Obstacles Of Individualism In Superman And Me And The Raven

Everyone has heard of John Dewey, John Stuart Mills, and John Locke. All of these people have achieved individualism. When you achieve individualism this means being independent and self-reliant, for example, following your path and not other people. Everyone has struggled with achieving their individual goals, like discrimination and thoughts. To achieve and maintain individuality in society, one must persevere and push through difficult times to find success. The path to finding individualism can be difficult at times and can involve some obstacles, some obstacles can be getting discriminated against and your thoughts getting in the way. These obstacles can be explained in Superman and Me and The Raven. First, Sherman Alexie, in Superman

He states, “A smart Indian is a dangerous person…They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers, or for help. We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid.” (17 Alexie). This means that he was discriminated against in the classroom by his non-Indian teachers. He was getting discriminated against because he was a smart Indian kid but he was expected to stay quiet and be stupid. This made it harder for him to reach his individualism with all of this discrimination it made it a harder path. Another similar way is in The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe takes the reader through the narrator's mind that has obstacles in the way of being independent. Poe states “And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting. On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;” (Paragraph 18 Poe).

After these obstacles, you will have a good ending, for example, being great or teaching other kids. These good endings are explained in Self-reliance and Superman and Me. In Self Reliance, Emerson shows the reader how to achieve self-reliance and individualism. He states, “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”(Lines 46-49 Emerson). This proves that they were all misunderstood for a long time. Then, after that long hard path, it made them great and everyone talks about them now. This proves that if you follow your hopes and dreams, even if people or things are in the way, in the end, there will be a good outcome. Another example of a good outcome is in Superman and Me, Sherman Alexie takes the reader through an Indian kid that has been discriminated against his whole life. Now he states “These days, I write novels, short stories, and poems. I visit schools and teach creative writing to Indian kids.” (18 Alexie). This proves that discrimination did not stop him from doing what he loved to do. He made the best of discrimination and went for what he loved, and it did not stop him. He learned a lesson that people should not stop you from doing what you love. Now he teaches other Indian kids so they