Nelson's AP Lit and Comp 2014-2015 discussion
The Color Purple
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Prompt #1
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One character who I think was a non-conformist would be Shug Avery it is show in the book that she doen't really care about what people say about her and she does what she wants.For example on pages 71-75.Mr. doesn't want Celie to go to Harpo's but Shug tells him that she must to help her if she gets sick he doesn't object.One character who I think is a conformist is Celie no matter what someone does to her she never really fights back for example. On page 5 Celies "Father" beats for supposedly winking at a boy when she did not she did nothing to stop the beating.
In The Color Purple Celie would be a conformists. She's under someones rules or influence, and it was often under the control of men. She says, “I don’t fight, I stay where I’m told. But I’m alive”, because all her life she held little power as a young girl. To survive she depended on others. She, unlike the other female characters, is a housewife who listens to her husband. Like how a typical marriage should be in society. Even Sofia thinks so when she tells Celie, “ ...you remind me of my mama….under my daddy foot….never say nothing back. She never stand up for herself.”In contrast to Celie, even if Sofia is a housewife as well, Sofia doesn't just listen to her husband like Celie does. Sofia tells Celie, “I loves Harpo….But I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me”. She doesn't follow society’s norm where a wife should listen to her husband. During their time as well, where blacks were viewed as inferior to whites in society, Sofia hit a white man. She crossed a line in society of that time, and it really displayed her non-conformist character.
I would say Celie is a conformist because she always does what she is told. And she repeats this a couple times in the first 32 pages, "I don't fight, I stay where I'm told. But I'm alive" (21)Nettie on the other is not. Nettie couldn't put up with it and she even went as far as to running away (16). And Celie even said, "She fight, she run away" (21).
In my opinion I think that Celie is one of the female characters that's conformist. The reason why I say this is because Celie doesn't stand up for herself. She's not brave enough. For example when Celie told Harpo to beat Sofia, it was Harpo who ended up hurt. Celie was jealous of Sofia. She even admitted when Sofia confronted her. "I say it cause I'm a fool, I say. I say it cause I'm jealous of you. I say it cause you can do what I can't." (40). Celie can do whatever she wants, she just choose to live under rules and regulations. Even though I think that most of the female characters except for Celie is nonconformists, I would have to choose Sofia. The reason why I choose Sofia is because she reminds me of women rights & girl power. She stands up for what she believes in. When she wants to do something she does it, even if Harpo is against it. For example in the book Harpo would always complain to Celie about how Sofia never listens to him & when Harpo tried to beat Sofia, Sofia actually fought back (unlike Celie) & Sofia doesn't live under rules. Therefore this is why I think that the most nonconformist character is Sofia.
Through out the book, I would say that Celie's a conformist. She is a conformist because she was brought up to obey and do only what she's told. Because of that, she had extremely low self esteem and could not stand up for herself. Even Sofia seemed to pity Celie as how Celie said on page 36 "I think bout how every time I jump when Mr.____ call me, she look surprise. And like she pity me".As for a non-conformist, I'm going to go for someone else that isn't either Sofia or Nettie and that person is Tashi. I think Tashi is a non-conformist because she went against her parent's beliefs because as on page 155 "The Olinka do not believe girls should be educated. When I asked a mother why she thought this, she said: A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something". And that something that the mother was talking about was " the mother of his children" (pg. 156). The things that Tashi does that makes her a non-conformist is that when Tashi's done with all of her chores at the end of the day, Olivia and Tashi would go into Nettie's hut and Olivia would teach Tashi everything that she knows and explained on page 156.
One of the character who I think is a non-conformist is Sofia because as stated on page 40, she had to fight everyone in her family, including her daddy, to live the way she wanted. Last, the character who I choose to be conformist, would be Celie because she did as she was told and did not argue back, as proven on page 40 when she said to Sofia that she could not fight and is jealous of Sofia for being able to.
