Babbitt: Conformity
In the Sinclair Lewis novel Babbitt, the character of Babbitt is completely controlled by the power of conformity. Conformity is so powerful that even after babbitt realizes the stifling nature of the society in which he lives he is powerless to change his fate as a member of conformist society.
George F. Babbitt is a man who is completely controlled by the conformist society in which he lives. Pressure to conform lies in all aspects of Babbitt's life. Relationships, family, social life, and business are all based on his ability to conform to Zenith's preset standards of thought and action. All of Babbitt's thoughts are controlled by society. Thoughts that are not those of society are frowned upon.
"What he feels and thinks is what is currently popular to feel and think.
Only once during the two years that we have him under view, does he venture upon an idea that is remotely original-and that time the heresy almost ruins him."(Bloom)
At first the reader sees Babbitt as a person more than happy to conform to the standards set for him by the rest of society. Babbitt goes about his normal routine praising modern technology, material possessions and social status as ways to measure the worth of an individual. In fact the readers first encounter with Babbitt sees him praising modern technology. "It was the best of nationally advertised and quantitatively produced alarm-clocks, with all modern attachments, including cathedral chime, intermittent alarm, and a phosphorescent dial. Babbitt was proud of being awakened by such a rich device."(Babbitt pg.3) Babbitt praises the technology of his alarm clock only because it is a symbol of material worth and therefore social status.
All of Babbitt's actions and thoughts are controlled by the standards of Zenith. "His every action is related to the phenomena of that society. It is not what he feels and aspires to that moves him primarily; it is what the folks around him will think."(Mencken). All of Babbitt's thoughts are those of society, and thoughts that are not society's are ridiculed Babbitt works simply to raise his social status by means of increasing his material worth. Babbitt belongs to many popular clubs, the purposes of which he does not even completely understand. Why does Babbitt do these things? Babbitt does these things to per...
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...f pleasure out of that fact that you knew what you wanted to do and did it. Well, those folks in there will try to bully you, and tame you down. Tell 'em go to the devil!
I'll back you. Take your factory job, if you want to. Don't be scared of the family. No, nor all of Zenith. Nor of yourself the way I've been. Go ahead, old man! The world is yours!".(Babbitt pg 401) In this meaningful ending passage Babbitt admits his failure in life to his son, and tells him to go after his dreams. He hopes that his son will not fear life, himself, or Zenith the way he did. Babbitt realizes that fear is how conformity captures it's victims, and that without fear anything is possible.
In the city of Zenith the power of conformity is too strong to battle, and even when it's power is realized it is impossible to battle.
Conformity traps the fearful into unhappy lives, and forces it's will upon them. Once captured by conformity it is impossible to escape it's grasp.
Some Hope however exists for a newer generation including Babbitt's son to conquer conformity and aspire to carry out their dreams.
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Throughout the novel the feelings the man has for his son are sacred; the man makes great sacrifices for his son to continue to live and have a future in a world that has been devastated and stripped of all humanity. The boy is the only source of light for
society in which he lives. He apartment is purposely set on the opposite side of town
At the beginnings of the 1900s, some leading magazines in the U.S have already started to exhibit choking reports about unjust monopolistic practices, rampant political corruption, and many other offenses; which helped their sales to soar. In this context, in 1904, The Appeal to Reason, a leading socialist weekly, offered Sinclair $500 to prepare an exposé on the meatpacking industry (Cherny). To accomplish his mission, Sinclair headed to Chicago, the center of the meatpacking industry, and started an investigation as he declared“ I spent seven weeks in Packingtown studying conditions there, and I verified every smallest detail, so that as a picture of social conditions the book is as exact as a government report” (Sinclair, The Industrial Republic 115-16). To get a direct knowledge of the work, he sneaked into the packing plants as a pretended worker. He toured the streets of Packingtown, the area near the stockyards where the workers live. He approached people, from different walks of life, who could provide useful information about conditions in Packingtown. At the end of seven weeks, he returned home to New Jersey, shut himself up in a small cabin, wrote for nine months, and produced The Jungle (Cherny).
William Golding’s book, Lord of the flies, begins with the central character stuck in a jungle of which he knows little about. Ralph as we later find out his name, is the athletic, level-headed, leader of the boys on the island. He is the emotional leader of the group, and he has a major influence on all of the other characters. Ralph is used as a sort of reminder of the old world. He reminds the boys that there are laws and rules and everyone must abide for survival. When the boys realize that they are not at home anymore and they being to rely on their natural instincts they lose the society that man-kind has created. Ralph is trying hard to keep the boys together because he knows if they are not the chances of being rescued become lesser.
William Golding explores the vulnerability of society in a way that can be read on many different levels. A less detailed look at the book, Lord of the Flies, is a simple fable about boys stranded on an island. Another way to comprehend the book is as a statement about mans inner savage and reverting to a primitive state without societies boundaries. By examining the Lord of the Flies further, it is revealed that many themes portray Golding’s views, including a religious persecution theme.
