts to society. To be a nonconformist includes questioning society and going against the norm. Society as a whole is typically at odds with others who reject the standards. They are seen as weird or freaks and shamed for being themselves. Logan Feys “The Sociology of Leopard Man” is an informative article that touches down upon this subject, written in 2016. He states that individuality requires individual tastes, value, talents, and goals. Along with that, he expresses how society weighs down upon people and forces them to change. To a degree, Feys is correct. To be an individual and truly unique person one needs their own values, however not their own tastes, and society does put pressure on people to change.
Some may see the mother trying to live her life through her daughter. She invests time trying to make her daughter a prodigy because she was her last hope. The mother lost two children in China and moves to a new country. Coming to America, she felt that immigrants have to prove that they are as talented as or more talented than Americans. This belief is supposed to be the basis for the determination, that the mother has, for Jing-mei to become a prodigy.
It is common to see conformity among young people, especially when large groups of young people are constantly together. School is one example where conformity is rampant. In a school setting, people tend to gravitate towards whatever the majority of the student population is doing. In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, the characters’ are no different from any other young people; they tend to conform. Ishiguro shows conformity to prove that conformity stems from the want to fit in and pure ignorance.
To start off with the idea of non-conformism, we need to understand why a non-conformist behavior is good for society. Speaking from experience. I enjoyed being a non-conformist person. It made me who I am today, a person who never follows society blindly but a person who challenges society’s actions. I believe every person enjoys being himself but it is the society’s pressure that makes them a conformist. A person will always show its true nature whenever he is free of society demands to follow ideas and actions. With this new age of loneliness more and more people are finding their true self. I didn’t start with a non-conformist ideology in one day, my experience comes from being alone at the start, being alone made me connect to myself and my identity more and more leading to enjoying it, I enjoyed loneliness cause I was aware of my actions instead of following
For some, conformity is an unthinkable evil in American society. All individuals living within a community conform in some way to social norms, yet to label someone a conformist is akin to labeling them ignorant and unoriginal. However, conformity - and its associated impacts - are as integral to the functioning of society as the principles of nonconformity. Conformity is often positively utilised to induce positive social change nationally and internationally. It prompts dissemination of workload, provides protection (‘strength in numbers’), and encourages strict rule enforcement. Although less appreciated than non conformists, conformists and their resulting principles play a vital role in the smooth conduction of society.
Because this is a retelling of a mother-daughter relationship, Jing-mei is the protagonist and main character of this short story while her mother is the antagonist. Jing-mei is a dynamic character. At the beginning all she wanted to do was please her mother and accomplish her mother's version of the American Dream, but then her epiphany happened: she realized that this is not her dream, thus she rebelled and began to follow her own dream. On the other hand, Jing-mei’s mother is a static character. All her emotions, thoughts, and feelings surround one motive: for Jing-mei to become a prodigy. Although at the end she stops asking Jing-mei to do multiple hobbies, she still believed that Jing-mei had “natural talent [and that Jing-mei] could [still] be a genius if [she] wanted to” (Tan 48). In the end, Jing-mei’s mother realized that she no longer could control her daughter, yet that still did not stop her from hinting that her daughter still had the ability to become a