Nonconformity In Herman Melville's 'Bartleby The Scrivener'

Obedience To Authority In Class Essay Rewrite Society often tells us to both “think outside the box” and follow directions to be successful in this world. In Peter Elbow’s “Illiteracy at Oxford and Harvard: Reflections on the Inability to Write” he discusses the ideas of both conformity and nonconformity through a personal life story. In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” the effects of relentless nonconformity are shown through a fictional story about a scrivener named Bartleby. Although either choosing to conform or not may seem like a either-or choice, I believe a mixture of both of is necessary for success because it gives us the ability to stand out in a positive fashion for being individual while at the same time meeting the requirements of what needs to be accomplished. This is valuable because it allows us to advance in society in a respective manner where we don’t have to completely give our full
A yin and yang balance between sacrifice through conforming and doing what our heart desires. Even those we think are living the dream life such as LeBron James has to wake up at 5am and work out all day and make that sacrifice to have the glory that he does. There is no glory is the conformist rat race, but there is no success in rejecting every norm that already exists because then you can not function at all in society like Bartleby. If LeBron was like Bartleby and skipped all his practices because it was easier to sit at home and not listen to his coach, he would never be in the Finals. We must first meet the basic requirements to satisfy societal norms in our respective fields so we can accomplish what needs to be done. Once we accomplish these basic societal requirements, only from there can we build on top of those with our own new ideas and styles to become the next game