Claude Fischer the author of Sweet Land of Conformity erroneously makes the claim that, “Our culture consists that if you marry… you are signing an explicit or implicit contract to cooperate and conform.” We feel that as Americans, people tend to stray from this ideal; this is portrayed through divorce and infidelity. In today’s corrupt society, when you marry, you are expected to be loyal based on an, “explicit or implicit contract.” But as time goes by and people become less interested and involved with their partners, we see that this claim is not true. The twisted love triangle that occurred between Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, and Brad Pitt in 2005 demonstrates an example of infidelity which led to divorce. While Brad Pitt was married …show more content…
The infidelity shown in Brad Pitt’s marriage is just one example of how American’s do not follow the rules of marriage. According to the American Psychological Association, the divorce rate in 2016 is about 40 to 50%, and is increasing more and more each day. Divorces clearly go against the contract that you sign in order to “to cooperate and conform,” which makes the claim by Fischer stand false. Another example of infidelity is shown between Abigail Williams and John Proctor in the play “The Crucible.” John Proctor is supposed to be a Puritan man, but at the same time he is being unfaithful to his wife. Not only do his actions go against the “contract” and promises made in marriage, but also Proctor no longer carries the name of a pure man who has integrity. In both of these situations, Brad and John, we see how one man’s desires for another makes him go against his morals which prove Fischer’s claim wrong. Even though Fischer’s claim is flawed, some people believe that it is true. People have this opinion because they do in fact believe that American’s follow the promises and commitments they make in their
Human beings are not isolated individuals. We do not wander through a landscape of trees and dunes alone, reveling in our own thoughts. Rather, we need relationships with other human beings to give us a sense of support and guidance. We are social beings, who need talk and company almost as much as we need food and sleep. We need others so much, that we have developed a custom that will insure company: marriage. Marriage assures each of us of company and association, even if it is not always positive and helpful. Unfortunately, the great majority of marriages are not paragons of support. Instead, they hold danger and barbs for both members. Only the best marriages improve both partners. So when we look at all three of Janie’s marriages, only her marriage to Teacake shows the support, guidance, and love.
In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible and Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl, both of the husbands characters realize having trust in their marriages is very important. In The Crucible, John Proctor cheated on his wife Elizabeth with a younger girl named Abigail, and his wife soon found out. In Gone Girl, Amy Dunne, who is the wife of Nick, planted out a murder scene in their house and made it look like Nick had killed her. John Proctor and Nick Dunne both realize, neither of their relationships have a lot of trust in them at all. In these stories, you learn not everyone can be trusted, and some people are not really who they resemble.
Clearly, this essay has shown that the main factors which impact upon adultery being acceptable is being loyal, loving, and forgiveness. Adultery in all reality is actually a terrible thing and is frowned upon, but The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter prove adultery is acceptable in many ways. Life is like a pen, so any mistake made will never be able to be erased or taken back.
In this paper I am writing about marriage and infidelity in modern life and the books we have read in class. Marriage is a mutual bond in which a man and a woman decide to be with each other until they die. Infidelity is basically when the man or woman in a relationship cheat on the other person, without them knowing.
Conformity means a change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people. As a teenager, the pressure to conform to the societal “norm” plays a major role in shaping one’s character. Whether this means doing what social groups want or expect you to do or changing who you are to fit in. During class, we watched films such as Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Breakfast Club which demonstrate how the pressure to conform into society can change who you are. In the movies we have seen, conformity was most common during high school.
It is very common to see conformity among young people, especially when large groups of young people are constantly around each other. School is one example where conformity is rampant. For some reason people tend to gravitate towards what others are doing. In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go, the characters are no different from any other young person in that they tend to conform. Ishiguro shows this conformity to prove that conformity stems from the want to fit in and pure ignorance. At Hailsham, the students conform just to fit in with the rest of the students, but they also conform because they do not know any better.
