Conformity and Rebellion in Works by Amy Tan, Martin Luther King Jr., Herman Melville, and Shirley Jackson
The dilemma of conformity vs. rebellion, to do something that is expected, or "has always been done," or to rebel against expectation or convention, is common in both life and literature. Three short stories, by Amy Tan; Herman Melville, and Shirley Jackson, and the essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr., express conflict between conformity and rebellion. I will analyze Tan's "Two Kinds"; King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail"; Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener," and Jackson's "The Lottery," in that order, in terms of their themes of conformity vs. rebellion.
In Amy Tan's story "Two Kinds" (424-32) Jing-mei's Chinese mother wishes for her to conform to her own high standards of persistence and achievement in music, though Jing-mei lacks motivation. Her mother: "believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America" (424). If Jing-mei is "Not the best" it is "Because you not trying'" (426). Jing-mei's mother decides, since anything is possible in America, her daughter will become a child prodigy. Seeing a Chinese girl playing piano on the Ed Sullivan Show, she determines that Jing-mei will become a piano prodigy.
Jing-mei is initially enthusiastic about piano lessons, but her zeal vanishes once she learns playing piano is hard work. Soon she begins taking advantage of her piano teacher's deafness; as long as she appears to play correctly, Old Chong will not know the difference (427). Jing mei's mother brags: "If we ask Jing-mei wash dish, she hear nothing but music. It's like you can't stop this natural talent" (428). But in her first rebellious impulse, Jing-mei "was determined to put a stop to her foolish pride." When her first piano recital arrives, Jing-mei has not practiced, plays terribly, and humiliates her mother. She resolves never to play again. But when her practice time comes the next day, her mother forces her to the piano, as if nothing...
Conformity and Obedience BEYOND CONSCIOUS AWARENESS Influences of Conformity and Obedience The Concepts of Conformity and Obedience Compared Obedience is a form of social influence in which a person of authority makes a direct command to someone to perform something (McLeod, 2007). It involves changing one's behavior according to the commands of authority (Brehm, Kassin & Fein, 1999 as qtd in Southerly, 2012). Conformity is another form of social influence brought about by social
Rebellion and Conformity in Jane Eyre This paper focuses on the elements of rebellion and conformity that make frequent appearances in Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece, 'Jane Eyre'. The novel contains many instances of rebellion but there are also some occasions when the protagonist chooses to conform to societal and religious traditions. Thus the book would be considered by many a healthy and balanced blend of defiance and peaceful surrender and this is
The anonymity of exile does not provide her with the conditions in which to live the purposeful life she intended for herself. Her spiritedness and independence of mind, which contributed to her erotic rebellion, are displaced, and in many respects irrelevant, away from this specific moral community of faith. She returns older and, it seems, less ambitious about radical reform of the community. Yet her return is an exceptional
Rebellion and Conformity in the Rhetoric of Swift and King Introduction to the texts Authorial 'position' Outsiders Leaders/literary stylists Authorial Intent Satire Polemic Authorial Style Similarities and differences in use of indirect address Intentions Concluding Similarities Jonathan Swift's 1729 "A Modest Proposal" and Martin Luther King's 1963 "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" are both works written in protest by authors who were social critics of the contemporary mores of their society. Swift used satire to condemn the callousness exhibited by English society
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