Conformity In Anthem By Ayn Rand

Many people have trouble being apart of a society. These troubles come from trying to fit in, which is also known as conforming. Another trouble is trying to express one’s own style with one’s own opinion. This is a trouble due to the fact that many people have the fear of being frowned upon when being the black sheep of the group if one’s opinion does not correspond with other opinions. This is where one’s own sense of who they are, individuality, and trying to fit in, conformity, can get confused. A nickname for conformity is “herd behavior” which is the name of an article where the author relates animals that herd with people that conform. Many people have a different philosophy of this topic which will be expressed in this essay. An important

question that people need to ask themselves is if conformity really that negative and consequential as it may seem.
Many books have the act of conformity in them.

One of these books is “Anthem” by Ayn Rand. This book is strictly based on the act of conformity along with trying to be unique. This book contains many students apart of a society where no one is allowed to have their own personalities, thoughts, or style. Of course, anyone would not have to put much thought of what type of vibe this society would give out. Beginning on the first page of “Anthem,” the main character states that “it is dark in here” when describing the society he lives in. It is safe to assume that one would not be surprised that it can be described as “dark” when no one is aware of being unique.
Moving away from books, there is an even bigger amount of articles explaining conformity. One of these articles is “Students’ Work Ethic Affect by Peer Groups.” On page two of this article, one of the active participants in this story, Venda, states that students usually “sign up for the SAT prep course when their choice is private.” One would probably not doubt this at all due to the fact that many students in our school system have learned to “follow the herd.” Whatever other students are doing, many people will be influenced to do so as

well.
Now moving away from students who tend to conform, this essay will move into the topic of citizens of villages in an earlier century who agreed with others on one certain aspect. These citizens of villages are described in the article of “Witchcraft in Salem.” From the title anyone can have an idea of what the article is about. Continuing on page 2 of “Witchcraft in Salem,” it states that “any birthmarks...were seen as possible portals through which Satan could enter the body.” Lower class citizens had to agree with this statement in order not be condemned for having a different philosophy causing them to be framed for having Satan’s spirit in them. Many people think this theory is very immature and ignorant since birthmarks are passed down from ancestors as sort of a skin design; it is safe to assume that people who do believe this theory are not educated on the science of a human being.
Now concluding, any age or type of society can be apart of the act of conforming.

The most popular age to do so are teenagers as one can depict. If all people conformed to one another, individuality would never be heard of. An opposite way to think of this is that without conformity, the common society would not be able to work together. People tend to believe this due to the fact that without agreement, there is chaos. No one would have courage to stand up for what they believe in, what they like, and most importantly, who they are. One will usually believe that after conforming to fit others for a while, one may begin to lose themselves. All in all, conforming may seem to be the only option to people in order not drag attention to themselves in certain situations. In these situation types, you must find courage within yourself to have the ability to not overlook what you believe

in.