Corn-Pone Opinions Essay - 937 Words

Brooke Brown Mr. Williams English III AP- 7 21 November 2011 Corn-Pone; Conformity Mark Twain, although quite the comedian, makes a valid point in â€Å"Corn-Pone Opinions†. The observation of humanity and its tendencies to follow what society promotes is a relevant occurrence today. Twain leads on â€Å". . . that it’s born of the human being’s natural yearning to stand well with his fellows and have their inspiring approval and praise . . .† (720). Humans are not equipped to stand their own ground; they prefer to follow the leader. Twain puts it simply, â€Å"we are creatures of outside influences; as a rule we do not think, we only imitate† (719). Twain clearly makes his point noticeable to his audience, holding back no opinion throughout the†¦show more content†¦Twain, attacking the willingness to change fashion without thinking first, speaks to women closely. Twain states, â€Å"One woman abandons the fashion; her neighbor notices this and follows her lead; this influences the next woman; and s o on and so on . . .† (718). To this day women continue to experience this identical process. Although one may love her Christmas sweater, if her neighbor does not own one or wrinkles her nose at the idea of wearing such a thing, she will immediately go home and dispose of the sweater without thinking twice about her actions or her personal feelings toward the item of clothing. Twain also mentions how â€Å"twenty-five years ago† there would be â€Å"six of eight wine glasses† given to each person attending a dinner party, and they were to be used, â€Å"not left idle and empty†, but today â€Å"there are but three of four† wine glasses and on average and only two are sparingly emptied by each guest (719). Twain follows this observation by expanding his opinion on conformity. He offers the idea that people follow certain trends without thinking them through. The people attending these dinner parties have no idea why they only consume two glasses wh en twenty-five years ago people consumed three to four times as much. Humans, in general, do not look for the answer to the question â€Å"why?†, but instead only worry about what other people do and if their actions are satisfactory to those surrounding them. Twain also gives anShow MoreRelatedInfluences of Regionalist Liturature in the 20th century1481 Words   |  6 Pagesheavily focuses on character. Realism makes use of plausible, real events and characters. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Willa Cather are notable authors stemming from the Realist movement that occurred around the turn of the century. Mark Twain’s â€Å"Corn Pone Opinions† comments on the fickleness of the human mind, using the example of a slave minister. Bret Harte’s â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker † tells the tale of a gambler and other rabble rousers who were shunned from the Western mining town of Poker , which hadRead MoreThe Best American Essays Of The Century By Robert Atwan1 544 Words   |  7 PagesHandicapped† by Randolph Bourne, identity is an important subject. Injustice is a clearly shared theme in â€Å"Coatesville† by John Jay Chapman, â€Å"The Devil Baby at Hull-House† by Jane Addams, and â€Å"Of the Coming of John† by W.E.B. Du Bois. Finally, in â€Å"Corn-pone Opinions† by Mark Twain, â€Å"Tradition and the Individual Talent† by T.S. Eliot, and â€Å"What Are Masterpieces and Why Are There So Few of Them† by Gertrude Stein, the aspect of non-personality and the removal of one’s self seems to be commonly spoken of inRead MoreThe Discipline Of Academic Writing944 Words   |  4 PagesChapter 1 of Arcs followed by Mark Twain’s â€Å"Corn Pone Opinion† was not done at random. In fact, it was done intentionally to give me the student, the background knowledge I needed in order to execute the assignment. Chapter 1 of Arcs focuses on extrinsic, and intrinsic proofs, and ironica lly â€Å"opinions† and ideologies. Which directly ties into Argument in â€Å"Mark Twain’s Corn Pone opinions†, that there are no original ideas, that all our ideas are essentially Corn Pone. All the various parts of the class workedRead MoreNaturalism and Regionalism Defining through American Literature1470 Words   |  6 Pagesthere are similarities in their stories. Naturalism focuses on the philosophical aspect of literature. Also, the characters in the novel are lower class and not highly educated. This characteristic of naturalism can be seen in Mark Twains â€Å"Corn Pone Opinions.† In Twains essay, a black slave is criticizing society. The essay is ironic because a black slave, who has not societal rights, is telling people how to live. Also, the people are listening to him, and respect him. This idea can be seenRead MoreRhetoric Between An Intrusive And Extrusive Proof992 Words   |  4 Pagesessay required us to explain how the authorà ¢â‚¬â„¢s argument was arranged and how they were described them through various rhetoric strategies and stylistic elements. I choose to write my argument description on an essay called â€Å"Corn-pone Opinions† by Mark Twain. For â€Å"Corn-pone Opinions† I had to first identify the primary and secondary arguments of this essay which were it’s in our nature to accommodate and that we require peer approval. I provided textual evidence from Mark Twain’s essay to help justifyRead MoreConformity Killed My Mind. Conformity Kills One’S Individuality,1568 Words   |  7 Pagessuccessfully resist. What is its seat? The inborn requirement of self-approval.†(Mark Twain s, Corn-Pone Opinions). This is one of the most significant quotations from Corn-Pone Opinions by Mark Twain, a story that talks about the relationship between conformity and human nature. He explores the idea that the â€Å"public opinion† and their approval is our self-approval . I couldn’t agree anymore with his opinion about conformity and how it affects us and our society. We see conformity everywhere in, adultsRead MoreThe Abuse of Government Assistence Is a Huge Problem748 Words   |  3 Pagesbad eggs. This is I can relate to the teenagers ideal that they thought of a creative way to get over on homework, chores, getting beer etc. that nobody ever thought of it before. They really need to get into Mark Twain. I believe it was Corn Pone Opinions. He proudly proclaims that there really arent any new ideas only ideas that have been rehashed. In other words, theres nothing new under the sun. I hate to say it but once again wed be so much wiser if we just read a bit out of a book. InsteadRead MoreEssay about Unavoidable Changes in Pop Culture879 Words   |  4 Pagesactions, people will constantly alter the way they are to gain self-approval, and â€Å"self-approval is acquired mainly from the approval of other people,† creating what Twain calls â€Å"corn-pone opinions† (Source A). Twain suggests that there are no original opinions since people become dependent on others to find answers, leaving opinions once said before, just altered. The unique idea loses its independe nce and influences everyone else—which leads back to Pop Culture. Pop culture can also be affected by anRead MorePopular Culture in Todays Society946 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered attractive and acceptable. As people, ant to be like the things we see around us. We yearn to be accepted and have found that submitting to the current fads gains us the popularity and acceptance we ache for. In the essay Corn-Pone Opinions it was said that We are creatures of outside influence; as a rule we do not think, we only imitate(Twain 717). If someone hears that a specific movie receiving good reviews from the people in their neighborhood, they will go see thatRead MoreAmeric Land Of The Free, And Home1411 Words   |  6 Pagesgoals rather than the consent of the public opinion. In America, citizens have blindly conformed to the social norms and idea put forth by the public and typically tend to shun their own personal views and opinions. Conforming is often the easier route instead of attending to one s own desires. Conformity, although ultimately inevitable, captures one s individual thinking and replaces it with the public opinion, as Mark Twain expressed in â€Å"Corn-Pone Opinions†. Mark Twain depicts the inevitable side