John F. Kennedy once professed “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” The complexity of this quote comes from the understanding of the word conformity. Conformity is defined as acting in the same attitude, belief, or behavior to the social norm. Kennedys declaration denounces the strain society upholds on the expectations of one’s individual traits. This, as a result, puts them in a situation to choose whether to be trapped by societal desires or to step away from the crowd and be labeled as different. In the long run, through the numbing of social standards, the latter is more beneficial to one’s individuality. It is essentially the idea of conformity that is shared between the poem “In the Suburbs” by Louis Simpson,…show more content… Therefore, they stay trapped in this generational curse that is impossible to escape. It is this imprisonment that is portrayed in order to demonstrate the negativity of conformity. As mentioned earlier “conformity is the jailer of freedom.” There is no space to be different or step out of the “walk in procession.” In fact, being against the rules of society is pictured as rebellious. Once one person separates themselves from the status quo, another will follow, and then another, and eventually everyone will step out of this “procession”. When there is no one left to follow, the whole structure of society will have changed. This is when the suburbs will have lost its meaning. Nothing will be the same anymore and there will be an end to this utopian lifestyle. Simpson rebukes conformity. By using negative connotations, he makes the suburban lifestyle sound dreadful. Along with that, he uses a strategic remark at the end of the poem, “To the temple, singing,” to denounce the way conformity alters an individual. With this one simple line, it is easy to assume that walking in an identical fashion eventually brings people joy. Taken from an alternative perspective, Simpson portrays the idea that once individuals master uniformity, they become consumed by the lifestyle and begin to actually enjoy
