Conformity In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Brabury

Do you conform or do you become an individual? Conforming is being similar in form or type ; behaving according to socially acceptable conventions or standards vs individuality which is a separate existence ; the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others to the same kind. Two very opposites, but you first conform and then further develop into individuals, you take what you learn from others and our own experiences, then finally mature into individuals.

For every student, there is a teacher. In Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse and Beatty are the two main influences in Montag’s life that travel an attitude reversing journey with him and teach him about himself along the way. Clarisse is an outcast who teaches how him to enjoy the little things in life and shows him that there is more to life other than this corrupted society. Beatty, his boss, was the final change in Montag that caused the last turning point in the novel. Guy Montag experiences a character transformation from a mindless fireman who enjoys his book burning job, into a literate being who is well aware of the world around him with the help of Clarisse and Beatty.

Montag grew closer to Clarisse each time they talked, and he enjoyed that. So this shows that Montag, when he talks to Clarisse, gets to be himself and become independent and has to think for himself instead of everyone else thinking for him.

Conformity and ignorance go hand in hand. Fahrenheit 451, The Lego Movie, and The Twilight Zone’s ‘Obsolete Man’ are all prime examples of this statement. It is glaringly obvious in Fahrenheit 451, specifically when Clarisse is talking to Montag about how her uncle was arrested for driving slow. He was complying with all the rules and regulations of his society, yet he was still arrested. This is because he wouldn’t conform to what everyone else was doing. Mildred mentions in the book that when she needs to let out her anger she drives around fast and kills animals in the road. This is a stark contrast to Clarisse’s uncle, who wanted to drive slow in order to appreciate the beauty of life, not destroy it. This labels Clarisse’s uncle as a non-conformist, something so dangerous that you can be

Juan Ramon Jimenez once said, “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way”. This quote shows the challenge of authority, like Montag and his society. Just like challenging the normal, or doing the opposite of what seems to be right by “writing the other way” on a lined piece of paper, Montag chooses to challenge authority by reading, remembering, and comprehending books, instead of burning them. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a dystopian society in the twenty-fourth century and the main character is Guy Montag. He is a fireman whose job is to burn books and start fires instead of putting them out. Moreover, he lives in a society which just listens to government propaganda and follows whatever they are told; the citizens do not think deeply about aspects in life but rather focus on mind-numbing activities, that does not take any deep thought process. Books are banned but Montag takes the risk to start to read books, hoping they will bring him happiness in the dark world he lives in. In his journey he has three mentors who help him, Clarisse, Faber, and Granger. The protagonist, Guy Montag, changes as a result of the conflict within his dystopian society and this change connects to the novel’s theme of government censorship over its citizens.

People like to believe that the idea of conformity versus individuality is as clear as black and white. It is either side with society and conform or retain individuality and go against the norms. When it comes down to it, individuality and conformity are not foreign concepts. We see the idea executed in everyday life. In his novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury reveals that individuality and conformity is not strictly two sides, but rather, a spectrum with many views in between. Bradbury expands on the theme of conformity versus individuality in society through his characters Guy Montag, Clarisse McClellan, and Captain Beatty.

“ Don't step on the toes of the dog lovers, the cat lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons,

Clarisse helps Montag look around him and see everything, from the smallest snowflake to the biggest tree. Montag never really thinks about what is happening in his life, or why it seems he never shows much emotion towards anything. Clarisse teaches Montag to look around and to pay attention to what is really important in life, just not what his society tells him. Even though I believe Clarisse was the reason for Montag’s major metamorphosis, I believe that there were two additional individuals that had a role to play in Montag’s expedition to find answers to fill the void in his life.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 features a fictional and futuristic firefighter named Guy Montag. As a firefighter, Montag does not put out fires. Instead, he starts them in order to burn books and, basically, knowledge to the human race. He does not have any second thoughts about his responsibility until he meets seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan. She reveals many wonders of the world to Montag and causes him to rethink what he is doing in burning books. After his talks with her, the society’s obedience to the law that bans knowledge, thinking, and creativity also increasingly distresses him. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows conformity in the futuristic America through schooling, leisure, and fright.

Guy Montag is the protagonist and central character of the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury that transforms from a conformist in a totalitarian society to rebuilding a society that reads books. Montag fits the cliché description of a good-looking male with “black hair, black brows…fiery face, and…blue-steel shaved but unshaved look.” (Bradbury, 33)  For the past eight years he has burned books. He is a 3rd generation firefighter, who in the beginning of the story, loves his job, which consists of burning the homes of people who perform criminal acts of reading and keeping books in their homes. By understanding Montag’s relationships, discontentment, and future, one can begin to understand the complexities of Guy Montag.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a book established on a disordered culture in which the government gets along with the people via traditionalism. Conformity is the method of matching beliefs and attitudes. Characters such as Beatty, Mildred, and others obey the government since that is how their culture exists. The government destroys any type of individuality a person has and does not tolerate any type of education since they will come up with a way to reprimand an individual. As it is shown at the beginning of the story, individuality outlines the dissimilarities of an individual by creating an exceptional personality of a person such as the one Clarisse McClellan disclosed to Montag.

The following stages of the novel reveal an unusual feeling. At this point we are introduced to Clarisse, an innocent teenage girl with a boundless curiosity who does not follow the trend and who acts as a catalyst, speeding up Montag’s change. The world that she lives in has not ruined her and therefore she seems to possess a sense of purity. She seems to be at the opposite end of the spectrum to Montag. The world Montag lives in has transformed him into an incurious human being with no notion to question anything. His lack of independence only

Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a futuristic, American city. The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who burns books. The people in this society do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Meanwhile, Clarisse McClellan does all of these activities, so she is classified an an individual. Society’s expectations are for people to drive fast, watch excessive amounts of television, and listen to the radio on Seashell Radio Sets, attached to their ears.

Individuality is feared by society because it is seen as destructive to the system. Individuality, in a society that expects all citizens to conform, is very dangerous for those who choose to think for themselves. Individuality is when a particular person is able to think critically and is aware of what is happening around them, while conformity is when a person’s behavior is in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, characters in the book show the relationship between conformity and individuality because those who conform follow society’s rules while individuals still conform in a way, but retain their individuality because they are aware of their actions.

Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a unique book that takes place in a dystopian future in which Guy Montag’s life has turned utterly upside down. His peculiar neighbor named Clarisse, who narrated his stories about the peaceful past which opened his eyes to a twisted present where people pay more attention to TV Families and not their actual families. Where people continue their senseless, ignorant lives blind to the fact that men like Montag who burn history to ashes, jail readers and destroy their houses all in effort to make everyone “equal” and “happy”. When Montag abandons a life changing mess by his house through burning Captain Beatty and the mechanical hound, he escapes by taking advice from Faber, an old man who was