My Nonconformist Essay Example
People follow Destiny only to be crushed by it never coming. At least that’s what conformists believe. Nonconformists are people who believe in their own actions like religion. These people go against other people’s ideas because they believe that the conformists' ideas are false. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and J.K Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” series they both similarly show that believing in your dreams, following your destiny, and having trust in yourself can make life happier. The theme is supported by the similarities of nonconformity between Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone and Self-Reliance.
Nonconforming Leading in Harry Potter
The theme of nonconforming leading to destiny is portrayed in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone. Harry Potter is a book series made by J.K Rowling which involves a boy dreaming to be something greater. Harry Potter’s family even went against him so he would not find out he was a wizard. For example, “You knew?” said Harry. “You knew I’m a – a wizard?”(J.K Rowling) This quote describes how his family was hiding Harry’s destiny behind their backs.
Harry then followed his dreams and went to Hogwarts to train to become a wizard. “Once again, you are astonished with your gifts, Potter. Gifts mere mortals can only dream of possessing. How grand it must be to be the Chosen One.”(J.K Rowling) This quote describes how Harry is evolving into a more powerful wizard. He believes that if he keeps pushing forward he will be able to achieve his dreams. Harry follows his destiny in order to be what he wants to be. Dumbledore believes that if Harry keeps training he will be able to help go against Voldemort.
Self Reliance by Emerson
Self Reliance is an essay made by Ralph Waldo Emerson which depicts how being a nonconformist can make people more happy with what they believe in. “Well, most men have bound their eyes with one or another handkerchief, and attached themselves to some one of these communities of opinion.”(Emerson) This quote depicts how conformists are people who are blinded by the truth and don’t want to believe in other peoples ideals.
Conformists are cutting people off from believing in their ideas because others do not agree with it. “The other terror that scares us from self trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.”(Emerson) This quote describes how people are just scared to be what they want to be because they don’t want to disappoint others in what they believe in. People are scared that what they say is not good enough or their religion is the wrong one to believe in, but they could also be lying. Nonconforming gives direction toward your belief and following what others do. Emerson tries to explain how he sees conformists in his eyes.
Similarities between Harry Potter and Self Reliance
The similarities in Self Reliance and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone are they both contain reasons for nonconforming They both believe nonconforming makes people more happy than conforming. “For nonconformity. the world whips you with its displeasure....”(Emerson) This quote describes how people who conform won’t like people with different ideas. Conformists are people who accept what others say because they only believe in what others tell them.
In Harry Potter conforming can lead to disaster for example,“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”(J.K Rowling) This quote describes that some people believe in one thing and others believe in another and only we can act on these decisions. The darkness represents conformity and the light represents nonconformity. Harry has to choose if he wants to follow with his friends or go on his own to follow his destiny. Harry is stuck between the whole movie trying to be something others don’t think he can be.
Harry Potter and Self Reliance are both pieces representing the advantages of nonconforming. Nonconforming makes believing in your dreams, following your destiny, and having trust in yourself easier. Emerson and J.K Rowling both had the same idea but put them both into different scenarios. They both represented nonconformity with different outtakes.
Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Self-Reliance.” Actively Learn, 2018. https://read.activelylearn.com/#student/reader/630321/notes
Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone. Chris Columbus. Alnwick Castle. November 14, 2001. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/4640799-harry-potter-and-the-philosopher-s-stone
