How Does Society Change From Conforming To Society

Since day one of my school life, I’ve been conforming to society based on what everyone commented on. Comments from school mates such as “How do you not have a smartphone or a Facebook?” and “Only losers sleep at 10” slowly changed my attitude and my goals until I had the same habits and possessions as everyone around me. Comments from teachers and parents such as “ You’re just a number to colleges” and “You should get a job that pays well” also affected my attitude and interests towards school. Even now, I’m concerned about what everyone says and expects from me to the point of not recognizing the. Like Trilling said, it is the expectations of others that is “the Terror which rules our moral situation, the ubiquitous anonymous judgment
Those who seem to have conformed greatly, such as Miss.Bingley, Mrs.Hurst, and Lady Catherine, will do anything in order to make sure that society’s norms are maintained. Meanwhile, there are people like Mr.Bingley , who don’t care as much about what society wants them to do.In the infamous scene where Lizzy walks miles in mud just to see her dear sister, there are two varying opinions about her actions. Both Miss Bingley and Mrs.Hurst are horrified at Lizzy’s supposedly vulgar look while Mr.Bingley defends her by saying “It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing”.(Austen 34) As Trilling puts it, “...society... play[s] a part in the moral life, generating the concepts of "sincerity" and
Miss.Bingley and Mrs.Hurst’s inability to look past Lizzy’s physical appearance shows how vulgar they are. Instead of praising Elizabeth for her kind, sincere action, they see it as “...an abominable sort of conceited independence…”. (Austen 33) It would seem that those who are very conscious about the expectations of others are the most critical themselves while those who don’t seem to care as much seem more sincere or compassionate. Now as for Lizzy, who doesn’t seem to care about what people think of her , is viewed as the most sincere out of the three. Lizzy is also seen as the one who's most independent and has the most personality. By Lizzy refusing to conform to society, she is simply Lizzy. She’s not like every other girl who wishes to obtain a husband by conforming to society’s standards and becoming the perfect girl. Lizzy first ran through mud ,tarnishing her appearance. She then has the audacity to reject a marriage proposal from Mr.Collins. This is what sets Lizzy apart from everybody. Trilling mentions being one of the “...secular- spiritual elect…” as one of the things people have the desire to show . To be secularly-spiritual, you have to be who you are, not who society says you should be. Out of every character in this novel, Lizzy is the most secularly-spiritual. She refuses to become who society says she should be and she’s