One example of corruption in marriage is The Miller’s Tale. This tale includes a lecherous clerk, a vain clerk, and an old man entangled in a web of deceit and adultery construed by a married women. It is obvious in this story that almost each of these characters show complete disregard to the institution of marriage. The two men, Nicholas and Absalon, both try to engage in adulterous affairs with Alison, the old man’s wife. Both of the men are guilty of trying to seduce Alison, which shows their indifference towards the sanctions and laws of marriage. Still Alison, who should be the wiser, also breaks the laws of marriage. She takes Nicholas because she wants to, just as she ignores Absalon because she wants to. Lines 104-109 of the Miller’s Tale show Alison’s blatant disrespect for her marriage to "Old John" and her planned deceit: "That she hir love hym graunted atte laste, And swoor hir ooth, by seint Thomas of Kent That she wol been at his commandment, Whan that she may hir leyser wel espie. Myn housbonde is so ful of jalousie That but ye wayte wel and been privee…"
For example, Tom, a married man, comes across a woman who is able to satisfy desires that his current spouse unable to provide for. He even shows his mistress off in front of his wife and family. What would possess someone to be so disrespectful and spiteful? It’s difficult to rationalize and make sense of such actions, but the decay of marriage and increasing divorce rates have been greatly increasing trends throughout the past century.
While, approximately 45% of marriages in America end in divorce, there are various amounts of sociological reasons for this number being so high (Hyde). Truly, while thinking about all of the factors that go into a divorce, they can be overwhelming. The first reading for this class, “Taking a New Look at a Familiar World” had examined the reason for a girlfriend breaking up with her boyfriend. During this reading the author had examined the reasons for a break up and said that there are a significant amount of other possibilities for the break up (Newman). Michael and Louise had broken up and Louise was the one to initiate the break up (Newman). People tend to use an individualistic explanation for the break up and blame it on one or both of the individuals personally (Newman). If the break up is looked at from a sociological standpoint, then one can see that there are many of other factors that could be the reason for Michael and Louise breaking up. Other circumstances that could of led to a break up could have been the availability in the dating market, as well as a change in what a partner needs in a relationship
Marriage is a commitment that seems to be getting harder to keep. The social standards placed on an individual by society and influenced by the media inevitably lead some to consider divorce as a “quick-fix” option. “Have it your way” has become a motto in the United States. It has become a country without any consideration of the psychological effects of marriage and divorce. The overwhelmingly high divorce rate is caused by a lack of moral beliefs and marital expectations.
Infidelity is depicted as an extremely negative thing in the United States, and is often blamed for trust issues, psychologically damaging the spouse and their children, tearing apart marriages and families and more. People who commit adultery are often shamed and told how wrong what they did is and what a terrible person they are for doing it. According to the Journal of Martial and Family by the Associated Press, however, 41% of “marriages where one or both spouses admit to infidelity, either physical or emotional.” Clearly, while infidelity is generally viewed negative by society, many people either decide that it is not as negative as it is portrayed, or do not care and do it anyway. “The Lady with the Pet Dog” and “The Storm” both go against the typical view of adultery being a negative thing in a relationship by showing that it can actually have a beneficial outcome and leave some, if not all people happier.
Every year approximately 2.4 million marriages occur.Out of those,2.1 millionwill file for divorce in the United States. These marriage and divorce rates have significantly increased since the years past(Coltrane and Adams, 364).According to Schoen, in the 1950’s, 15 out of 1,000 marriages ended in divorce.In the 1970’s, the rates of divorcedoubled,increasing to 40 per 1,000 marriages. Currently, the rate of marriages resulting in divorce remains the same. Most marriages are ending within seven years ofthemarriage for multiple different reasons. Sociologists haveestablisheddivorce as a social problem from the rise in divorcerates due to the early year of marriages (2006).
Contributors were recruited from sociology, human developments and family studies classes with samples showing 109 Caucasians (70.3%), 13 Latinos (8.4%), 10 Asian Americans (6.5%), 9 African Americans (5.8%), 9 multiethnic individuals (5.8%), and 5 individuals of other upbringings (3.2%). Fifty-six of those not involved in a romantic association (36.6%), 10 were dating several people (6.5%), 56 dating one individual only (36.6%) 8 already cohabitating (5.2%), 10 engaged (6.5%), and 13 people were married (8.5%). In an average of 32.9 months; 59 individuals (39.6%) showed previously deceived, and 38 (24.7%) reported they committed infidelity
There was a time when more smart-conscious decisions were made relating to sexual relationships. In particular, sexual relationships within a marriage. However, times have changed. The pillars that hold up our individual sexual values have started to crumble. It is estimated that two out of three marriages fail due to infidelity. This is a scary statistic considering that people believe a marriage can survive infidelity. This brings us to our first myth: Everyone has affairs.
Esther: We will first explain conformity, compliance, and obedience, as well as some examples of these concepts. Next, we will explore the similarities and differences between these three ideas.