Conformity vs. Individuality Essay

Imagine living in a world where you are not in control of your own thoughts. Imagine living in a world in which all the great thinkers of the past have been blurred from existence. Imagine living in a world where life no longer involves beauty, but instead a controlled system that the government is capable of manipulating. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, such a world is brought to the awareness of the reader through a description of the impacts of censorship and forced conformity on people living in a futuristic society. In this society, all works of literature have become a symbol of unnecessary controversy and are outlawed. Individuality and thought is outlawed. The human mind is

What would a society be like if there was no individualism? In the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, a man named Guy Montag, a local fireman, talked about his feelings towards the society in which he lives. Montag lives in a society where there is very little individualism. He is unhappy with this because he feels something is missing. Then Montag meets Clarisse, his 17 year old neighbor, and she inspires him to stand out and be individual. Individualism is important in a society where conforming is normal because it makes people stand out and that can shock people into being different as well.

As a student, I am often troubled by the rigid routines of the school day, despite the fact that I am actually a very habitual person. The constant ringing of bells, lectures, bellwork, classwork, homework, each a daily practice throughout the school year. Although all of these components promote conformity, which will ultimately support the balance of school and societal norms, they also tend to threaten each student’s own unique characteristics. This then poses the question; to what degree should schools encourage conformity versus individuality? Certainly, a level of conformity is required to achieve a balanced society however, the overall structure of the school day and class, including the methods used to teach and mandatory classes,

The idea of free speech is nearly universally accepted in the modern world. Places where free speech is limited are almost never a truly positive society. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, free speech is changed by removing mediums to express ideas and by threatening punishments for speaking out. Bradbury warns that the consequences of these alterations are a close-minded approach to life and an addiction to mindless entertainment.

Many individuals is faced with the decision of conforming or choosing personal desire, and it is not an easy decision. It is hard because being shunned by others for being different is not a good feeling. Choosing to conform over personal desire, often leads to loss. On the other hand, personal desire is what sets others apart and gives them joy. In the poem, “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, Al Purdy discusses the good and bad memories he has experienced. He goes through his memories of when he had fun and made mistakes, but he reflects on what he could have done better. The author of “The Jackhammer Syndrome informs against choosing the welcoming joy of conformity over the long-term gains of personal desire. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire may seem easy at first, but if the choice is to conform, the joy it gives will not last. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire Conformity may seem to give joy at first, but it does not last. When Al is playing pool with his brother, he wants to win badly, but losses. However when he did not care to win, Al wins! Conforming can lead to loss but personal desire has much to gain. If the choice is to conform, personal identity may be lost. In my life, I recognize several instances in which I found several similarities between Al and myself. I have made decisions that were not always good ones such as swimming across long distances with friends.

In the book Fahrenheit 451, people in their society don't read, dont have fun outside, dont talk to people as much as they should, and dont think about anything or

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.

We are the one who should make this world equal for everyone. The world itself is unequal so people should try to make the communities equal to balance this. As Langston Hughes says in his poem”Democracy”, “I have as much right / As the other fellow has / To stand / On my two feet / And own the land.”(line 5-9) In this stanza the writer uses simile to explain that he is equal to everyone in this world and he can be a president, he can be an athlete, and we should not make a difference based on people's religion, or nationality, or language, and everyone is the same. The world is divided into two parts people who want to change something and people who just say let things happen. So our future is under the question, and we would not know how a thing can turn good to bad or bad to good. Hughes was the one who wanted to change the world, to make it equal, and as we can see in his poem “Democracy”, “I tire of hearing people say, / Let things take their course. / Tomorrow is another day. / I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.” He was telling us that people should not wait for something to happen because it might not happen in your lifetime, so why not try while you have the opportunity to. People around him was telling him to wait to let things go, and he was not angry because his idea was that we don’t know what would happen tomorrow, so we need to do it today. So overall he was trying to make a change make the world equal in his lifetime, and be an owner in this land.

