Antigone, Lord of the Flies, "Girl", "Diving in the Wreck"
All of the works present the idea that the world is an unjust place with the ability to influence other people into joining its corruption. In Antigone, only one girl has the ability to stand against corruption and it results in her death. She is so miserable for being rejected, that life is not worth living. Lord of the Flies kills off the Jesus-figure, Simon, for resisting to succumb to evil. “Girl” traps innocence in a predestination to become a “slut”. “Diving into the Wreck” portrays a strong woman being lost and powerless when attempting to rise up to the world of men.
Catcher in the Rye
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In Catcher in the Rye, the red hunting cap signifies two different sides to peer pressure. Holden wears his unusual hat to resist the journey to adulthood and keep hold of his innocence and youth. Thus the hat serves as a protection against the influences of adulthood. "Boy, it began to rain like a bastard...I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants. My hunting hat gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway...I felt so damn happy" (212-213). The hat cannot protect him from everything in the world (he still gets wet), but it gives him the confidence he needs to be happy despite the circumstances. However the action of Holden taking off the hat in public makes him more susceptible to these influences. For instance when Holden is on the bus to New York, Salinger writes, "All I did was take off my hunting hat and put it in my pocket. All of a sudden, this lady got at Trenton and sat down next to me...she was very good looking" (53-54). The minute Holden takes off his hat, he notices the attractive woman, and becomes influenced by men's desire for sex. Thus he is giving in to peer pressure itself and conforming to society.
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Contradictory to the works studied in the past year, eventually the happiest people are those that remain completely themselves without giving into pressures presented by their peers. At the end of the day, the only person that has to deal with someone’s choices is the one who made them. Giving into peer pressure means allowing the acceptance of peers to determine confidence, happiness, and path in life. These peers are, however, temporary. When the social media is turned off and the fake friends have gone, the people who stood by their own beliefs and pursued their own happiness have a life to fall back on. This life is much more substantial than anything achieved by fitting in during high school.
Teen culture/ the media is one of the largest contributors to the creation of peer pressure. These industries create “societal norms” that are anything but normal. No one looks like an airbrushed model. No one gets a perfect TV relationship, because it is not perfect. The media presents ideas that are not real and cause teens to take off in an unfulfilling pursuit of these lifestyles.
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