Changes in the society often lead to divisions among members of the society. This is because some people conform to these changes while others stick to the old ways; thus, creating conflicts in the society. The American society in The Age of Innocence and Manhattan Transfer reflect these changes, and the society is divided in issues concerning the new changes; there is a conflict in the society.
The people in the two novels suffer from identity crisis, and the reader who reads them will understand the conflict in the two novels. They show that individuals in the society can solve these conflicts; through understanding themselves.
The paper will intertwine the arguments in the novel with conflicts in the real society. The paper will also cover conflicts discussed by other artists like poets. This will make the paper authentic. The paper will assist the reader to understand Whitman in that it will explore themes advanced by Whitman in his poetry. Whitman was concerned with the idea of an ideal American society, and this paper will explore this theme.
Conflicts in the society arise because there are some people who are not contented. People may want to change their way of doing things, but some people may feel that this is not right. Conflicts may also arise as a result of people’s self centeredness. Some people are very self-centered, and they want to go against the norm of the society; they are selfish, and they feel that the society should bend to offer them what they want.
Conflicts also arise when new ways of doing things are introduced in the society. The new things tend to topple the norm of the society, and this is taken with rejection by some members of the society; thus this creates conflicts.
The hypothesis of this paper is that cultural conflict leads to many conflicts in any given society. There are cultural conflicts in the two novels, and these conflicts result fro a crash in cultures of the people involved. The society in The Age of Innocence is going through tremendous changes, and the people are affected by these changes. The old New York is characterized by people who are conscious of the good of the whole society (Wharton 11).
People in this society are ready to sacrifice their own happiness so as to live to the expectations of the society. The society comes first, and people are ready to sacrifice for the society. In Manhattan Transfer, the author deals with the development of urban life. The challenges that face people are addressed in this novel, and people are struggling to maintain a good life (Passos 25).
The social life in this novel is in jeopardy, and a lot of social problems are evident. The author takes people from the flourishing areas of New York to areas that are struggling. Some characters in the novel are successful while others are not, and this makes the novel have a characteristic representation of the urban life.
Works Cited
Passos, John. Manhattan Transfer. Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. Forgotten Books, 1948.