Cursive should not be taught in schools! Schools don’t need cursive. There are other things that kids could be doing in class. Read my next paragraph to find out what and why.
“Brave New World,” is a novel written by Aldous Huxley where he explains that everything is based on a futuristic science which he claimed sprang forth from him because of his experience as “an ordered universe in a world of plan less incoherence” (River 4 1974). People seem to care more about temporal things rather than emotions. Technology also seems to be the most important aspect and everyone is affected by it in one way or another, whether if it is negative or positive. This does not necessarily mean that everyone is fully happy with technology because in a way they are all slaves to it. Another thing discussed in the novel is the lack of freedom. Due to a lot of technological development there exists this division in between people even before their birth that their fate has already been decided where subsist these casts such as Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas e.t.c. They are pushed away from freedom of choice and forced to live in a bubble of their own.
“The Jungle,” written by Upton Sinclair in 1906, describes how the life and challenges of immigrants in the United States affected their emotional and physical state, as well as relationships with others. The working class was contrasted to wealthy and powerful individuals who controlled numerous industries and activities in the community. The world was always divided into these two categories of people, those controlling the world and holding the majority of the power, and those being subjected to them. Sinclair succeeded to show this social gap by using the example of the meatpacking industry. He explained the terrible and unsafe working conditions workers in the US were subjected to and the increasing rate of corruption, which created the feeling of hopelessness among the working class.
The book, Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley, is a radical story that is interpreted as a potential caution to us, society, if we keep making poor life choices. In the novel, Huxley depicts a culture where people are programmed to live forever and forced to think that sex and drugs are. For them, the idea of having a family with a mother and a father is absolutely repulsive to think about. Even though some of Huxley’s thoughts are unrealistic, the meaning behind them can be seen today. Nowadays, the three ideas that are bringing us closer to the Brave New World true are the advancements in technology, an obsession to remain young, and the increasing rate of drug use.
From the beginning of the Criminal Justice System, the obsession was with prison and punishment. In the last few years, this focus forced the jail and prison populations to skyrocket higher than any other place in the world. There is never a class we are not reminded there are currently 2.3 million people in United States prisons and jails. The criminal justice system or the correctional system has not changed yet remained its focus on deterrence and isolation not on the proactive ways of dealing with crime.
It is my belief that aggressive behavior in children is linked to the media, but also to the behavior portrayed by the people around them. Many studies have been targeted toward the link between aggression and viewing violence in the media. One well-known study was conducted by Albert Bandura and is known as the Bobo doll experiment. Research has shown that a child will mimic the actions of others if the actions are reinforced. “Albert Bandura argued that aggression in children is influenced by the reinforcement of family members, the media, and the environment” (Bandura, 1976).
The daughter wants to help her fellow African Americans whom are struggling for their rights and march along side them “To make our country free” (11). The mother wants to protect her child, like any mother would and responds:
Civilization can be destroyed as easily as it is created. Without the walls of society, humans are capable of committing actions that they would have never thought possible. Lord of the Flies focuses on a group of boys who are alone on an island without authority. The novel reveals what can become of humanity without the presence of authority. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the protagonist Ralph symbolizes leadership, civilization, as well as the loss of innocence. Ralph is the closest resemblance to authority that the boys have on the island. His appearance plays an important role in him signifying authority, “You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no evil” (Golding, 10). His appearance changes throughout the novel as well as his character. Ralph portrays the most significant character because the majority of the novel revolves around him. He becomes the leader of the group of boys in the beginning of the novel, until he starts to struggle for power with the antagonist, Jack. Ralph experiences a journey that causes him to lose his innocence and he discovers many things about humanity. Ralph’s symbolism of leadership, civilization, and the loss of innocence reveals what can become of society. Evil is within all of humanity, humanity can transition from civilization to savagery without the walls of society present.
Cursive writting is a big part of being professional. It's true that technology is changing at a rapid speed. As said in the article "Cursive Is aTwenty-First Century Dinosaur" hand writting has tooken a back seat. Only because technology grows by the day. I feel that children should still learn and practice cursive hand writting because it is apart of everyday life. learning to write can improve your motor skillz more than typing on a computer.
Social media has created a social problem in society and it is distorting how people are communicating with each other face to face. Social media in today’s day is seen as a worldwide antisocial epidemic amongst the younger generation and a few older adults born in the millennial. Social media is notably used more by the younger people in our society and around the world, considering that technology is more accessible and easier to use for them. This is because their generation was born into a technological and advancing society that it has adapted into modern society’s culture. Social media has become a part of today’s norm, in which people who own a smart phone have downloaded some sort of social media app in order to stay intact with family