On it nearly arranged by his instructor he finds his

“The student comes to his desk. On it, nearly arranged by his instructor, he finds his
laboratory manual, a dissecting board, instruments, and a mimeographed list” (Percy
307). These instruments are enabling the students in becoming less sovereign. They are
not thinking by themselves with these tools. With the idea of having an experiment that
you make your own instructions, there is no certainty to what you will find. Not having
any materials to guide the student will create a sovereign individual.
Another example of something that can create a sovereign individual is a different
way of learning a language. When you sit in class and learn vocabulary words, you are
receiving packaged information. Living in the specific country with no experience of the
culture will create this sovereign person. Just like Percy explains with the Shakespearean
sonnet, learning a new language is similar. Percy depicts, “The sonnet is obscured by the
symbolic package which is formulated not by the sonnet itself but by the media through
which the sonnet is transmitted, the media which the educators believe for some reason to
be transparent” (Percy 306). The media gives you a packaged idea of the Spanish culture.
One could imagine maracas, women in red and yellow dresses, and sombreros. This
stereotype would be nonexistent if you weren’t a consumer. If you have no pre-existing
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knowledge of the culture, then live there to learn about it, you will not have the same
stereotypes as someone who only views the media. It would also be easier to learn the
language and culture if you lived there rather than learning it in a classroom. When you
live there, you are immersed in the culture. It’s the only thing you see or hear when you
are there. There is no magic wand or packaging when you go to learn about a culture
without any knowledge beforehand. Without the magic wand and packaging, this
experience will make you a sovereign individual.