The Consequences of Nonconformity

     Being a nonconformist is encouraged by certain people. Although being an individual may sound like a good idea there are consequences that come with it just like anything else. The movie Dead Poets Society shows the many consequences that nonconformists are faced with. One consequence is that the nonconformist would be thought of as different and not accepted by others. An example of this was in the beginning of the movie how Mr.Keating  was first thought of by his students. Since he appeared to be different and more lively than the other teachers the boys didn't know what to make of him or think. It was easy to tell by their body language that they didn't accept Mr.Keating from the beginning. It took time for them to learn to like him and understand his teaching method.
    
     In addition to being thought of as differently another consequence of being a nonconformist is that issues could occur with family members or friends because of different beliefs or interests. Dead Poets Society expressed this issue as well. Neil Perry and his father Mr.Perry often got into arguments because Neil wanted to do something different than what Mr.Perry wanted for him. By Neil doing this he was being an individual. He decided to take the lead role in a play even though his father forbid it. By Neil doing that an argument between him and his father broke out. Another consequence to nonconformity is being reprimanded for not doing things the traditional way. Mr.Keating was often judged by the headmaster of the school. He would imply that Mr.Keating should teach his class differently in a more traditional way like other English teachers. Throughout the movie he would tell Mr.Keating that he shouldn't tell the boys to be their own person because it wouldn't lead to anything good. The way he ran the school was almost opposite to the way Mr.Keating ran his classroom. Mr.Keating was even fired from the school by the end of the movie. Nonconformity has many consequences and the Dead Poets Society displays a great amount of them.

Modern Day Transcendentalist

     Oprah  Winfrey could be considered a modern day transcendentalist. A simplified definition of a transcendentalist would be a person who is an individual who doesn't feel the need to take part in conformity and does what they want despite what  others may think of them. Oprah Winfrey could be considered one of these people.   

                                     http://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/writers/oprah-winfrey.html

     This picture is a picture of Oprah when she was a little girl living in Mississippi.Oprah Winfrey grew up a hard life as a child. She was sexually abused multiple times by both family friends and family members. It is hard enough for someone to remain their own individual person if they are influenced by others. It was even harder for Oprah to stay the same person she was because she was not only influenced by other people she was abused and had to learn to deal with it. For many people when they experience a tragic event such as sexual abuse it changes their personality when they are trying to cope. But Oprah took her experience and decided to help others. She went on to helping hundreds of people and giving many generous gifts and donations.

http://thephotographer4you.com/2010/09/30/cover-of-the-day-oprahs-next-act/

     This picture is a photo of Oprah and it shows how successful she has became throughout her life.  She has her own talk show, magazine, and now television network. Oprah hasnt done this becasue others had influenced her but becasue she herself wants to do it. She had the ability to accomplish all these things because she is a strong individual. Someone who was a conformist would probably would never be able to reach success of such high amounts as Oprah. The reason she is so popular today is because she has an individual personality, thinks in different inventive ways, and wants to help people. Besides Lady Gaga Oprah is a good example of a modern day transcendentalist she has delt with so much, acheived such high success, remained to be an individual, and has resisted influence form others.

Walden Post

     To many people, living in solitude for a complete two years would seem like a waste of time. Henry David Thoreau did exactly this but his time was very well spent. He accomplished all that he wished to do. The main reason some thought of it as a waste of time was because he was misunderstood. Many people like Henry for example still did great things even if they were misunderstood. After hearing Henry Thoreau’s story many would still think that living on Walden pond for two years was a waste of time, but it was not he completed his three main goals and  had a good reason for living there in the first place.

http://shelterseeker.blogspot.com/2008/02/thoreaus-little-house-at-walden-pond.html

     Henry Thoreau moved away from society to a little remote cabin on Walden pond and lived there for a total of two years, two months, and two days. Most wouldn’t consider the amount of what he accomplished to be of value. No one understood his purpose for being there either. "I did not wish to live what was not life,living is so dear"(Henry Thoreau, 383); Henry thought that if you were not enjoying your life then you were not truly living it. For his own personal interest and to fulfill his needs he decided to live at Walden Pond. He was content with his life and enjoyed living there so it shouldn’t be thought of as a waste of time. His family and friends thought that what he was doing was pointless but really it was just misunderstood. Generally, for most people when they have a hard time understanding something or are having trouble it is more common to give up and dismiss it as being unimportant rather than try to understand and think about it deeper. That was the case in Henry Thoreau’s situation. No one really understood the meaning behind him moving and living in isolation. They just thought of him as being odd instead of taking the time to think of the situation from his point of view. He lived there for a purpose, he was overwhelmed by the hectic city life and all the progress that was taking place around him. He just wanted a simple life again. Everyone just thought he was doing absolutely nothing but in reality he was getting to know him self and nature.

http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/OpenSpaces/Pages/ForestPreservation.aspx

     Henry had three main goals of living on Walden Pond. They were to escape the chaos of his home town, get to know himself better, and get acquainted with nature. He felt that the factories, roads, and homes were ruining the forests. To him everything about the city was chaotic and the progress being made was actually not as beneficial as most others thought. His way of escaping it and appreciating the beauty of nature was to live on Walden Pond. This way he got to live in peace and take in all the nature exposed to him. “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life”(Henry Thoreau, 384)? This quote helps explain his feelings towards nature and life and how he thought that his time was much better spent enjoying life in nature instead of in a city where he didn’t want to be living. Living all on his own meant that he would be left alone with only his thoughts to keep him company. This allowed him to really get to know him self much better. He could work on writing in his journals and think deeply on matters he would not be able to if he lived in the city. By living on Walden Pond he accomplished all the things he went there to do. Since all his goals were accomplished and he had done exactly what he had set out to do there is no way his time living there could have been a waste.
    

http://sayiamgreen.com/blog/2009/09/the-10-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world/

     If Henry had never lived on Walden Pond he would not be known for his work today. His story is the reason his work got published and is part of our curriculum. Thousands of students across the U.S. now know Henry and are reading his works and using his quotes. He did all that he wanted to do at Walden Pond and it is the reason he is known today. His two years, two months, and two days spent on Walden Pond cannot be thought of as a waste of time.