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Essays on stargirl individuality and conformity
Essays on stargirl individuality and conformity
Theme of identity in literature
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How far can you go to lose yourself? What distance are we willing to tred to dim the glow of your own starlight? In Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl several characters have vastly different personalities. Or do they? Is Leo Borlock really different from Hillary Kimble? Do they not both care for normality? For the attention of others? When Stargirl Caraway arrives, a butterfly engulfed by mist, the world shifted and grasped for an opportunity to hold onto something… divergent. An anomaly so far down their path, they could hardly reach it. So they grow to hate it, dead grass rising but never quite touching the soft delicacy of Stargirl’s petals. If something can’t be understood, it is not good enough to be loved. That’s how we’ve all been raised; to comprehend and to discover and to keep stretching out our arms to the answers when they just flow through the cracks of our normalcy like water. Society stones it until the mountain is just as low as the dirt itself, and no one has to be jealous anymore. No one has to wonder how they could have touched the docility of grey clouds. No one has to wonder what distance they went to not to be that sole splash of color in a world of white.
In the long trek of life, people are constantly chided to follow their hearts, and to be themselves, and to let our individuality run free. As Georg Simmel once said,“The deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life.” He is utterly correct. Every person, every mind and every heart, has their own way of doing things. We have associated individuality with singularit...
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... constant battle with our hearts, that resist the forces of our instinct. Instincts that enforce a single cooperating body of humanity. In short, we seek only the feeling of true euphoria with ourselves, and see our world as incorrect perfection.
Perhaps, despite consistent changes, our individuality is not completely renewed. Not renewed when trends are altered, or when we’ve lost interest in our former idols. Perhaps, when our minds are taken to think as another would, our individualities are only being transformed to fit that state. Change could very possibly be the number one ingredient necessary to loss of uniqueness. Humans can adjust quite quickly to different environments, and that maybe as much a curse as it is a gift. People change themselves too hastily, at times, not caring for the possibility that they are going against things they want, need and love.
Individualism and conformity--two very commonly used terms to describe anyone in today’s time. In comparison to the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man,” written by Logan Feys, one of the most notable quotes that relates to individualism and conformity is “to be a human is to be an individual human, with individual tastes [...][and]talents [...] 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, …” (Feys Par. 6). To be truthful, conformity and nonconformity are used to determine a person’s inner-being, but every person is different, and in this case people will not always agree with each other on how they should live.
We don't see many people in the world who express individuality. However, we see popularity and amount of followers we have on our Instagram to represent our reputation in the public. In the novel, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, we can see that individuality can still be expressed even if the whole school despises you. The main character, Stargirl, demonstrates how to be yourself and how it's better to be yourself than to become someone else.
Many centuries ago, people started thinking about the question “Who we are, where did we come from, and where are we going?” While seeking for the answers, many standpoints developed. Everyone has an opinion; when confronted with life’s decisions, even on what not to do and how to best stay away from regret. Then, another question was raised: can the individual ever be higher than the universal? Lead by the famous philosopher John Stuart Mill, many people believe that all are born selfish hedonists and get shaped by the culture and environment and eventually live for the society.
...ni and Steinbeck draw attention to the diminishing power of an individual in a large society. By using motifs and settings, the authors explain the ability the world has to influence humans’ behaviors and lives negatively. Hosseini convinces us to remain individuals, as Steinbeck professed, and not conform to the world in which we live. As Dahli Lamma once stated, “The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis”. Is he correct: is it necessary for humans to make individual decisions rather than follow the in the footsteps of others?
In today’s culture people are not individuals they are consumers and they have lost their ability to have their own experiences. In “The Loss of the Creature” by Walker Percy, he talks about why people have lost their sovereignty and how they can get it back. There are a lot of things that people can do differently and regain their individuality back from the consumer culture that they live in.
Noah Miller English Honors: D Ms. Hiller 13 December 2013 1984 Major Essay Assignment. Individualism is the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. When put into a collective whole, one might do for the whole more than one does for oneself.
“Individualistic cultures, in the western-hemisphere, [such as the United States,] emphasize… personal identity and self-determination. Conformity is far less pervasive in individualistic societies because democratic choices and laissez-faire viewpoints are somewhat considered.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emerson is a firm believer of maintaining self-reliance and values rather than following the crowd. He also explains that in order to be truly successful in life, a person must make decisions and trust in his or her judgment. In today’s society, teenagers are more likely to not be self-reliant because the teens feel they will be judged for having different beliefs. People today need to realize that they should not conform to be like the rest of the world, they must not depend on the judgment and criticism of others, and people must refuse to travel somewhere in order to forget their personal problems. Through Emerson’s piece, readers are able to reflect on how people in the world today must try to be independent of others and uphold their personal opinions and philosophy.
Individualism and collectivism are conflicting beliefs with the nature of humans, society, and the relationships between them, however, these ideologies are not diametrically opposing since both are essential towards balancing beliefs from becoming extremes. The first source represents the idea of collectivism and suggests that the society must focus on moving their viewpoint from ‘me’ into ‘we’ in the interest of survival and progression. This perspective presents the idea that the individual’s advantage belongs not only to the person, but to the group or society of which he or she is a part of, and that the individual’s values and goals are for the group’s “greater good.” Likewise, Karl Marx’s principle of communism emphasizes in the elimination
If I can successfully shape my life around ideas of self-reliance I can be exactly who I want to be. I look around me and don’t want to conform to society’s standards, I recognize that there is an easy way out, but try my best to remain true to myself by following my heart with pure conviction. Because of my desire to remain true to myself, I closely identify with Emerson in “Self-Reliance”: “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, - that is genius.”
In the unit “The Spirit of Individualism” there are two parts, “Celebrations of the self” and “The Dark side of Individualism” with pieces that present very different perspectives on human nature. “The Dark side of Individualism” portrays human nature as greedy, confused, easily caught up in fame, and addicted to wealth and possessions. In “Celebrations of the Self”, human nature is viewed in a more positive light. The characteristics shown are self reliance, independence, wisdom and selflessness. “The Dark side of Individualism” pieces are written in a more macabre tone, whereas “Celebrations of the Self” pieces have a more positive and uplifting tone to them. The generalizations of human nature are different because of the pieces in “The Dark side of Individualism” and “Celebrations of the Self” have entirely different views on life and human nature.
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).
The notion of individualism is extremely important in exercising the duty people have to cease from the...
Everyone in the world is wandering around trying to find their place. Where do they fit in, what is their purpose, why are they here? People are always longing for answers, to understand what meaning their life truly has, and to figure out their tie to the universe. It is when people begin looking for one single truth that problems start to happen. Albert Camus believes that there is a conflict between what we want from the universe and what we will actually find in the universe. The “nostalgia for unity” is just people’s urge to be united with a purpose and make sense of the insane world going on around them. We reach this unity by anthropomorphic thinking to make it relatable. Everyone wants to feel like they are living for something and
In the opening of his selection, he talks about the notion of individuality against collectivism. He states that as man completely isolates himself from society, he is in complete dilemma because he is not aware of what is good from bad. Furthermore, he does not have any identity because he cannot distinguish himself from his surroundings, which are merely animals and plants. On the contrary, a person who allows himself to be dictated by the society loses his personal identity and ends up being a follower of what is imposed upon him. We must realize that man should not follow solely on what the society dictates nor completely isolate himself from his surroundings but instead a balance must exist between these two extremes. Based from our discussion in class, man is considered to be social being and needs interaction in order to live. Man should not be easily influenced by externalities; rather, he must use his intellect and free will to educate himself about life.