Fahrenheit 451 Conformity Analysis

The censorship in Fahrenheit 451 causes the characters to be mindless. The characters have no control over their lives. Media and entertainment seem to dictate their actions and they become

The science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is about a futuristic dystopian society where everyone follows simple rules/norms: don't read books and spend time with their “families”. The families in the novel are also known as the TV’s. Whoever in the novel reads or owns books, gets put down by the hound. Montag, a protagonist in the novel, works as the fireman whom are very violent (like the rest of the society). No one in this society ever think, but when Montag (Protagonist) meets Clarisse McClellan, he becomes to question everything. Bradbury tries to portray that when people become emotionless, they don’t think about their actions which end up being violent. Bradbury’s hound (terrifying mechanical beast that kills who are unlawful) represents a type of police in the society that regulates everything and everyone. Thus Bradbury’s predictions are similar to today’s society in the police forces (which are controlled by the government).

The dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 written by author Ray Bradbury in 1953, shows what he speculates the fate of society to be. Fahrenheit 451 takes places in the corrupt United States when people no longer read books and are satisfied only by entertainment. In Fahrenheit 451, the fire has been perceived in many different ways by the main character Guy Montag, once a fireman. Fire in Fahrenheit 451 represents both rebirth and destruction. Mythological creatures, such as the salamander and Phoenix have influenced the change in the perception of fire.

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.

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).

Fahrenheit 451 is one of the hundreds of books that contains multiple instances of social commentary. In the novel, Ray Bradbury critiques the citizens as well as their home society, which refer to the censorship the government imposes on the society. Notwithstanding the possible effects, the citizens’ minds drastically change due to the amount of brainwashing they received throughout the years to destroy all of their community’s past. Initially, we can see this when we read that the firemen are completely different than what we know today in comparison to what they formerly were. Firemen now burn houses that carried traces of books on fire to substitute the old style of extinguishing already lit fires. Little do they know that what they’re doing has a lasting impact on the people of their communities.. We see this when Montag ultimately realizes why they burn the books after talking to Clarisse McClellan, the young, perfect-looking woman that Montag finds waiting outside of the fire station one night. Montag couldn’t let anyone know what he was thinking or doing unless he wanted his life to brutally come to an end. Bradbury grew up during the times of censorship as well as the technological advancements. With these changes, a lot of the people worried about the lives of their people, Bradbury consisting of this population of people. He wrote this Novel to demonstrate what life would be like if these changes grew out of hand. During the time Bradbury wrote the book,

FIrst of all, in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, he shows the theme that the rules might not always benefit us. In the text on page 48, Bradbury states, “‘There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing.’” What Ray Bradbury is basically saying is that Guy thinks that there is something interesting in books that people haven’t seen before. Furthermore, he thinks it can benefit the city because people have been away from having their own thoughts and feelings. However, the rules are clear and state that people aren’t allowed to read books and whichever household contains books must be burned down. This shows that the rules might not always be good because there might be something for everyone to learn in a book, but people are not allowed to

The society portrayed in the film Fahrenheit 451 directed by François Truffaut also shows us a totalitarianism state where the government has complete authority and control over the citizens by discouraging reading and banning books, this enables the government to be able to gain more power and control the society more easily through the law of making literature illegal by tracking down books and destroying them, which was a tactic used by the government to gain control and power over the society since banning books helped interfere with people expressing their emotions and also helped eliminate independent thinking, therefore it allowed everyone to be all alike, “You see, it’s…It’s no good Montag, we’ve all got to be alike. The only way to be happy is for everyone to be equal.” This shows us how the society are manipulated and conditioned to think this way of accepting the way their society is and how books are bad.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray bradbury is a story about conformity. Guy Montag is a fireman who lives in a conformed society and he meets few people that will end up changing him. Clarisse is a 17 year old girl who moves into the neighborhood and changes his view on society within a matter of a few days until she is killed. One of the cases the firemen get is an old lady in a house who breaks the law by owning books and she becomes an eye-opener for Montag. Montag’s superior, Captain Beatty expresses his views on Montag which will lead to him getting pushed toward cold blooded murder. In Fahrenheit 451 Guy Montag is affected by Clarisse, the old lady in the house and Beatty by their deaths in different ways.

‘Fahrenheit 451’, by Ray Bradbury, is a novel which invokes much thought about the way we live in society today. Through the protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury makes a wider point about the dangers that a divided society can present. In the novel, Bradbury creates a society in which all books and free thought are forbidden. It is clear to us that books are seen to be the source of all unhappiness and should therefore be prohibited. As a fireman, it is Montag’s job, not to put out fires, as is the case in today’s society but instead to create fires in order to dispose of all unwanted books. This creates an idea of dystopia by the government trying to please everyone by using censorship to limit people’s independence and free thinking. As the

Author and screenwriter, Irving Wallace once said, “to be one’s self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity.” People should be expressing themselves than trying to fit in with the social norms of society, proving their bravery. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury writes about a futuristic world where people are heavily dependant on technology, and where society imposes people to behave and feel the same way, that they become oblivious to their surroundings and forget who they truly are as an individual. Clarisse McClellan is one of the few people, along with Montag later in the book, who understands what being free and happy really means. Bradbury uses the conflicts that Clarisse and Montag face opposing society’s rules to portray the theme that to cave into conformity is like masquerading, caging in the truth.

My eyes widen as my dad hurtles past me in his neon green skis. I cringe as he accelerates towards the end of the slope - I know he’s going to wipe out. My dad couldn’t seem to make his skis face inwards in a triangle to slow down. Like I expected, his arms fly through the air, and he plunges into the snow. I can’t resist laughing as I make my way down the slope and help my dad up. At the time, I only thought about how funny it was, but looking back, I realize it contains an important lesson. When I was younger, I believed adults were always right, that they always knew what to say and do. Thinking about this memory, I realized that wasn’t true - adults are just as human as kids are. This knowledge has helped me understand that I can’t expect adults to succeed at everything just because they are adults. In Fahrenheit 451,

Fahrenheit 451 is intended to deliver a message which makes an important control point. For example, Guy Montag a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. In Montag’s mentality, firemen start fires wherever there is a book, and not putting them out. The people in this society do not read books, books do not have a meaning for them. Instead, they watch unnecessary amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio on “Seashell Radio” sets attached to their ears. The mentality created in this society was controlled by the government. Controlling society by demanding people what to think, instead of letting people think for themselves is not a fair encouragement, it is repressiveness to their own views, ideas and initiatives. Taking away the freedom of having personal

Now at first glance anyone may look at the book and wonder what does Fahrenheit 451 mean? Well Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper catches on fire. This is our first glimpse into Ray Bradbury’s dystopian world in Fahrenheit 451. So, this book was originally published in 1953 during World War II and starting the Cold War, which plays a huge role in what this book symbolizes. The author of Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury.

The reading of the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury gives me a lot of thoughts. The strange and seemingly logical behaviors of the community rises a lot of questions about how the world really works. Extra reading about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave established links between a piece of literature by an ancient philosopher and a book by a modern writer, and gave me a clearer understanding of the book itself.