First Paragraph Blog 47

Conformity is a part of human nature; however, people have a misconception that conformity is bad when in fact conformity is a trait that evolved with humanity from the beginning. In literary books especially, conformity is viewed as giving up ones individuality. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth fights against conforming to the social the norms in England and fights conforming every step of the way. However, conformity should not be seen as a negative force that steals one’s individuality and replaces personality with a monotonous voice, matching cloths, and matching blank facial expressions mimicking the world of George Orwell’s 1984, conformity should be seen as a human instinct to survive because that is exactly what it is. Conformity should be viewed as something that produces a individual in society who fits in. In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, while Gregor conforms to the role of the son who is a provider for his whole family, Gregor is happy in his role as provider and is content with his life. While American society stresses the individual, in reality, society condemns the individuals who actually do stand out in the crowd. Society must learn to accept that individualism are conformity are not actually at war but are synonymous in their relationship; in order to hold true to oneself in society and to be an individual, one must first understand societies rules and where the boundaries of conformity lie before someone is able to break out and become his/her own individual being.