Conformity requires an individual to get out of their comfort zone in order to belong to a certain group. This may cause them to loose their inner self and make them feel unwanted. In Peter Skrzynecki’s poem, St Patrick’s College, he makes evident the concept of conformity. Skrzynecki, in the first stanza, portrays conformity through the school, “impressed by the uniform”. This shows us that Skrzynecki has conformed and now belongs St Patrick’s. Through a cliché, Skrzynecki states that his mother only sent him to that school because she wanted to give him “what was best”. This quote allows the reader to be vicarious with him as everyone has experienced what their parents thought “what was best”. Peter Skrzynecki in St Patrick’s College is accepted to the school; however it isn’t evident that he wants to be accepted. Throughout the poem the reader gains a sense that he may not want to belong there. This is a cost however, Skrzynecki has to pay.
Social expectations are everywhere when it comes to belonging with its positives and negatives. Mark Waters explores social expectations in his film Mean Girls by the use of characterisation. Cadie feels a need to belong in her new