Conformist and nonconformist- how are they represented in the area of study of TS Eliot's selected poems and "The Collector" by John Fowles

Essay by V-KatzCollege, UndergraduateA+, April 2007

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As the world is seen as alienating, unfriendly and an ugly environment to the minority, those who find themselves as an outsider find that they are non-conformists, one who does not conform to, or refuses to be bound by, accepted beliefs, customs, or practices. Those who do conform to this way of life are the outcasts; they feel alienated and displaced as they reject the dominant paradigm.

To be a conformist a person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group is to be part of an accepted code. To be a non-conformist in a changing society is to be given a cold shoulder and thought to have no moral decency. Within these characteristics, the non-conformist hide their identities behind a concealing mask. This is because these minority figures shape themselves into what society wants them to be.

T.S Eliot travels through two personality differences of conformity and non-conformity, the journey of diverse psychology.

Eliot's writing is open for an outsider's interpretation with existential messages of human condition that is relevant in today's society. While the writing is directed for an educated and elite audience as it is demanding and complicated, the audience can still identify with the poems of dilemma and found position and it can still be enjoyed on many levels.

T.S Eliot travels through the concepts of conformity and nonconformity in great depth. Transforming the conventional ideas, he develops the qualities of both non-conformists and conformists into a more complicated, diverse picture. Presenting this non-conformist voice of rhythm, he establishes both non-conforming and conforming characters. Eliot shows the contradictory argument of both qualities with their conflicting attributes as their true identities are hidden as society shapes the idea of their individual qualities. This is shown as Eliot gives us a sense...