This document summarizes and compares how three literary works depict the relationship between individuals and society. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1984, and Things Fall Apart, characters who rebel against societal norms or authority ultimately conform or face disastrous consequences as individuals have little power over society. The document argues individuals must conform to society to avoid conflict and maintain harmony, as resisting societal changes only leads to defeat for the individual.

1. Rie Yamada<br />IB English A2 (4)<br />Individual vs. Society<br />Although society is constructed by a group of individuals group of individuals, a single individual does not have influence over the decisions of society. In three notable works of literature, One Flew over a Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, 1984 by George Orwell, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the characters choose to conform to society after conflict. In One Flew over a Cuckoo’s Nest, the surrender of McMurphy to Nurse Ratched illustrates an individual’s little power to rebel against society. 1984 emphasizes that any rebellious action of an individual causes conflict. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s suicide represents that anyone who cannot conform to society, will have a disastrous outcome. <br />In One Flew over a Cuckoo’s Nest, the loss of a rebellious character demonstrates that any individual rebelling against the unbeatable authority faces conflict which they cannot win. Before McMurphy comes to the ward, all the patients conform to the rules and control of the Nurse in order to avoid any problems. However, as soon as McMurphy, who is brave and confident enough to rebel against the Nurse, shows his rebellious behavior towards the Nurse, the conflict between them breaks out and the harmony in the ward is destroyed. At first, McMurphy seems to be the hero among the patients as he successfully makes the calm and patient Nurse angry. However, McMurphy soon realizes that the Nurse has power over him as he cannot leave the ward unless she allows. Since he becomes aware of the undefeatable power of the authority, he feels hopeless to continue rebelling against her as Brondem accidentally sees McMurphy’s exhausted face reflected on the mirror after the fishing trip. At the end, although McMurphy succeeds to help the patients become brave to get out the ward and live in the outside world, McMurphy himself is defeated by the Nurse through the use of lobotomy. Thus, individuals can keep peace when they conform to society or authority, but once they start rebelling against it, they will face conflict which they can never win. <br />Moreover, 1984 illustrates that society is undefeatable and any rebellious action of an individual leads to conflict and the downfall of the individual. A lower-class worker, Winston Smith, has lived peacefully because he conforms to society as everyone else does. However, Winston notices that the totalitarian government is changing records of the past in order to maintain its control, and starts questioning the way society works. By trying to find evidence to prove the wrongdoings of the government and having a sexual affair with Julia, Winston secretly rebels against society. His rebellious actions are soon discovered by one of the Party members, O’Brien, and he faces conflict when he is finally caught by O’Brien. Even though Winston struggles not to accept the control and wrongdoings of the government, his effort to go against the totalitarian government is meaningless and he is brainwashed to “love Big Brother” and to conform to society. Thus, an individual’s rebellious actions always cause conflict between the individual and society, and the individual is powerless against society or authority since it is so powerful that it can even manipulate the individual’s mind and actions. <br />Furthermore, in Things Fall Apart, the suicide of Okonkwo, who does not accept the changes in society, effectively shows that resisting conforming to society brings both conflict and negative consequences on the individual. In Umuofia’s original tradition, people value masculinity of men and individual’s own effort; Okonkwo strongly believes in this tradition and strictly teaches his sons to be manly. His bravery and both mental and physical masculinity are appreciated by all of the clansmen. However, when the European colonizers come to the clan to bring civilization to the people, the social values and people’s way of thinking totally change. Unlike other clansmen, who accept the changes and conform to society governed by the colonizers, Okonkwo hesitates to accept and alone struggles between conformation to the changes and tradition. Since he cannot conform to new society, he faces both internal and external conflict. Despite his effort to save the tradition of the clan, he cannot prevent the flow of new changes in rules and orders. As he becomes desperate to stand against the changes, he gives up and commits suicide. His death symbolizes the weakness of an individual against society. Therefore, no matter how hard Okonkwo struggles to rebel against the changes society is undergoing, his effort just causes conflict both internally and externally, and he has not choice, but to either give up his life or to conform to society because individuals are powerless against it. <br />As demonstrated by three novels, resisting conforming to society or authority causes conflict and individuals are always defeated by it as they are powerless against it. In One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy’s loss against the Nurse, a representative of society, illustrates that individuals face conflict which they cannot win, if they rebel against society. 1984 demonstrates that individuals have no choice, but to conform to society. In Things Fall Apart, it is emphasized that the consequences of being unable to conform to society is death. Although it is important to be able to assert our opinions and be ourselves, it is also necessary to fit into society and to keep harmony with others. Adjusting to the environment is one of our primary purposes as all animals survive by adjusting to external changes. <br />