The word "hip" is defined in the dictionary as "familiar with or informed about the latest ideas, styles, developments." It is used casually to mean "cool," which most people associate the word with. However, author John Leland argues a deeper side to the word; in his 2005 text, Hip: The History, Leland argues that the idea of "hip" is an American phenomenon based around being a nonconformist. The American Character must fight to break away from society and become an individual to embrace his or her inner "hipness." In doing so, he or she is able to escape society's restrictions and discover his or her true identity.
"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity." -James F. Cooper
Explore examples of this theme in American Literature and other sources:
The Stages of Moral Reasoning: Preschool to Adulthood by Dr. Thomas Lickona
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Round and Round by Imagine Dragons
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - Bromden
Various Works by Henry David Thoreau
Various Works by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Who Understands Me But Me by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman
The Stages of Moral Reasoning: Preschool to Adulthood by Dr. Thomas Lickona
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Round and Round by Imagine Dragons
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - Bromden
Various Works by Henry David Thoreau
Various Works by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Who Understands Me But Me by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman