Is Social Confirmation Unhealthy For Society Using

Is Social Confirmation Unhealthy For Society? (Using Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, And The Holocaust As Examples) Essay, Research Paper

Is Conforming Necessary for Establishing a Successful Society?

It is not difficult to observe the conformation of society. Every day advertisements jump out at us, promising the value of their product by subtly telling us “everyone else has it, you should too.” For example, look at the cars many people are driving. Although gas prices are very high, more sport utility vehicles are being bought now than they ever were. Television advertisements portray sporty young couples setting off for the mountains in their new Explorers and Land Rovers and we, as consumers — the beneficiaries of these advertisements — agree that driving through the rugged outback in our vehicle must be the perfect way of life. So everyone buys these vehicles, despite their impracticality, and those who have not yet submitted to the force of the advertisements, will soon submit to the pressures of society. Although this “peer pressure” type of conforming may not seem harmful in advertising, it has certainly put a dampening on other facets of our society. Issues of homosexuality and gender or culture differences can hardly be spoken of because they are not “politically correct.” However, many of the problems our society has are due to these issues. How are we to resolve anything if it is uncouth to even bring then up? Unfortunately, due to the nature of these issues, and the fear of being labeled “racist” or “right winged” many problems are left unresolved — although they are still left on the minds of the individuals.

Societal views influence almost everything done by an individual. If societal pressure always has negative affects on the individual, why do we allow ourselves to succumb to it? Is there any possible good that can be derived from following society?

In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad describes the internal life of a man in the absence of society. His character, Marlow, agrees to work on a steamship that will venture through the Congo. Through his stay, he socializes mainly with the natives working on the ship, to whom he is superior. The goal of these steamships is to bring back as much ivory as possible, and this objective is fearfully being kept by a man known as Kurtz. Although Kurtz is nothing but a myth to Marlow, he is known to be “a prodigy . . . an emissary of pity, and science, and progress, and devil knows what else.” (Heart of Darkness, 87) Marlow I intrigued by this man, and the more he hears of Kurtz, the more anxious he is to one day meet this god-like figure.

From the first time Marlow descends from the steamship and steps into the Congo, his heart becomes desensitized. The first sight he sees is rows upon rows of black natives, chained together, dressed in only a cloth around their waists. They are toiling beyond the limits of their physical strength and look in horrible condition. His conclusion is justified when he observes a small section of woodland that appears to be moving. As he moves closer he realizes that the dark figures were not trees and stumps, they were natives — preparing to die. In Marlow’s world in Europe, life was preserved above all else, and just watching these poor souls quiver in the darkness affects him in strange ways. These natives, although still people, no longer seem human to him. Their existence becomes merely a means to an end.

The more time Marlow spends in the Congo, away from the laws and taboos of society, the more primitive and bestial his instincts become. Without anything holding him back, he learns that in the jungle only the fittest survive. In order to assure the preservation of yourself, you must become greedy, unemotional, and hard. When Marlow finally does meet Kurtz, he is at the peak of his darkness — only one more step and he would be consumed. However, Marlow is not so far gone that he does not recognize the evil in Kurtz, “The wilderness had patted him on the head . . . it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation.” This man had spent so long a time away from society that nothing seemed wrong to him. He had only two instincts — survival, and greed.

Heart of Darkness purely demonstrated that society is necessary for the preservation of life. Without society the wilderness would affect us as it affected Kurtz,

” . . .the wilderness — that seemed to draw him into its pitiless breast by the awakening of forgotten and brutal instincts, by the memory of gratified and monstrous passions.” (Heart of Darkness, 135) Although societal pressure may lead us to do wrong things, it also keeps our natural instincts in tact. In cannot be argued that we are all governed by the instinct to survive, but without laws and general rules most of the human race would be eliminated by itself!

It seems that the most profitable way for us all to survive is in the presence of other people. However, sometimes a society may be so corrupt that it actually hurts much more than it helps. During the holocaust, nearly a third of all Jews in Europe were eliminated — and this was with the consent of an entire society! How could this have happened?

The only explanation for this hideous event lies in one man — Adolf Hitler. Hitler