Melissa Pineda Period 4 English April 21, 2010 Final At the conclusion of Tim O’ Brien’s “On the Rainy River”, the narrator states,” I was a coward. I went to war” (824), highlighting the fact that bravery (& cowardice) are social constructs. Socialization is not limited by these trait, they are only the beginning. At a very early age boys are told not to cry; girls are encouraged to play with dolls. We enter a point in our lives where we are forced to submit to the authority and influence of society. Being indulged in one’s own self interest, is when we accept the fact that we are different and have no need to blend with others in order to change who we have grown to become. Due to the social norms that have been constructed around us, our minds acknowledge the differences that separate one person from another. Since kindergarten we are taught how to behave and learn our place in society; teaching us to raise our hands in order to speak and not to go to the restroom without permission. We are being taught day after day how to act and behave to what is accepted by society. After a while we do it sub consciously and we don’t question it anymore, just following “orders” that have been engraved in our minds. That is when many tend to lose their identity in order to be part of the “flow” and be recognized by society, giving in to the pressure that is (and that will always be) inevitable to escape. Some people change from clothes to hair (to fit in with the crowd), from giving up essentials to losing the respect of many. I gave in to the pressure that didn’t allow me to breathe anymore, obstructing me from becoming my own person. I gave up my beliefs and faith that once held me together. My Dad once told me, “Words will always obtain their power being able to manipulate and twist everything we know; either