To Conform or Not to Conform... In Mark Twain's Corn-pone Opinions and Henry David Thoreau's Life Without Principle, humanity is challenged by recognizing that self-approval comes from having your thoughts conform to the majority's belief system. Mark Twain was always a keen observer of human nature. For example, he wrote about the people around him in his daily life. Mark Twain's idea that groupthink is inevitable is reflected in Thoreau's Life Without Principle. Thus, both essays convey a clear message that the bland opinions of humanity are what propel society's fundamental belief systems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The idea that fashions arise from the habits of man and not from the thinking of an individual: “it is our nature to conform; it is a force that few can successfully resist” is a prime example. Henry David Thoreau presents the idea that the common man, going about his daily business, is a slave to a commerce-based system of American society. Furthermore, Thoreau writes: “We are distorted and narrowed by an exclusive devotion to commerce and to manufacturing, agricultural and other industries, which are only the means and not the end. » This statement shows Thoreau's view that commerce rules man. Thoreau is against the wage system as well as the American political system. Basically, the common man has become convinced that working daily is the expected norm. Man has also come to accept political belief systems and use these communal thoughts as his own. Henry David Thoreau, Life Without Principles, and Mark Twain, Cornpone Opinions, reach a similar conclusion; humanity's inability to think without the help of its peers. Mark Twain, considered the "father of American literature", attempts to define "Cornpone" and prove that it is based on the need for approval by other men sharing the same mentality. . In the opening, Twain writes about the positive qualities of his friend that he listens to without his mother's permission. Another clear example of how he knows his mother has a reason for not allowing him to listen, based on her conformity to society's belief that black men are equal to white men. However, before he ends, he leaves the reader with the knowledge that the friend is in fact a slave. Thus, Twain's Corn-pone Opinions immediately shows that he too has fallen under the spell of public opinion. Why else would Twain even mention that the friend is a slave. He says it is human nature to believe what others believe and, in this case, it is the inferiority of the black man. Twain invites the reader to realize that our opinions are strictly influenced by the actions of others and by the acceptance of our peers. Slavery is a perfect example of an accepted belief: “changes are not thought through; we just notice and comply...As a rule, we don't think, we only imitate.” This implies that slavery itself was a shared belief that gradually became the norm and therefore accepted. Here, Twain clearly stated that he favored the abolition of slavery. In the short essay The Cornpone Opinions, published after Mark Twain's death in 1910, the great humorist presents the idea that society's beliefs are affected by social pressures. conform to an agreed standard. Basically people.