Conformity: Grandma Cont.

My grandma was afraid of the talk of war that was arousing between North and South Korea.  She had experienced the Korean war, and wanted her 7 children to have a better and safer life.  She had the opportunity to immigrate to America, because her sister already resided there.  My grandma had a difficult time integrating with the american society due to her incapability of speaking english.  She felt some prejudices due to her lack of communication (Didn't speak english) but she successfully ran a market and created a stable environment for her children.  She strongly stressed receiving a good education because she wanted her children to have economic opportunities.

Conformity Questions:

1) To what extent do you believe people should conform to?
2) Would you conform to society, for the greater good of the public?  Even if it means losing some of your autonomy?
3) What were the pressures to conform during your childhood/teenage years?
4) Would you be independent, even if it ment being a social outcast?
5) Which choice would you make? To completely conform to society, or be completely independent?
6) What pressures you to conform or be independent?


Additional questions will be added

Conformity

The general mass should conform to society.  By conforming, order is created and maintained.  However, people should conform to the extent where conforming goes against their morals or is detrimental to his/herself.  Without order, there is only chaos and anarchy, where anyone would be able to do as they please.  However, there must also be those independent minds that help drive society forward.  Without those independent thinkers, everyone would be sheep, simply doing what everyone tells them to do.  Usually, conforming people is either for the benefit of society, as a whole, or a benefit for the individual.  Such as conforming to the notion how education increases the rate of being successful in the future.  If children were not forced to go to school, there would definitely be a steep decrease in the attendance of schools.  However, knowledge is a must for intellectual development, and through this, we can help society progress.  Therefore, conforming is needed to maintain order, but independent thinkers are also needed to progress society, and keep it on the right path.

Pressure

My grandma lived during the time Korea split into two and the war ensued.  She moved to the south and constantly worried about her sons being drafted into the army.  As a result, she moved to America, where she faced many prejudices and tried to make a living to feed her 8 children...

HoD: 2nd Body

Contrasting the id, the superego restrains the mind from running wild.  The presumption that whites are restrained and sophisticated is a false ideal, and it is shown that the natives can also display restraint according to their situation, as seen by the cannibals, and the enslaved africans in the outer and central stations.  Cannibals are often thought as monstrous, violent animals that would eat one another the second they had the chance.  However, on Marlowe’s boat to the inner station, they are seen to have complete restraint over their hunger, even when the run out of food.  Marlowe even comments on their restraint “QUOTE”.  This example depicts how even cannibals can show a superego when in the right circumstance.  The situation of employment the cannibals are in, undoubtedly demands them to restrain themselves and act more civilized.  The consequence for not doing so could be either not receiving payment, or a harsh punishment.  The natives are also seen as savage beasts that are barbaric and have strange rituals, as seen in the inner station and Marlowe's journey to the inner station, where they are attacked by natives.  However, in the outer and central station, they are enslaved and obediently follow their masters.  The fear of being punished is what most likely keeps the natives tied down.  So, the environment can not only cause civilized people to run wild, when there is a lack of restraint, but also force those that were wild and free to become subservient and "civilized."

HoD: 1st Body

As seen through the novel, acting upon the id seems to be the best means of survival as one travels deeper into the heart of Africa.  The id uncovers the true nature of characters by allowing them to act freely and upon instinct, which perfectly reflects life in the chaotic wilderness.  Kurtz is an ideal example of a refined, universal scholar that has turned native after journeying into Africa.  When spoken about by people residing in Europe, such as his fiancé and cousin, Kurtz was revered as a brilliant, humanitarian leader.  European society has laws and customs that dictate human behavior to be “proper,” by restraining the impulsive urges of men, which Kurtz had seemed to follow so closely to.  However, when he journeyed to Africa, a lawless land, where barbarious acts to Europeans seem cultural/spiritual to the natives, the consequential effect of the unrestrained environment allowed Kurtz to act impulsively, which altered his personality.  Kurtz’s superego no longer had any control over his thoughts as actions, as it did in Europe.  It also seems that as one travels deeper into Africa, from the outer station to the central and inner station, people become more insane and act brashly.  Marlowe’s journey, meetings with others, and his own mind seem to be the vehicle in which Conrad portrays the rise in insanity as one travels deeper into the “heart of darkness”. The accountant in the outer station and Marlowe seem to behave normally in the outer station.  At the Central station, the “men in charge” seem to be more corrupt and self-concerned, and Marlowe begins to become very impatient and mistrusting of others.  When the manager and Marlowe travel down the river to the Inner Station, they seem to be on edge, and Marlowe seems to hallucinate.  At the Inner Station, Marlowe meets Kurtz, who is in an extremely ill state and is on the path of madness.  Marlowe strangely admires this man and isolates himself from the rest of his crew by siding with Kurtz.  Conrad unmistakably alludes the reader how the environment plays a large role in  people’s mind.

HoD: Intro

In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlowe begins the story by juxtaposing the Romans, English and Africans.  These comparisons create a sense of vagueness that questions who can truly be defined as a savage.  As the story continues, it can be seen that everything is situational, and the environment has a significant impact on people's mind.  Kurtz ideally depicts the transformation of the mind as one travels to different environments as he was once considered a respectable, universal scholar that eventually becomes a savage power mongering brute.  The people that occupy the outer, central, and inner stations also display the deteriorating nature of man as they travel deeper into the "darkness."  So, as people journey further into the heart of Africa, their id seems to be the best means of survival, and it takes over ones mind since there are no restrictions that allow the superego to tie down the conscious from acting on instinct.