Non Conformity Research Paper

Non Conformity Have you ever wondered about those few in your class who just do everything on there own, not caring what everyone else thinks about it? Those who oppose the cliques and those who think the "popular" kids are just a group of followers. If you actually get the time to look at then and get to know them you will find out that they are not just the group of "weirdoes", they live the romantic way of life, they are called the non conformists. Sounds kind of important huh? Well that is just what these kids strive not to be. They do not want to be the big time lawyers and businessmen, they do not want to be voted "best dressed" or "most popular". They just want to be themselves and be happy. You may ask yourself, well isn't that what we all want? If you think about it though, the majority of us also what to be wealthy and pretty and overall, just accepted. Well if you really were a non-conformist you wouldn't care about any of
those things, just about your happiness. Two people we know of that lived the romantic way of life are two men from the early eighteen hundreds, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. After watching the movies Holiday and The Dead Poets Society, I have seen some similarities from the characters in the movie to Emerson and Thoreau. While comparing Emerson to Linda Seaton, and Johnny Case, characters in the movie Holiday, I have found that they live almost the same way, a life of simplicity. Emerson once quoted, "A great man is always willing to be little." This quote fits the character, Johnny Case very well. Johnny never wanted to be and wasn't trying to be this

huge moneymaking businessman, like Julia and Mr. Seaton wanted him to be, he just wanted to be a normal person who have just enough money to make it by. Exactly how Emerson lived his life. Another remark stated by Emerson is, "Do not go where the path may lead, go where there is not a path and leave a trail." This quote made me think of Linda Seaton since she never did what the rest of her family was doing, she did what she wanted to do.
Such as when Julia refused to go sailing with Johnny and the Potters, Linda packed up and left with him even though her dad was denying her permission to go with them. Linda did what she wanted to do and did not follow the ways of her sister and father; she made her own path so to speak. Johnny and Linda are also very much like Thoreau also. They live life by themselves and not how everyone wants them to. Thoreau one said " Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it." This goes along with Johnny because he never once cared about the money, he just wanted to do something that he loved doing and make a living out of it. Unlike Mr. Seaton whom it didn't matter how much he hated what he was doing, if he was making a lot of money he stuck with
it. Another statement Thoreau made was, "Go confidently in the direction of you dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify you life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." This reminds Linda Seaton who ended up going sailing with Johnny and the Potter's because it was her dream to do something out of the ordinary, not something someone of her class might be caught doing. She wanted to do something spontaneous and live the simple life, which all in all will make her life more enjoyable and less stressful. As you can see just like Emerson and Thoreau Johnny and Linda also lived the romantic way of life.
Emerson and the boys from the Dead Poets Society, are also very much alike. Emerson was always very unique and stubborn with everything he did. Emerson is quoted saying, "Do the thing we fear, and fear of death is certain." This goes will with Neil whose father was so insistent on how he lived his life and what he did with his life that he pushed Neil to kill himself. I'm sure Neil was very afraid to kill himself, but that is what he feared and doing what you fear is the only way to get out of it. So you can say that Neil lived by the words of Emerson. John Keating also lived by something Emerson had once said which was, "insist on yourself, never imitate…Every great man is unique." Keating was always trying to make a difference in everyone's lives, make them remember him for some reason. He didn't teach like they taught to teach or how everyone else taught. He taught in a unique way and because of it Neil and the other students found him to be a great man and was greatly influenced by the romantic way he lived his life that many of them started to change. To me Mr. Keating and Emerson have very similar characteristics and are very much alike. These boys are also very much like Thoreau. Being people who wanted to go their own way in life. As stated before Thoreau said, "Go confidently in the direction of you dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify you life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. Neil did this in a way that acting was his dream, he wanted nothing else but to act! Even though his father denied him approval he did it anyway and he was happier. Thoreau also said, "Any fool can make a rule and any fool will mind it." This quote goes with how Mr. Keating taught. He erased the rules, ripped out directions and

taught unlike any other teacher at Welton Academy. By what I know about Thoreau, I feel he would have taught the same way. After watching the videos, I have seen how Emerson and Thoreau lived their life, the romantic way of life. They live a life of stress free imagination. They didn't care what everyone else was doing, they weren't followers, they imagined a life for themselves, and they live it. So when you see the "Weirdoes", sitting alone in the back of the room. Don't try to change them, they won't follow you. They will live a life of their own!