Celie is a conformist. She does everything Mr.__ Tells her to do and she tries to be what everyone expects a women of that time to be. She doesn't object when Mr.__ tells her to do stuff or when he beats her. which is what women were supposed to do. She does all the housework and Mr.__ does none. which is what women are supposed to do. Harpo states that himself on page 21 When he says "Women Work Im a man." (pg 21). He says that in objection of being asked to do work. Sofia on the other hand is a on-conformist. She does everything backwards to what shes "supposed to do". She does everything the way she thinks it should be done not the way her husband (Harpo) thinks it should be done. this confuses and anger Harpo so much that he thinks that he has to beat her to make her behave like a wife should. Sofia is even the pallbearer at her moms funeral! even after Harpo's objections "But peoples use to men doing this sort of thing. Women weaker. People think they weaker, say they weaker, anyhow. women spose to take it easy." (pg 128.)
To me, Celie is the conformist. Celie had a father that overpowers her and she never went against him. When she married Mr.__ she always did what she was told. Celie never had the courage to go against anyone. Even Sofia noticed this, "To tell you the truth, you remind me of my mama. She under my daddy thumb. Naw, she under my daddy foot. Anything he says, goes. She never say nothing back" (41).To me, Sofia is the non-conformist. She goes against anyone and she does it the way she wants to do it. She has gone against Harpo's decisions, and she even fought him. Sofia also had the courage to punch the mayor in the face when he slapped her. "You know what happen if somebody slap Sofia" (85). She stood up for herself because she didn't want to be a maid. Sofia will always stand up for what she thinks.
I would say that Celie is the conformist because at such a young age, her father harassed her in so many ways to the point where she has no power to go against her father's orders. She does what others tell her to do and does not fuss over it at all. Her father forced her into marrying Mr.__ when she and him didn't have any sort of feelings for each other because Mr.__ loved someone else as he said in the book, "I love Shug Avery. Always have, always will. I should married her when I had the chance" (55).Sophia, on the other hand, would be the non-conformist because she is the opposite of Celie. She does what feels right and what she thinks will be the best for her. For example, when her and Harpo were in a disagreement, she fought back with Harpo, unlike Celie. "I loves Harpo. God knows I do. But I'll kill him dead before I let him beat me" (40).
To me Sofia is the non-conformist. Throughout the book she is like literally the opposite of Celie. Sophia has a lot of arguments with others but fights for what she thinks. Whatever she thinks is right she does it, and if she thinks it'll benefit her she does it. Sophia doesn't worry about others and that's why I think she is the non-conformist to me in the book.For the conformist I think it's pretty obvious, I think that Celie is a conformist. She is just so soft, and she doesn't do a good job of standing up for herself at all. You notice her getting pushed around, getting hurt in many situations, abused verbally and physically, and forced into marriage? Yet she does nothing about it to change the circumstance she is in. It just shows you that she is the conformist because she just goes with the flow and doesn't seem to want anything for herself.
A conformist in The Color Purple is Celie because through out the book she does what she is told such as Mr._____ ordering her to do things for him. She also didn't mind when Shug Avery was living in the same house with Mr.______ even though she knew that he liked Shug. When Shug and Celie were having girl conversation in the book, you notice that Celie has never thought about her self. Whenever Mr._____ did his thing she would just let him. This shows that she is a listener and a follower. Sophia is a non conformist. She is the opposite of Celie. She fixes a roof without relying on Harpo. She wasn't afraid to punch Squeak and push the Mayor's wife away. She doesn't always do what she is told.
One character in The Color Purple Celie is a conformist. She was married with Mr.__ who told her to do everything that he wants and even physically abuse for years. It tells that her feelings toward Mr.__, she feels nothing. "Mr.__ marry me to take care of his children. I marry him cause my daddy made me. I don't love Mr.__ and he don't love me." pg.64. She is a women that doesn't stand up for herself and just let the pain hurt her inside.I choose Sofia as the non-comformist. She won't back down from a fight and if anybody picks on her, she'll beats them twice as hard as they give it to her. "Sofia knock the man down. The polices come, start slinging the children off the mayor, bang they heads together. Sofia really start to fight. They drag her to the ground." p87. She won't let anyone land a finger on her at all. She is extremely honest and is willing to act on her emotions.
