Teen Conformity in Sinclair Lewis Babbitt and in Society...

Teen Conformity in Babbitt and in Society Today In society today, people feel the need to belong. They feel as though they have to be a part of something in order to feel special. At times, they will go so far as to lose their individuality and submit themselves into complete ignorance just to be able to know that there is someone or something to which they can always fall back on. Conformity is one of the most common and most apparent forms of Babbittry in the twenty - first century. First, the question must be answered: What is conformity? The answer, of course, is very simple. Conformity is a person changing their attitude or behavior on their own in order to fulfill certain social norms (Ferguson). Conforming to†¦show more content†¦This part is a perfect representation of how sometimes teenagers like to conform to being rebellious against their parents and higher institutions. His views are characteristic of the common teenager that school and our elders cant teach us anything. This point is obvious when Ted says (concerning college), Yuh, but Dad, they just teach a lot of old junk that isnt any practical use - except the manual training and typewriting and basketball and dancing - and in these correspondence courses, gee, you can get all kinds of stuff that would come in handy. (Lewis 77). Ted speaks about how frustrated he is with his Dad being content with simply sitting around the house and doing nothing (Lewis 220). His need to be different and to not go to college is a perfect example of a teenagers need to rebel against their parents. Teds assumption that his elders are boring is another form of teen conformity. Even today, children wish to do things that they think are better as opposed to what their elders tell them. Teen conformity can also be seen with Teds party for the Senior Class. At this party the Babbitts serve alcohol and the teenagers exhibit behavior which George considers to be immoral. Babbitt is completely against the idea but his wife tells him, [I]f you get angry because they go out to their cars to have a drink, they wont come to yourShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pageswill give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic