FREE ESSAY ON INDIVIDUALISM

INDIVIDUALISM

Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken, James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues, and Zalman King's In
God's Hands, share a common theme of individualism.
Every society has certain values and generally accepted ways of living that are
considered normal. These principles are what keep societies organized and orderly.
Conforming to these principles, however, is not necessarily the road to happiness for
every individual. The main character, Shane, in In God's Hands, Sonny, in Sonny's Blues,
and the speaker in The Road Not Taken, all choose not to live by what is considered
normal, or popular, and are able to find happiness by living as individuals.
Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken is a poem about the choices every person must make in
their life. The first line of this poem, "Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood", though
only seven words long, can be interpreted to mean several things. First, the color of the
trees being yellow, meaning that it is fall, represents a time of change. Second, the
"two roads diverged" signify a choice which must be made. In this first line Frost has
metaphorically depicted a person who must make a decision that will greatly change his
life. The second stanza describes the road that is chosen as grassy and wanting wear. The
second to last line of the poem also says that the speaker took the "road less traveled
by". These two lines can be interpreted to mean that the choice that was made was not the
popular choice. The speaker in the poem has made his decision based on individual
preference, rather than what others would consider normal. 
The character of Sonny, in Sonny's Blues, lives a life that would not be considered
normal in any society. He is a heroin addict who has spent time in prison, and centers
his life on playing the blues. Sonny's lifestyle is contrasted by the character of his
brother, who is a married high school teach, who lives a very conventional life. Though
it would seem that Sonny's life would be miserable compared to that of his brother, he is
able to find happiness with his unusual lifestyle. Throughout most of the story Sonny
seems to be out of place. He is not accepted by society, and not understood by his
family. At the end of the story, however, when Sonny takes his brother to a blues club to
see him perform, Sonny becomes the successful and popular one, while his brother is the
outsider. When Sonny's brother first gets to the club he realizes that "everyone at the
bar knew Sonny". The line, "Here, I was in Sonny's world. Or, rather: his kingdom. Here,
it was not even a question that his veins bore royal blood", shows that Sonny was happy
and respected by the people at the club. Though the life of a heroin addict is certainly
not considered normal, and should not be glorified, Sonny is still able to find happiness
in his individuality.
Zalman King's In God's Hands is a movie about three surfers who are traveling around the
world training to become big wave surfers (meaning that they will use jet skis to be
towed into waves in excess of forty feet). The main character of this story is Shane, who
is the best surfer out of the three, but whose personality is very different from his two
companions. Shane is a spiritual loner, who has made surfing his entire life. While his
friends spend much of their lives partying, and chasing women, Shane spends his entire
life training and chasing only the dream of surfing the ultimate wave. The first scene of
the movie shows Shane on a train sitting next to a beautiful woman who is obviously
attracted to him. When she talks to him, however, he hardly even notices her, and only
talks to her about surfing. Shane says to the women that he has made surfing his "whole
life." One of Shane's companions is Keoni, who is a teenager, who only wants to become a
great surfer so that he can join the pro tour and make money. Shane however, has no
interest in joining the tour and making money, even though he is probably the best surfer
in the world. Shane's other companion is Mickey, who was the second best surfer in the
world eight years prior, but "lost a step or two in his old age." Through out the story
both Mickey and Keoni try to convince Shane to join the tour, but he refuses. Mickey even
punches Shane at one point and virtually starts a fistfight with him, saying "get on the
tour and make some money while you still can." Shane is not driven by money and success,
like his friends, and thrives only on his love of surfing. At the end of the story Mickey
is killed trying to surf a wave that is to big to be surfed, and Keoni gives up on
traveling and returns home to his parents. Shane, however, continues his travels, and in
the end is able to find what he is looking for. He fins his ultimate wave, and surfs it
with no one else around, proving to himself that he is the best surfer in the world.
Though these three works differ in many ways, they all share a common theme about
individuality. The idea that happiness can be found without conforming to popular
opinions is expressed in each of these literary pieces. The speaker in The Road Not
Taken, Sonny, and Shane all achieve personal success by living life in their own way.