A character that would be a conformist in The Color Purple is Harpo. He'a is a conformist because when he and Sofia get married he is caught in the social norm in which a wife must stay home, take care of the children, and listens to her husband without any "backtalk." This is evident on page 35-36 when he is talking to Celie about his problems. He said, "Us married now, I tell her. Your place is here with the children" (35).The non-conformist that I choose is Sofia. She proves to everyone that she doesn't care who tells her what to do, she'll hurt them if they provoke her. This is shown when Harpo says, "I try to beat her, she black my eyes" (63).
In the novel, The Color Purple, a character who is a conformist would be Celie. Ever since she was young, she had never stood up for herself and met the expectations that society had given. She obeyed to every thing her step father and Mr.___ told her to do, and she let them subordinate her to the point where she was treated as an object instead of a human being. She had always stayed home, took care of the kids and cooked all the meals as a women is "suppose" to, according to society. In the novel, Sofia said to Celie, "You remind me of my mama. She under my daddy thumb... Anything he say, goes. She never say nothing back. She never stand up for herself"(41). This proves that not only is Celie a conformist, but that Sofia's mother is also a conformist.In the novel, the non-conformist character would be Sofia. Since she was raised in a family with many brothers, she had learn to fight for herself and for her equal rights as a women. "Sofia do what she want, don't pay me no mind at all. I try to beat her, she black my eyes" (63). She doesn't let anyone beat her nor does she let anyone embarrass her like Harpo's father tried to the first time they met. Sofia doesn't stay home all the time and she visits her sister often, even if Harpo tries to stop her. Sofia doesn't let anyone treat her lowly and does what she wants.
i think that Sofia was a non-conformist. she didn't let anyone get in the way of her marriage, including her dad. she beats up anyone that tries to bully her, for example: Harpo, squeak, and the mayor. "Sofia knock th man down. the police came, start slinging the children off the mayor, bang they heads together. Sofia really start to fight."(85)samuel is a conformist he plays by the rules and follows and does whatever people wants him to do, for example: "then she called samuel, and made him swear..."(173)
One character in The Color Purple that I believe is a conformist is Celie. Celie has given others the chance to run over her because she doesn’t stand up for herself. “You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t do… You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy” (1). She followed and did everything that her stepfather told her to do, including having to marry Albert. Nettie tells her, “Don’t let them run over you. You got to let them know who got the upper hand… You got to fight” (17), but Celie says, “But I don’t know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive” (17). Celie lives in a loveless marriage, living up to Albert’s expectations as a housewife, where she obeys every single thing that Albert tells her to do, just like what society thinks a housewife should be like. This is why I believe that Celie is a conformist in this novel.On the other hand, a character that I believe is a non-conformist is Sofia. Sofia is an assertive, independent, and honest woman, who stands up for herself and doesn’t let others stomp all over her. She is in fact the opposite of Celie, as Celie admits, “I say it cause I’m a fool, I say. I say it cause I’m jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can’t… Fight” (40). Sofia fought her father, unlike Celie, who was too afraid. “She say, All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men” (40). Sofia isn’t afraid of society’s rules or expectations, and she claims that she he will fight to death for her rights as a person if she needs to, as she beats and fights Harpo. She also sasses the mayor’s wife, gaining consequences. “She say to Sofia, All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid? Sofia say, Hell no… Mayor look at Sofia… He slap her… Sofia knock the man down” (85). Sofia stands up for her rights and doesn't let things get in her way, and this is why I believe that Sofia is a non-conformist.
There are many conformists in "The Color Purple" and I think Harpo was one of them during the first half of the book. For example, Harpo as a child had refused to help Celie carry the water bucket when Mr.____'s sister, Kate, had asked him. He replied with, "Women work. I'm a man." (22). When Harpo married Sofia, he took Celie's advice and beat Sofia to make her listen to her and says, "I want her to do what I say, like you do for Pa." (66). Harpo had conformed to many of society's rules and expectations about how to act towards women.Although she appeared in only one of Celie's letters to God, Kate (Mr.____'s sister) was a nonconformist. She cared for Celie and told her not to let the men of her household push her around. Kate tells Harpo that it's time to help out some. Harpo gets angry and tells his father and Mr.____ makes Kate leave. Kate says to Celie before leaving, "You got to fight them, Celie... I can't do it for you. You got to fight them for youself." (22). Kate fights the acceptance of men disrespecting women and tells Celie to fight it as well.
