Conformity and the Individual in the two texts The Wave and Dead Poet's Society.

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Conformity and the Individual

Two texts we have studied this semester are The Wave and Dead Poet's Society. Both of these texts explore the concept of Conformity and Individuality by putting average people in a place where they feel pressured to act upon something. They have two choices, to do the same as everyone else and conform, or to be different and rebel. In its extreme form conformity is the loss of individuality and free will. An extreme conformist is unable to make a decision for him/herself.

An extreme individual has to be different no-matter what, this means nothing he/she does can be the same as anything else. Thus the extreme individual is little different from the conformist in that he/she loses his/her choice as the ego takes over, thereby losing their freewill. It's like a see-saw. You start at the pivot where everyone is equal. Walk towards either end (conformity or individuality) and you begin to tilt towards one side or the other making it hard to walk backwards, however if you walk too far in either direction you'll hit the ground.

The Wave explores the idea of conformity through the use and embellishment of a