Conformity Research Paper

What makes a person an individual? A person is a human being whereas an individual is someone distinct from a group or category. An individual by definition is different, but what makes him different? Some say by acting differently, while others say by altogether being different. Persons try to be different and become the same as everybody else. They follow the same path of conformity, believe the same, think the same, and behave the same. This path of conformity does not yield an individual. As the path creates autonomous ants breaking away creates unique pioneers. Everyone wants to be an individual, but everyone cannot be an individual because everyone follows the path of conformity without breaking away and expects themselves to become individuals. …show more content…
This is healthy conformity yet to be an individual one must break off somewhere to become peculiar. Everyone breaks off from this path at some point, but almost all return and as described in Waking Life become nothing more than ants in an ant colony “going through life with our antennas bouncing off one another, continuously on ant autopilot.” Individuality is such a challenging thing to attain because of this. Once broken off, people view themselves as social pariahs and no one desires to be an outcast. Social outcasts, however, are always individuals. To be an individual, one must leave the broken path and take the road less travelled. Still, the broken path of conformity is thought to be how one can attain his dreams, “The American Dream.” To attain this American Dream, one cannot become an ant and follow the path one must break away and become a pioneer. Yes, the path of conformity is essential, but the most common misconception is that it will lead to individuality. Another major misconception is that by just dressing and behaving different creates an