Celie is an conformist. She does everything anyone asks her to do. She doesn't stand up for herself. "You got to fight them yourself"(21). Kate leaves, leaving Celie behind. Every keeps pushing her around and she follows everyone's rules and ways. Sofia is the non-conformist. She does what she wants to do and in her own way. She doesn't care who what people think or do, because she will stand tall and fight for herself. "All my life i had to fight" (40). She always had to fight for herself, and now she couldn't take it anymore so she leaves her husband Harpo.
One character who is a nonconformist would be Shug, and one character who is a conformist would be Celie. Shug is someone who likes to be herself, do whatever she desires to do. She doesn't follow the rules of the society nor the expectation. Shug is a free-spirited person, instead of having others to expect much from her, she just expect whatever she can get out of herself. Celie is the other way around compared to Shug. She conforms to society's rules and she wants to meet the expectations of others. She hates herself for not meeting the expectation, for example, her beauty. She just follows whatever, even if it is something really hard on her, she just wishes to survive.
I believe that Celie is a conformist. Ever since she was a child she would do what was expected of a girl at the time and even when her father took her babies away she didn't fight back to keep them. On page 17, Nettie says to Celie, "You got to fight." and Celie replies, "But I don't know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive." She would also do whatever Mr. told her to do and never object or refuse but do it quickly and correctly. On page 55, "Hand Pa his hat, Celie. And I do." Also on page 62 Harpo talks to Celie., "I want her to do what I say, like you do for Pa. - When Pa tell you to do something, you do it. when he say not to, you don't." In my opinion Sofia is a non conformist because she stands up and fights for herself. She stood up to Mr. and she beat Harpo if Harpo beat her. On page 31 Mr. says, "Pretty gal like you could put anything over on him." Sofia replies, "What I need to marry Harpo for? He still living here with you. What food and clothes you git, you buy." On page 63, Harpo says to Celie, "She do what she want - I try to beat her, she black my eyes." Sofia did many things back then that was not expected from a women. For example, she would fix the roof, "I go visit Sofia, she still working on the roof" (pg. 64).
A character in “The Color Purple” that I believe would be a conformist is, Harpo. Harpo, unlike how society expects men to be, is emotionally weak, insecure, extraordinary, and feminine, but he listens to what society says, what is expected from a man, and what the gender roles are between men and women. Harpo says, “Women work. I’m a man” (21), when Kate tells him, “Harpo, don’t let Celie be the one bring in all the water. You a big boy now. Time for you to help out some” (21). Harpo is different from how society would expect from a man, and he enjoys cooking, doing housework, and kissing his baby, but he acts like how society expects men to act like because he is convinced. When Harpo marries Sofia, she doesn’t do what he says, always does another thing, and so he talks to Celie and Albert about it. “You ever hit her? Mr.____ ast. Harpo look down at his hands. Naw suh, he say low, embarrass” (35). Harpo gets embarrassed because society expects men to hit their wife like they do to their children to show who has the upper hand, but he’s not that type of person. Later on, Celie also tells Harpo, “Beat her” (36), and he does what Celie says because society expects the same thing from him as well. Last but not least, when Sofia leaves to go live with her sister for awhile because Harpo and her got into a fight, Harpo wants to stop her, but he worries about society’s expectations and tells Celie, “Let her go on” (67). Harpo tries to live up to society’s rules and expectations and this is why I believe that Harpo is a conformist in the novel, “The Color Purple”.A character that I believe is a nonconformist in “The Color Purple” would have to be Nettie. Celie may have a low education level like society expects women to have, but Nettie is in fact the opposite of most women back then, including Celie. “The first time I got big Pa took me out of school. He never care that I love it… I was all dress for the first day. You too dumb to keep going to school, Pa say. Nettie the clever one in this bunch” (9). Nettie is well educated because she continues to go to school, while Celie has to leave school because she is pregnant with Alphonso’s child and Alphonso thinks Celie’s too dumb to keep going to school. When Celie leaves to live with Albert, Nettie gets tired of Alphonso and her stepmother, and so she runs away to Albert’s house where Celie is living, unlike how society would expect a little girl to do. When Nettie arrives, she notices that Celie lets others run all over her and unlike how society would expect a younger sibling to give advice to an older sibling, Nettie gives Celie advice and says, “Don’t let them run over you. You got to let them know who got the upper hand” (17). Nettie is a brave woman who stands up for what is right. When Nettie left Albert’s house walking, Albert follows her on his horse and tries to talk to her. “After awhile I had to rest, and that’s when he got down from his horse and started to try to kiss me, and drag me back in the woods. Well, I started to fight him, and with God’s help, I hurt him bad enough to make him let me alone” (126). Society does not expect a young lady to be brave enough to fight with a man and hurt them badly, but Nettie did it all. This is why I believe that Nettie is a nonconformist.