First, the novel expresses the consequences of free will. Kristi Hiner says, "Through Clarisse, the unidentified woman, Millie, and Beatty, you are shown the consequences of what happens when humans aren't allowed to fully express their individuality and choice" (Hiner 1). This shows us how a world without freedom may end up. Next, Bradbury also provides an example of society without books. Hiner goes on to say, "Television, for the majority of individuals in Fahrenheit 451, does not create conflicting sentiments or cause people to think, so why would they welcome challenge?" (Hiner 1). This example helps to paint a picture of the world without books. Finally, the novel illustrates a future without socialization. Paul Brians says, "Socialization has been reduced to group television viewings, and creativity narrowed into brief moments in shows when the audience is prompted to respond to the virtual events they are witnessing, and which absorb them far more than the real world around them" (Brians 1).

The First Amendment grants the freedom of speech for all United States citizens. Envision not possessing this right, but also not being able to think freely. If a future filled with no individual expression and everyone and everything looking the same came to mind, you were close, but not quite there. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is about a war ridden society that restricts the freedom of thought through the practice of banning and burning books. An analysis of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 displays change is needed because it opens one’s eyes which is illustrated by his use of character interaction, detailed events, and revealing the character’s thoughts.

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, individuality and dissent are bad. In the first part of the book, The Hearth and the Salamander, there was a character named Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse is individual and different. This makes her an outcast. She asks how? Not why? Even today, with people at school: if you are different, you aren’t always treated as well as others. Clarisse questioned Montag a lot about his life and job. She opened up his mind and made him think. “How long’ve you worked at being a fireman? (Bradbury, 8) … “Are you happy?”(Bradbury, 10) Clarisse asked him about his job and if he was happy about it and his life. Unlike most people, she never really showed any interest in what he did, or how he did it. Instead, she asked him why he did it, and why he enjoyed doing it. Montag started to question himself, and agreed with Clarisse on most things. Montag became so fed up with what he did, that he changed. In time, Clarisse died (or was killed), because she was different. “The poor girl’s better

Willa Cather's "Paul's Case," displays the conflict between conformity and individuality through the main character, Paul. On a number of occasions, Paul is forced to lie and steal to escape the conformists who wish to control him and stifle his unique imagination. However, his lying, stealing, and attempts to escape the conformists, only force Paul into isolation, depression, and feeling a sense of shame for his individuality. Throughout the story one might see Cather's constant contrast of individuality versus conformity, as well as Paul's lying and stealing. Cather seems to draw the conclusion that extreme individuals, much like Paul are simply misunderstood, and not offered the acceptance they desire

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.

Should I conform? Should I rebel? This has and always will be, a constant battle struggled individually, or as a society. A certain amount of conformity needs to exist in life in order to avoid disorder. This is the reason we have laws. Take those laws, rules, control, or even expectations, to an extreme, and some form of rebellion is probable. Struggle with these opposites, and you have a catalyst for war, or perhaps, being fired from a job. Literature represents life, and this theme can be found at the root of many literary works.

In an effort to gain control of people and create a sterile environment, independent thought is censored and people are brain-fed what they are supposed to think so that there are no clashing opinions. The social phenomenon of marginalizing accords lesser importance to a group of people, which in turn results in the rest of society looking down upon that group of people and becoming intolerant. From this, both an intolerant and ignorant society is created because people become oblivious of their surroundings after being told how to think and behave, and intolerant to those that chose to live their life apart from the societal norms. When Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, describes the oblivious, almost dead-like state of the book’s futuristic society, he implies that people have been forced to become ignorant to their environment because they have been compelled to their devices, to be away from things that may constitute controversial opinions. Bradbury emphasizes the ignorance of that society through the character of Clarisse McClellan, a girl curiously enticed by her surroundings, who criticizes the lack of livingness of people in that society when she argues that, “I sometimes think drivers don’t know what the colour of grass is, or flowers, because they never see them slowly.” (pg.6) Clarisse is emphasizing how suppressing the ideas of people that try to be different, pushes them to conform to the traditional manners of society, which is ignorance. Evidence of intolerance and ignorance in society can be recognized in the article Please offend me – and let me offend you by University Professor Pablo Martin de Holan, when he contends that suppressing the thoughts of individuals in society causes intolerance and ignorance. In his article, Holan laments that, “Offensive (by the listener’s standards) speech is less and less accepted, as we become more