The society consists of people of varied ethnicity each having their own thoughts and virtues. The people living in this society are governed by two predominant forces – one is the society, formed by an eclectic blend of people, the near and dear ones etc and the other one is the person’s own thought process, interpretation, personality. So, it will be unjust to say that an individual’s behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making as both the surrounding and his own will governs the person’s behavior.
Lets take an example of a child. The external forces like his parents, teachers, and relatives constantly make him realize the essence of getting good marks, to be more involved in studies as this alone can help him reach the pinnacle of success, bringing happiness to his near and dear ones. But some children do listen and follow these notions while there are children living in the same society or even family who fail to follow these. The main reasons behind such actions are the child’s own personal thought process, his own desire, interpretation, intellectual.
Again if we take an example of history, the 9/11 post effects varied considerably. People became more wary and sensitive towards violence. However while some people developed a strong sense of apathy towards a particular ethnic group, few others even supported them.
People are laid by certain norms of the society. People of some nations may be very particular about cleanliness as the law of that nation enforces them to do so, while some other nation’s law might not abide its people to do so. There the individual instinct or a person’s own thought process comes into being. Some people who actually care for the nature shows up while some other doesn’t.
To conclude forces play a very significant role towards veering an individual’s thoughts and decisions, but ultimately it is the concerned person’s own thinking and interpretations that directs him.