Freethinking and conformity can't coexist in a person's life. These two ideals are present in Gene's life in A Separate Peace, but not at the same time. They are also evident in Neil's life in Dead Poet Society. Conformity and freethinking constantly oppose each other in my life, as well. Gene is a conformist, but he founds the "Super Secret Suicide Society." Neil listens to his father, but he joins a play that he was forbidden to be in, and started the "Dead Poet Society" with his friends. I am not a follower of the crowd. Conformity and freethinking, by their very nature, oppose each other in every possible instance, thus procluding any chance of them being able to coexist.
In Dead Poet Society, Neil is both a conformist and a freethinker. First, he made the choice to go against his father's wishes and join the local play. He writes a false letter, and forging his father's signature he pursues his passion for acting. He did what he wanted to do, knowing full well of the stern consequences he would undoubtedly have to face. He enjoyed acting more than anything else and wanted to be a part of the crowd. He auditioned for the main part in the play and won the role, only adding fuel to the fire that was raging within him. He felt so rebellious. He always obeyed his father, but he wants to be a freethinker and wants to follow his own path. Inevitably, his father, after learning of Neil's deception, forces him to leave the play and his school and takes him home. Overcome with grief and despair over being torn from the only thing he had ever felt passionate about, Neil commits suicide with his father's pistol. He wanted so desperately to be free from the stranglehold his father had on his life. Conformity and freethinking were huge factors in Neil's life, so much so that they killed him. .
In A Separate Peace, Gene is conformist for the most part, but also a freethinker in some respects.