The Power of an Individual Theme in Literature Essay Example

📌Category: Books, Feature of Character, Identity, Life, Literature, Sociology
📌Words: 992
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 19 June 2021

Maintaining ones’ individuality can be a very hard task when living amongst a society filled with pressure to act like everyone around us. There are two categories of people. One person is living his life trying to act like those around him. He gets lost in the crowd by always trying to blend in. There is another person who understands that leading his own life is important, and that being himself is the best thing he could be. Understanding that being yourself is the most important thing and that trying to be like other people will never get you anywhere, is essential to know and to teach children, starting at a young age. Sandra Boynton, in her book, Are You a Cow? And Eric Carle in his book, The Mixed up Chameleon teach children how important it is to be yourself and to stop trying to act like somebody you are not. They teach children to be proud of who they are and not to be ashamed of their flaws or weaknesses. Be proud of who you are, you are you and nobody can change that. Embrace your individuality.

Are You a Cow is a small, hard cover book that teaches children about individuality. The book starts off with a chicken telling the readers what he is and then asking a very vital question, which is “What are you?” This line triggers the readers’ brain immediately, as they start to think about who they are. As the book goes on, it goes through a number of animals and their names. Each page is another bright color that grabs the reader’s attention, especially the children. Towards the end of the book the questions get more amusing. It stops asking if they are a plain animal but now it asks, “Are you a bear that does not frown? Or a chicken that is upside down?” This brings the reader back in, if they start to feel a little bored from the repetition of the book. Finally, at the end of the book in big bold letters it says, “You must be you! Now isn’t that great?”

The last line of the book really emphasizes the lesson that the readers should learn. Children can connect to this book because, in a few short words it teaches them the most important lesson, which is to be you. As parents, it is vital to teach their children to be proud of themselves and to never be ashamed of who they are. The book, Are you a Cow? helps the parents teach his lesson to them through a fun and interactive way. The book isn’t a long one and as the book goes on the pages start becoming more and more repetitive therefore giving the book some sort of rhythm so that the children can catch on. The words of this book are written in question form. Allowing the children to answer the question, which then causes them to think about if they are a cow, chicken etc. and then at the end of the book, when it tells them that “you are you” the children agree, because throughout the book they realized that they aren’t any of those animals. Therefore they develop a sense of pride about who and what they are.

Another classic book that teaches about individuality is The Mixed up Chameleon, by Eric Carle. It is a story about a chameleon who is happy with the way he is, camouflaging to all of his surroundings. Until one day, when he made his way into the zoo and saw all the different types of animals and thought to himself, “how small I am, how weak! I wish I could be big, and white like a polar bear.” All of the sudden he finds himself looking just like a polar bear. The same thing happens as he passes by all the different animals. Until he is all mixed up,  and he looks like all the animals he passed up until this point. At one point he passes a man and a women and wishes he could be like them, and that is exactly what happens. All of the sudden, a fly buzzes by and the chameleon wants to eat it but the chameleon was too mixed up to catch it. “I wish I could be myself,” he thinks to himself and his dream comes true and he is able to catch the fly.

This book teaches children not only to be proud of who they are, but to not try and be like someone they’re not. With each page that the reader turns, another element of the chameleon is added onto his body, depending on what he wishes to be. Every element is a different color, therefore at the end of the book when he has all he wished for, he looks very colorful and mixed up! But, at the end, when he wishes to just be himself he is back to being a small, green chameleon behind a large rainbow. The rainbow symbolizes happiness, showing the children that being yourself is the best thing you could be. Trying or wishing to be someone you’re not, is not worth it. Sometimes parents themselves try acting like the society around them, or like the people they are acquainted with. So, when reading this book to their children they are teaching their children to embrace their individuality and become proud of who they are. Leading the parents to learn the same lesson.

One of the hardest facts of life is dealing with the reality that you can’t be someone else. Realizing that being yourself and being proud of who you are is the most important thing you could do. Teaching children this lesson from a young age helps them develop into adults who don’t care about the peer pressure around them. Therefore this lesson can be beneficial for parents as well. Allowing them to teach this lesson to their children. Are You a Cow? and The Mixed up Chameleon teaches them this lesson in a way that they can understand easily. Embrace your individuality. Don’t try to blend in when a person is born to stand out. Every person is given different characteristics, no two people have the same ones, and everyone is different in their own way. So don’t try acting like someone you are not, you are you and be proud.

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