"A crucial test of character is whether one is able to adapt to changing social conventions without sacrificing one's principles."
Principles are deep rooted rules which drive a person to behave in a certain way in certain condition. These inhibited rules in every human being are typically a result of his culture, society, exposure and experience. Social conventions are changing social conditions. Typically, as a person grows in his professional and personal life, his social conventions changes or as a person migrates from one place to another, his social conventions changes. Character is the way person behave personally, professionally and socially. To relate between principles and character, principles are the fundamentals of a character. Every human being has to pass through metamorphosis of social conventions during his life. Adaptation is primary nature to every mammal and hence, to human being too. Every person adapts himself to changing conventions, but whether with or without sacrificing his own principles is a point to raise.

A person who sacrifices his principles looses his own identity and hence, become unsuccessful in society although not personally or professionally but socially. Other type of people can adapt themselves to social changes without sacrificing their character and hence, duly successful personally, professionally and socially as well. I agree with the author in that to manage expectations of society about one’s own character, there has to be equilibrium between preserving his own principles and adapting to changing social conditions. Reaching to equilibrium is a crux of character.

An example about a politician can illustrate this well. A common man stepping up the ladder of success in his political career also passes through huge change in his social life. For example, a person lives in a small village or town or in a locality in a city where he has some friends, colleagues and relatives as well. He is known as a talkative, mingling and down-to-earth personality. One day the same person becomes a minister of the state. This is really a difficult situation for him because he is expected to behave same with all his previous relations. However he can not mingle with everyone as before because he should behave as per citizens of that state. If he sacrifices his own principles of behaving down-to-earth and talkativeness then he can’t be welcomed in his own society and if he starts talking and mingling with everyone, he cannot be respected and admired well in the state. He has to compromise his behavior by adopting the changing social conventions and at the same time, he should preserve and stick to his own principles.

This is another example which will further support the viewpoint of author. These days, migration is very common for higher studies as well as for professional purpose. When a person migrates from one state to another or one country to another, he changes his social convention. He leaves his own country temporary or permanently keeping his relatives, friends and family in his own country. In such situations, he is expected to preserve his own tradition and culture, prime entities in his principles by his beloved ones in his native nation. At the same time, he has to change his living, habits and behavior according to the nation he is living in. While changing himself on the surface and actions, he has to preserve the values and basic principles he carried from his own nation or his own society. His failure to adapt himself to new country might result in total fiasco; however his failure to preserve values taught by his society might result in disrespect or hatred from his beloved once.

In sum, wherever there is a step ahead to new social conditions, there is a need to equilibrium between preserving own principles and adaptation to new changes. This is the crucial test of character because success in social life of a person depends upon how adroit you are in balancing yourself on both the fronts simultaneously. In conclusion, evaluation of character is the result of success in preserving old values while accepting new.