Conformity and Rebellion

Conforming to societal norms can have many benefits. There are 3 different types of conformity; the first Is compliance; this Is the act of conforming to the larger majority In public while privately retaining one’s personal beliefs. This can be seen In George Rowel’s “Shooting an Elephant”: “The crowd would laugh at me… L did not want to shoot the elephant. ” In this short story Orwell is pressured by his society to shoot the elephant. Orwell did not want to shoot the elephant it was no longer causing any harm but to not shoot the elephant Orwell old be seen as a bad individual to his society.

In this case one’s personal beliefs must be taken back, if not the group of Indians would see Orwell as an evil person. This variety is often seen amongst adults complying with the rules and regulations of a job when they do not necessarily agree with its policies. This allows for the individual to maintain his or her own sense of individuality while still gaining whatever needs are afforded to them by adhering to the norms expected of them. The second form of conforming is called identification. This is the act of informing to someone admired or dollied by the individual. This can be done to mimic that of a celebrity or other iconic figure.

Teenagers often conform as a way to make friends. By wearing a certain brand of clothing they are choosing to identify themselves with any others who wear that style or brand. This variety is most often seen amongst groups of the similar age. The third type is called initialization. This Is the act of fully adhering and believing in certain norms both publicly In society as well as individually to themselves. Initialization can be seen is Faulkner “A Rose or Emily: “l have received a paper, yes… ‘ have no taxes In Jefferson. ” In the town of Jefferson Emily never had to pay taxes until the town had changed Its norms.

This variety Is most often seen amongst groups of similar religious beliefs or ethnic background. This allows for an Individual’s full acceptance Into their chosen group. Conforming to the crowd Is actually physiologically programmed In to our brains. Studies show that the anterior Insularly cortex; the part of the human brain that controls social emotions and self-awareness as well as anterior Cingular cortex; the art of the brain that helps In error detection, have both been shown to Increase In activity when a subjects answer to a question is correct but dissenting from those of his or her peers.

Though conforming to societal norms may grant individuals such things as social acceptance and inclusion, it also sometimes robs adhering persons of their feeling of individuality and private freedom. As sun tanner are also tense won seek to Aviva compliance Walt skeletal norms or to rebel against them. Societal rebellion is the act of rebelling against the norms expected. This is very often seen in younger generations. Rebelling from societal norms is a way of giving up the privileges and acceptance associated complying with them in order to fully maintain ones independence and individuality from society.

Societal rebellion is a double edged sword, where as it can be used passively as a way to move towards noble cause. For example the peaceful protests by Mahatma Gandhi as well as the sass Montgomery bus boycott. Both of these rebellions were against societal norms yet both were peaceful and nonviolent. Conversely societal rebellion can also be any act of violence or anarchy. Murders and all other acts of Eileen crimes can be perceived as social rebellion because obeying the law is also seen as a societal norm.

Therefore by committing a crime, you are in turn disobeying a societal norm. Conformity and rebellion are both tools humans use to interact with society, whether it is conforming to initiate and maintain friendships, or it be rebelling in order to maintain ones individuality, or even to try to change the structure of society itself. Conforming or rebelling is two sides of the same coin, but both are needed to establish ones presence and function in society.