Comparing Steppenwolf and the Teenaged Girl Essays -- Comparison Compa

Parallels Between Steppenwolf and the Teenaged Girl To be a young girl means many things in this modern society. in that respect argon numerous expectations set for the average sixteen year old womanish she moldiness be pretty, popular, thin, preferably intelligent, but not too intelligent, and she must subjugate her will to the group. This world has a tendency to shun females who ar too independent, who seek too much power, and who attempt to break from the conventional female mold. I have personally experienced this spurning, especially from my peers. There exists a dichotomy somewhere in my own soul, a pause between that which I am expected to be and who I unfeignedly am. Harry Haller, in Hermann Hesses novel Steppenwolf, experienced a similar predicament. He was torn between the life of a socially acceptable, decent man, and the primal, lupin nature of the Steppenwolf. I find myself caught between wanting to be a socially acceptable, popular girl, and being the independen t, intellectual, and strong person that I truly am. There are a number of parallels between Haller and I, all(prenominal) make headway proving that the dichotomy of the Steppenwolf and the division within myself, the puerile girl, are of the same essence. a lot in my life I have felt trapped by the boundaries and expectations that those around me have set for how I ought to behave, think, and feel. Here in suburban America, these boundaries are often set by peers and family, as well as by the media and celebrity figures. The expectations that they have set often dictate ideas that, stocky down, I greatly disagree with. One of the most prominent of the ideas is that my expense is reflected in my out ward physical appearance. In this world which has declared war on th... ...conditioned self and the true self. She both wishes to be accepted and to be set free from the groups expectations. She wants the perfect body and face and yet realizes the wishing of importance therein. H arry Haller, in the end, could not completely understand the endorse of life, but understood that the willingness to play and the eagerness to sort through the interior self are what really matter. I have realized that, in the end, I must learn the same lesson. The road ahead will not be easy, just as Harrys journey was long and arduous. care and fleeing are no longer options, though. It is an archetypal, inherent knowledge within each human being that self-knowledge is key to a true existence, and both the Steppenwolf and the teenaged girl realize the importance of this expedition. Works CitedHesse, Hermann. Steppenwolf. New York Henry Holt and Company, 1990.