Pressures of Society

Our behavior usually is controlled and decided by us, but that is not always the
case. As we saw in the play Marty's behavior was not always his own decision. T
he behavior of any person can be greatly manipulated by society. There are a few
points in the play and in normal life that can prove this statement is true. Ma
rty's actions were greatly influenced by the views of his family and friends. Ma
rty was forced into many actions by the people around him. A person will conside
r what other tells them as much as what they believe in themselves.
Marty was always a quiet man that didn't like going out, it was his family and f
riends that told him to do so. It was his decision, but it wasn't his choice. Ma
rty did not want to go anywhere yet he did just because his friends and family t
old him so. It is not always easy to refuse such thing, Marty had to make a deci
sion and decided he should go out. By analyzing the pros and cons he made a deci
sion, basing it on knowledge and commonsense, after all going out is not a bad t
hing.
But what if there is no decision? What if the person is forced to do something t
hat he does not agree with? This can be blamed on the pressure of society as wel
l, sometimes you do something that you know you don't want just because someone
is forcing you. Marty showed such behavior many times throughout the play. It wa
s not always a conscious decision every time that Marty did what he did, he base
d many of his decisions just on what his friends and family told him.
It is this play that made me think, that our decisions and choices are based on
what we think just as much as what others think. It is not always your choice an
d it is not always what you want that you do. For example I am writing this essa
y because someone told me so, and it is not my choice either to do it or not, I
can decide if to do so but that doesn't leave with other options. Some actions p
eople do are subconsciously inputted by society, that means that there was no sp
ecific someone that told you what to do, yet you still do it because society has
set this standard. This type of action can be seen in anyone at every given day
. It can range from the simpler things like dressing up, and looking good all th
e way to doing well in school and working hard. All those decisions are just inf
luenced by society it is up to the person to decide if they benefit or not from
the action given.
I believe that society pressures everybody all the time, this is unavoidable and
even necessary. Like any other rules, people can not base all their actions on
simply what they themselves believe in. Still I believe that society must only p
rovide advices instead of provoking and causing actions. Because of the diversit
y of all the rules set by society the person must ask themselves if they should
act upon them. Marty did as society said, sometimes with and sometimes with out
clear decisions. This is how society affected him but it is not like this for ev
erybody.