Topoi

By applying the Topoi to this topic, we can examine it through different categories:

Contrast - There are two different ways society influences an individual: directly and indirectly. Directly: Society forces or puts pressure on the individual to act and behave a certain way. An example of this is when students study or do homework because their parents tell them that they have to. Indirectly: Society shapes the way an individual thinks in order to get them to act and behave a certain way. In comparison to the last example, it is when students study or do homework because they were told that doing well in school would lead to a great career in the future.

Values: The pressure that society puts on us to be successful can either be a motivator or a stressor. In the practical realm, it intends to serve as a motivator to push people to work hard in order to succeed. In the ethical realm, it serves as a stressor that makes people feel they must live up to expectations in order to be deemed worthy in society.

Cause/Effect: Society’s yearning for perfection caused society to put pressure on people to succeed because being successful is an asset of perfection. This pressure on people affects the way people think and behave because they feel they must act a certain way in order to succeed, such as taking AP courses, applying for grad school, etc.

Change: The pressure to be successful is gradually being exerted to younger and younger students. When I was in high school (which was only three years ago), AP courses were only offered in high school. Now, they are being offered in middle school too. A couple years ago, students did not start interning until they have graduated from college. Now, they are interning as early as their sophomore year in college.

Form/Structure: The superficial problem of the pressure to be successful is the stress it puts on people to do well in school, get accepted to good colleges, have a great career, etc. Its deep problem is the misconception it gives people that they must follow a specific path or they must have a certain career in order to be successful.