Prompt:Breaking social norms
Do we all follow the same social norms? What happens when people in witness engage in acts that are not acceptable in their social groups? Write an essay in which you discuss the risks that people take when they break the established roles in their community. To develop your essay, use the movie, class readings, and your personal experience. Do not include outside readings or examples of famous people.
Witness is the required movie.
You are looking at the risks involved with going against societal norms. What are the risks, what happens to people who take risks, and why do we take risks? There are two essay outlines, choose one from them.
Option 1: deals more with what happens to people
◦Write 2-4 body paragraphs about risks – you can discuss any source within each paragraph, but you probably should not have more than two examples per paragraph.
◦Example:
◦Body paragraph one: the risk of being ostracized
◦Amish example
◦Personal example
◦Body paragraph two: the risk of being formally punished (jail or fines)
◦Article example
◦Movie example
◦Option 2: Deals more with “why”
◦Body 1: Analyze the movie
◦What risks are taken by main characters and why?
◦Body 2: Analyze an article (in relation to the movie)
These are required words that must be used in the essay
◦To devote to or to be devoted to
◦To identify with or to identify [oneself] with (v.)
◦To discriminate against (v.)
◦To believe or to believe in (v.)
◦To be concerned about (v.)
◦Belief(s) (n.)
◦To go against tradition
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