From the first moment of life until the very last, each of us embarks on a journey – a journey mainly of discovery, and also of realization, of realization that we are not unique; of final understanding that in this busy web of life we are just one more salmon following one school of thought or another. As the great Oscar Wilde himself said once long ago: " Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, the lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." So thus originates the unceasing debate of the value of the individual, the importance of personal identity, the price of choice, thought and action in a society that often places little of no value on these notions. Undoubtedly, each and every one of us considers ourselves to be a non-conformist in one way or another – it creates a sense of security, a sense of purpose and a sense of fulfillment, one way or another. So what is a non-conformist, and what do we associate with non-conformity in general? More importantly, what concepts and issues does non-conformity raise, and how do related materials help us to understand this? In this instance, the central text that is discussed is The Mosquito Coast, by Paul Theroux. This is a novel that follows the story of Allie Fox, an inventive genius who abandons a faulty civilization and takes escape in the jungles of the Honduras. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley has long been seen as a futuristic view on the modern world, where in a totalitarian society choice is a thing unheard. Falling Down is a movie about the gradual and at the same time rapid descent of an individual who is unable to control his anger towards the thoughts and beliefs of the general society. Dead Poets' Society is a tragic film about going against tradition and expectation, and about the worth of rewards and consequences. Higher Learning is a motion picture that heavily focuses on the negative aspects of non-confo...