ESSAY #2: CONFORMITY AND REBELLION
DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010
AT 12:00 NOON EDT
ESSAY TOPIC: Conformity and Rebellion (pages 289-290)
ESSAY TITLE: ESSAY #2: CONFORMITY AND REBELLION
ESSAY CONSIDERATIONS:
“Conformity and Rebellion” – the class between two well-articulated positions in which a rebel, on principle, confronts and struggles with established authority . . . powerful external sources – the state, the church, tradition – which sometimes can be obeyed only at the expense of conscience and humanity. The very organizations men and women establish to protect and nurture the individual often demand – on pain of economic ruin, social ostracism, even spiritual or physical death – that individuals violate their most deeply cherished beliefs. Some individuals refuse such a demand and translate their awareness of a hostile social order into action against it.
ESSAY SOURCES:
© “Bartleby, the Scrivener”
© “An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge”
© “The Lottery”
© “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
© “Four Little Girls”
ESSAY QUESTION (choose from one of the following):
© In a number of the essay sources, a single individual rebels against society and suffers defeat or death. Are these works therefore pessimistic and despairing? If not, what is the purpose of the rebellions, and why do the authors choose to bring their characters to such ends. Writing Topic: Discuss one work from the essay sources that offers support for the idea that a single individual can have a decisive effect on society.
© Characters in several of the works in the essay sources are rebels. What similarities do you find among these rebels? Writing Topic: Compare two characters from the essay sources and explain how the attitudes and actions of these characters constitute an attack on the status quo.
© Examine some of the representatives of established order and discuss what attitudes they share and how effectively they function as spokespeople for law and order. Writing Topic: Choose from two of the essay sources and compare and evaluate the kinds of order that each represents.
© “The Lottery” deals explicitly with the relationship between individuals and religion. Writing Topic: Discuss how that relationship is perceived in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.”
ESSAY VALUE: 100 points
ESSAY GUIDELINES: Be sure to follow the guidelines for preparing and submitting your essay. Essay guidelines are available at this link:
If you have any questions, send me an e-mail at english102wcc@gmail.com, and allow up to 24 hours for a response (although I will most likely get back to you much sooner than that).
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