Bartleby

As members of the human race, we are born into the confines of society, and we must learn to function as members of this group. Yet as we grow older, one struggles with the sense of identity and individuality. Part of growing up is figuring out how one best fits into the mold of society. It is human nature to pursue happiness whenever we can but when it comes in conflict with society, conflict arises within the individual. As human beings, we are born with the onus of living by the standards of society as we strive to be individuals.

My own life is governed by such unwritten rules. The will of society is an overwhelming force that is very difficult to go against. Personally my life has fit the mold of what has been expected of me. Being only nineteen, I’ve gone to school, gotten good grades, and now I’m in college. I’m riding the train of life down the same track that millions of other kids my age have rode. Society deems it necessary that we go down this path in order to achieve success, it is a social path that is based on the American dream, that success can be achieved through hard work. But the underlying motivation in most cases of life is money, or currency of any sort. If it were up to me, I’d play video games for the rest of my life, but money motivates most of the activities in our lives.

The law itself restricts us from being autonomous. The consequences for going against these laws are prison time. This is a strong influence that prevents us from living our lives as we want to. Laws prevent us from littering or drinking before the age of twenty-one. These laws are the most powerful influence that keeps us from being truly autonomous.

Whether we are aware of it or not, there are also certain unspoken, unwritten rules we abide by in our everyday lives. We hold doors open for people behind us, we tip the people that serve us, and men carry bags for women. These are just some of the social rules that have been instilled in us as we grow up. One can make the argument that doing things such as holding the door open are acts