How are conformity and individuality portrayed in The Crucible?

Conformity and
individuality are at the heart of this play.

The play
speaks to anyone who has lived in a society where the questioning of authority and of the
general opinion leads to rejection and punishment.

John
Proctor and Giles Corey stand as examples of inviduals who maintain their independence and
question the authority of the court in Salem, while much of the town succumbs to the pressure to
conform. 

The specific pressures set against Proctor and Giles are directly
related to conformity as are the accusations used against them. 

In court,
Proctor's choice to avoid baptizing his child in the church is used as evidence against him.
This is, on the simplest level, a symptom of Proctor's choice to remain an independent
individual. He refuses to conform for the sake of appearances. He has his own opinions and his
own reasons for doing or not doing things. In the case of the baptism, Proctor does not want
Reverend Parris to touch his children and so chooses to avoid the rite of...