Non-Conformism in American Literature
Uploaded by lmmu on May 25, 2007
Some people naturally choose a path in life that is different from that chosen by the majority. Henry David Thoreau famously said, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” Literature is filled with proof of that. Whether it is as aged as Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention or Jerome Lawrence’s and Robert E. Lee’s The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, as civil as Martin Luther King Jr.’s Stride Towards Freedom or Malcolm X’s interview Necessary to Protect Ourselves, or as modern as Margaret Craven’s I Heard the Owl Call My Name, examples of Thoreau’s powerfully true aphorism have always existed. American literature has always provided a plethora of non-conformists.
America has always had writers, thinkers, and dreamers, and Patrick Henry is no exception. His immortal speech at the Second Virginia Provincial Convention proves his independent creativity. Congress needed to decide whether Virginia should take up arms to defend itself against a feared British attack, and many thought not, but Henry believes strongly in arms for protection. He wants freedom, and knows that all Americans deserve it—that there is no greater purpose and gift in life than to be free. It should be won and protected at all costs. “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” (266). He ends his fiery speech with such a strong statement, and demonstrates that others opinions on this matter are obsolete; arms must be taken up because liberty and freedom must be won. Henry loves this land and though others in Congress do as well, they are not ready, at this point, to make such a swift and bold move to collect arms. Because Henry has such a devotion to liberty and life, and is willing to die for the preservation of it for all posterity, he can form such opinions to collect arms. While others are concerned and make decisions through fear, Henry uses something else. “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience” (264). This truly demonstrates Patrick Henry’s non-conformity, because no one else has the exact same experiences that he has.
Another great non-conformist in American literature is, of course, Henry David...