In the novel "The Color Purple" Alphonso, also known as Celie an Nettie's father, later known as their stepfather, would be considered a conformist. Unlike other characters in this novel his character didn't change he lived up to societies image of men. For example when he died he did leave everything for his wife at the time, Daisy. In his grave stone it said " member of this and that.leading businessman and farmer. Upright husband and father"( 245) Which sounds like the world pictured him as a member of society, a perfect man who lived a happy life. I would consider Sofia as a non-conformist because of her fierce, independent, self confident attitude. She doesn't let anyone get in her way. She stands for her self and will do anything to stay alive and happy. Sofia hit a ruff spot in life when she got pregnant with Harpo's child. For example Mr_____ said "Your daddy done throwed you out. Ready to live in the streets I guess." Sofia answered with " Naw. I ain't living in the streets. I'm living with my sister a Cher husband. They say I can live with them for the rest of my life... Well, nice visiting I'm going home" (31). Sofia stood up to Mr._____ and even though he tried bring her down she showed him she didn't need his son Harpo because he wasn't ready to be a father.
Celie is the most obvious choice of a conformist though she changes near the end of the novel. She endures beatings and sex from both Pa and Mr.____. She obeys every request and doesn't respond to insults. "It all I can do not to cry. I make myself wood. I say to myself, Celie, you a tree." (pg. 23) Celie steels herself to prevent her emotions from showing.There are many non-conformists in the novel, my favorite being Sofia "I loves Harpo, she say. God know I do. But I'll kill him before I let him beat me." (Pg. 41) Sofia is shown to be a non-conformist by not allowing Harpo to beat her and even going as far as fighting back. She also puts her pride before anyone else and is honest despite knowing the outcome of her candor.
Sofia is a non-conformist because she fights back and does not let anything or anyone step all over her, which creates her righteous character, "She say, all my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles" (39). This leads to Celie, the opposite of Sofia, a conformist who endures things while Sofia fights and does what Celie can't do, "I say it cause I'm jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I cant" (39).
Celie is a conformist. She really has no control of her actions and no actions ever recalled up speaking out for herself. When she got married to Mr. She had no control of the situation. Page 12 is when she gets married. She conforms to the rules.Sofia is a non-conformist. She shows pride in her actions. Doesn't listen to anyone. Evidence she is a non-conformist on page 87 when she stands up for herself knowing it was the Major she was talking to.
I would say that Celie is a conformist because she can be pretty easily manipulated or bossed around. Sophia also thinks that she conforms and learns from her as shown in the quote: "Every time they ast me to do something, Miss Celie, I act like I'm you" (88). Harpo also believes Celie to be a conformist. I would say that Sophia is a non-conformist since she only conforms in potentially dangerous situations. She is not scared of Harpo because she knows he can't do much to threaten her if she doesn't what he wants. Sophia also grew up with strong sisters: "Sophia right about her sisters. They all big strong and healthy girls" (67).
A person who was the conformist would be Celie because she stuck by the rules and gave in to anything she was asked to do by Mr.____ and her father. "Turn round,Pa say. I turn round."(11)
A person who is a non-conformist is Nettie because Nettie chose to runaway from home and become educated which not much woman got to do. Nettie believed in herself and didn't want a future where she was tied down by an abusive husband and made into a baby making machine.
