I think that there is another poem from Emily Dickinson that
shows non-conformity. This poem applies to today very much. Its name is
"Much madness is divinest Sense". It says that people who are
considered "mad" by society, (or don't conform,) are often ones with
the best ideas (divinest sense). In the last lines of the poem, Dickinson says
that if you conform, or assent, to society, then you are considered sane and
good, while if you are different, then you are “handled with a chain.” I think that this is especially true today.
One example of this is bullying. People are bullied because they are different,
and the bullies want to raise then own self-esteem by putting down others.
Also, I definitely think the statement “Much madness is divinest Sense” is very
true. Some of the greatest minds of today and the recent past didn’t conform to
society or were different, and look where it got them. I have a picture of
Albert Einstein because although he isn’t particularly modern, he shows that
this statement is still true.
words to this poem:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182156
I agree, many of the greatest thinkers of our time were non-conformists. The same thing goes for many revolutionary leaders like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the founding fathers of our country. They did almost the exact opposite of what society wanted them to do. Events like the civil war happened because people changed their opinions from the “normal” opinions. Events like Occupy Wall Street keep the issue of non-conformism present in the minds of people today.
ReplyDeleteThis comment also applies to "Self-Reliance". Great people are misunderstood.
DeleteI really like this poem. I think that it offers deep and valuable perspective on non-conformity.
ReplyDelete