Hailee Francom

Mrs. Mckay

AP/IB ELA

10/22/2020

Practice Argument Essay 2

Throughout history, nothing has remained the same. Progress has always, and will always

be made. However, those who know history know that those who make these progresses are far

from normal in the eyes of their society at the time. This is because those who rule society and

make up the societal norms are often the better off population, and quite frequently the richest.

Minorities and poor populations are the communities that live under the rule of the majority.

Therefore those who advocate for change in a corrupt society are those who have to break the

rules to see a change. Oscar Wilde mentions this same concept by stating that only through

disobedience and rebellion has progress been made. One group might only gain support through

common values, however most of a society follows the rules set out for their own personal

safety. History itself proves to support this claim time and time again, while so many different

forms of art and literature exhibit this same pattern and call to action shared by those searching

for justice. Disobedience proves to be a valuable human trait in the American revolution and

other historical events, as well as current situations, all of which are fictionally portrayed in so

many different works of literature.

One of the most important showcases of a rebellion towards social progression is the

American Revolution because a small group of rebels against a monarchy turned into a great

mass of the country in support of withdrawal from the kingdom. To begin, the American

Revolution was not popular when its first ideals were voiced. While many prominent figures like

Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were in support of independence, a very large group
of Loyalists to the King also resided in a rapidly changing America. The publication of Common

Sense by Thomas Paine around the time that Revolutionary ideals came into play is a good

example of this. As support grew for the Revolution, opposition grew even stronger. Common

Sense was written to convince colonists that the British government and legislature were built to

suppress the poor people in their society. Paine was later convicted without reason, but one

would guess there were many accusations of treason. Therefore the Revolution may have been a

popular ideal, but it was not a majority opinion.

The past has many examples of the disobedience needed for progress, but so does modern

society and new advancements into the future. In modern society, colored people have gained

civil rights and are integrated fully into society. However, socially, there is underlying systemic

racism that subconsciously suppresses colored communities. For example, schools are funded by

their surrounding neighborhoods, and colored people typically live in poorer neighborhoods.

Consequently, the schools located in colored neighborhoods are significantly poorer, and receive

a worse education. Recently, with the death of George Floyd after an officer knelt on his neck for

eight minutes, peaceful protests broke out around the country. This concept was unheard of in

this time period, because white people believed that black people were perfectly equal. However

in light of the systemic oppression, protests turned into riots, where police began tear gassing

crowds and shooting them with rubber bullets. This is important because a highly important civil

issue had built for so many years and the intolerance for it caused a large-scale act of

disobedience to advocate for change.

The real world consistently proves that rebellion is natural and needed. Literature is often

a reflection of the real world, and many books portray dystopian societies where a small group of

minorities who are suppressed rebel against a large force to gain a better standard of living. One
of the most impactful examples of this is George Orwell’s Animal Farm, which reads about a

farm tended to by a drunken farmer who exploits them for their resources and gives them terrible

living standards. The animals rebel, and other farmers across the town rush to the site to take

back what they believed was not rightfully the animals’. Nonetheless, the animals remain in

control of the farm, with the pigs in charge. The story plays out with the pigs as the smartest of

the animals, and therefore they become the rulers. While the standards of the farm go right back

to how they were under the farmer, this story has an underlying moral that in order to gain

justice, one must take a stand against their oppressor. Outside groups will not like these actions,

but social progression and equality is the goal for every human.

In conclusion, the majority population will always be the ruling class, especially

economically. However, along with that, the minority population will only take so much

suppression, and building tension will only lead to a larger rebellion. Oscar Wilde died in 1900,

and knew only of the past rebellions that he had read about and witnessed. Nevertheless, he knew

that the future could only bring more social tensions and more rebellions until the end of time,

without a doubt. The American Revolution is the only reason that America lives in the society it

does today, without this large-scale rebellion our country would still be part of England. In

modern society, subtle protests are still in development to advocate for equality for all, and

books will continually document these patterns. Without disobediences against ruling powers,

society would be stuck under one singular way of life, never expected to change.