Question 6: Conformity

[Lauren]

Identity - particularly that of upper-class, educated African Americans in the 1920s - is a theme that runs throughout the book. It's been discussed in other threads, but there was one quote (located in Ch. 4, pg. 58, 59 for those with the "flapper" edition) in particular that stuck with me:

"Women the world over, and since the world began, have been slaves to the conventions of their own milieu, and to achieve social success (which means still, in most cases, to get husbands) they must conform. ... All civilized and cultivated races ridicule such practices, and very rightly indeed, but - mark you, my friend! - each group ridicules the conventions of the other groups and not its own."

Is this still true today?

[Ashley]

Yes, I think so. Whatever groupings we find ourselves in, we tend to look for validation that it's The Right One. I think it takes a lot more energy and thoughtfulness to consider "otherness" as genuinely A-okay.

As for women? Some degree of conformity will always take place. I mean, NOT conforming is still conforming to the idea of non-comformity, right? To an extent?

In Davy's case, I think he has his panties in a twist over the fact that Caroline is trying to conform to the 1920s party girl image, when he'd rather see her conform to what HE wants, which is the anti-party girl. And yet . . . the very aspects of her that tick him off also attract him to her.