"Well, I started to fight him, and with God's help I hurt him bad enough to make him let me alone."(126)
"He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens. That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I’m not scared of them. Maybe cause my mama cuss me you think I kept mad at her. But I ain’t. I felt sorry for mama. Trying to believe his story kilt her." (5) Celie is a conformist. She obeys to the rules of society. One example is that men are better than women. Society has influenced Celie to think that it's true. "You have to git man off your eyeball, before you can see anything a'tall," (197)
Shug Avery is a non-conformist. She is fierce, and she is independent. She doesn't need a man to feel satisfy. She also influences Celie to have confident and be a feminists. She tells Celie to make pants because women can wear pant too.
A character who I think is a conformist is Celie. Throughout most of the book men has power over Celie. Celie always does what she is told, right away ("Every time they ast me to do something, Miss Celie, I act like I'm you. I jump right up and do just what they say." -(88). Celie doesn't stand up for herself for most of the book, doesn't say much to people's faces about how she feels, only to Shug and Nettie mostly. When Albert is mean to her, beats her, talks at her and not with her, Celie still did housework and took care of the children because that's what a wife was expected to do. When Shug brought up women wearing pants, Celie thought it was odd because society had the influence on how women couldn't wear pants, and only men could. Celie never wore the pants in public that she made while she was still living in Albert's house and technically married to Albert, she only wore it after she left Albert. A character in the book who is a non-conformist is Sofia because from the beginning, she stood up to men, all her life she fought against them, she is someone who will not tolerate being beaten or mistreated. "All my life I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles."(40). And when Harpo tried to beat her, but Sofia fought back. Also when the Mayor struck Sofia, and Sofia fought back. Sofia didn't care whether a man, woman, dog, bird, fly, or even if a Caucasian person messed with her, she fought back. Society's standards never bothered her actions and who she was in these ways.
A character from the book who is a conformist is Celie because she listens to the society rule; where she can't fight or stand up for herself and let the boys have more power. Mr.___beats her up and she still doesn't stand up for herself. "Every time they sat e to do something, Miss Celie, I act like I'm you. I jump right up and do what they say." (88). This quote shows that Celie conforms with society's rule, never standing up for herself and just do as she was told to do.A character from the book who is a non-conformist is Nettie because she always stands up for herself. “Don’t let them run over you. You got to let them know who got the upper hand”. (17). She gave this advice to Celie when she saw that others were ordering her to do things and just simply being rude to her. Nettie is a little more educated than Celie is, and that's how she is a little stronger than Celie, She always stands up for herself and doesn't follow society's rule.
Sofia is most definately a non-conformist. Unlike many Woman in her position she didn't budge for pleasig others. She won't tolerate being mistreated, especially with her confident and poignant attitude. Sofia remarks that "I love Harpo, she say. God know I do. But I'll kill him before I let him beat me."(41) which highlights the non-conformist in her. She grew up with this mindset and is comfortable enough to stand up to everyone who feels the need to provoke her.An obvious conformist is Celie. She was influenced by Mr.__ to the point where she thought how he treated her was alright. She constantly abides to society and the threatening Mr.__. She goes with the flow and adapts to how she feels she should be treated. Nettie tried to help Celie but she just can't do it. Celie explains, "But i don't know how to fight. All I know how to do is stay alive."(17) She doesn't respond in the way you would hope to Mr._'s demands, she just goes with everything he says. Like she said, she doesn't know how else to act, she is just trying to make it and do everything in her power to please her selflessness husband.
Celie was a confrmist because she did everything ever ask and never even tried to avoid it or stop it. Everyone looked down on her. She soon started to feel helpless and emotional-less, "I think. I can’t even remember the last time I felt mad...Then after while every time I got mad, or start to feel mad, I got sick. Felt like throwing up. Terrible feeling. Then I start to feel nothing at all"pg 21. Sofia now was the complete opposite she was out spoken and fought for her right for what was right. this quote here shows why she was so ready to fight, "She say, All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men. But I never thought I’d have to fight in my own house" (21).
Briefly, write about two characters in the novel and whether they are conformists or nonconformists. Using evidence from then text support your statement.