Human Desire to Fit In :: essays papers

Human Desire to "fit in" Two common ways of handling a situation are either to do so according to one ¹s own personal needs and desires with no specific regard to other people, or one can base a decision on how it will be viewed by others. The vast majority of people fall on the side of being worried about what others are saying and thinking. Both good and bad can come from living this way, but it has seemed to remain constant throughout history. People have a natural desire to belong, and to fit in with a certain group. No matter what group an individual chooses, that individual almost always is forced sacrifice a part of them self in order to seem more a part of things. People in this world seem to need companionship and are often too weak to stand alone. As a result, they stand together in what ever group they are best suited to. It is a point of interest to many of the people who have stopped to think about this fact. The idea that people live according to how others will perceive then has been established as the rule, not the exception. The real question now lies in the reasons for this way of life. It was hypothesized by C.S. Lewis that this desire to belong and to fit in is a natural human characteristic. He believed that people have an instinctive drive to belong, in the same sort of way species reproduce. It is possible that his theory of instinctive necessity is accurate, and humans are as a whole are week and scared when they are faced with solitude. The old adage  ³there is safety in numbers ² is appropriate in this topic. Often in this world terrible things happen because people group up and commit unspeakable acts, then take shelter in the numbers of those involved. The Annual Freaknik  ³celebration ² is the perfect example. Thousands of individuals crowd the streets of Atlanta and pillage the city for a weekend, all the while they show no respect for the laws or the residents of the city. This can be directly related to the issue of people doing things to be a part of the group. If these people were asked individually why they did these terrible things, for the most part they would respond by saying  ³everyone else