Thread: Societal Values - Unsure really what the point was

This is an essay I must've written about a year ago, and I totally forgot about it. i read it and edited it a bit, and was kind of impressed with certain parts of it. However, I can now argue against it, and poke holes through the reasoning. I probably quickly wrote it for a class, so I forgive myself for that, partially. I'll leave it with all of you.

. Life has an odd way of being played out. For some, life is seen as nothing more than static entity, something that never changes, and never will. These people seem to go through life as if in a haze, and there is no dynamicity put into their being. On the other hand however, people exist that have lives that are dynamic in every way. They feel life through the extremes, boiling and freezing as opposed to hot and cold. However, most people would not fall into either of these categories, and, instead, are simply just living. Many of us have dynamicity in our lives, but also hold a sense of static as well. Our day to day rituals do not seem to change, but the minute details do.
Because of these factors of life, there are many grey areas in which social expectations are not well defined. These instances result in frustration due to a lack of an option. Many people, both real and fictional, are forced into these situations where they may not be able to escape. Unfortunately for them, either decision they choose can lead to a disappointment both on a societal level and personal level. From families to one’s own moral code, disappointment may rain down very clearly upon a person.

. For example, a dear friend of mine is usually caught in a no-win situation where he must either choose a simpler, more relaxing life over the hectic life. Now, based on society’s overall values, the simpler life would seem much more appealing and correct. However, society deems such action as laziness, oddly enough, because the values of hasty hard work and efficiency far outweigh the value of self-fulfillment that is the resultant of a simpler life. These situations usually result in disappointment from either himself or the people that govern him. It is a rather unfortunate affect, but life tends to be this way. It holds no bias, and therefore, can be either flowingly easy, or horribly frustrating.

. In the same way, characters in fiction have these sets of norms that they must follow. However, these norms are, of course, usually more extreme then real life situations, as authors tend to attract their audience by the use of extremities in their stories. Instead of Sally Lue not being able to buy a carton of milk because she forgot her money at home, she is instead faced with the decision to lose her friends by buying the carton of milk or going milkless and being beaten by her mother. Such instances certainly make life’s disappointments seemingly more troublesome than they truly are. People do not usually care much for our actions on an individual level, which is amusing considering society as whole certainly would care, although society is composed of these individuals. By such a thought, it becomes ironic to note that the apathy of the individual does not translate into the apathy of their collective minds. Because of this, society is able to hold onto disappointment much longer. An individual can forget, but the collective, unknown group known as society takes much longer to forget, even if all its participants have done so.

. Societal values tend to make life much more difficult for people whom just want to live their lives the way they wish to before they die. Some people would like to break gender, racial and age roles while others are passionate of keeping them the same. These roles that society would make us play are frustrating to say the least, and can lead to disappointment in either the individual who wishes to break the bonds, or the society whom wishes to enforce them. In the end, it seems that neither side will ever win, for one person will always be disappointed in the circumstances that follow any individual actions taken.