Individuality And Conformity In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Within the novels Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and 1984 the authors depict what they imagine the future will be like. Society today is corrupted by advanced technology, plagued by censorship, and intimate communication has been shattered. Although each novel has something comparable to today’s society, Bradbury’s depiction of society in Fahrenheit 451 is very comparable to America today.

If you are in a room where everyone else has something in common except for you, what do you do? Maybe pretend to share their ideas. Maybe leave the room. But generally there are very few who would face the negative attention that is created by situations such as this. No one ever wants to be the ‘odd man out.’ Yet, without controversy how can people grow to have established morals and motivation in life? This is exactly what Ray Bradbury was trying to explain in his novel, Fahrenheit 451. His main character, Guy Montag, starts as a government pawn, a fireman who had the job of burning books. He blends in to society until one day he meets a young girl, who for the first time in his life makes him ask ‘why.’ Through his struggle of finding

“We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against” (Bradbury, 55-56). Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is set in a bleak dystopian future in which books are illegal, freethinking is considered taboo and dangerous, and entertainment like TV and racing cars is used to control the masses. In this government controlled society, where the public is brainwashed in order to create a seemingly perfect world, standing apart from the majority is frowned upon and regarded as a threat against society. Firemen no longer put out fires and save lives in this world, but instead destroy and burn all books, along with the houses in which they are hidden. If a person breaks the social contract by reading books, asking questions, or doing anything other than watching the “parlors” or listening to the “seashells”, that person could be arrested or killed in order to protect the integrity of the system. Individuality is viewed as rebelling against the conformity set by the government and is punished severely. This novel uses the juxtaposition of characters like Clarisse and Montag, who represent free thought and self-expression, and those who have completely succumbed to their environment, like Beatty and Mildred, to highlight the contrast between danger of conformity and the significance of individuality.

Conformity is when one complies with rules or regulations, typically relating to social norms or expectations. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Montag lives in a society where people value conformity and obedience to the government. In this society, the government uses censorship and installs strict social regulations on its population to control them to act the same, behave the same, and think the same. Citizens are a part of a population seemingly brainwashed by the oppressive government that controls their daily lives. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury portrays how outside forces can influence the thoughts and moral traits of the characters. In the beginning, Montag acted as everyone else did in his society, conforming to the government

“With rebellion, awareness is born,” quoted by Albert Camus. An act of rebellion can cause awareness and open people's eyes to horrendous acts. In the book Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury, when Montag realizes that the government wasn’t being fair, he decided he needed to make the society aware. Montag knew a rebellion was the only way to show that the government was not treating citizens right. It is acceptable to rebel when it is believed that the government is being unfair to their citizens because citizens should have the right to freely speak their opinions. People shouldn’t be told what they can or can’t-do for pleasure and they should be able to express their uniqueness.

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.

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.

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,

The analysis of Ray Bradbury 's dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, shows that literature as books, education and alike is abused and criminalized in the hero’s reality, who is Guy Montag. The novel’s setting is when new things seem to have totally replaced literature, fire fighters set flames instead of putting them out, the ownership of books is deserving of the law and to restrict the standard is to court demise. The oppression of literature through innovation and technology can be analyzed through various research from others, which can be connected to Fahrenheit 451, a novel that foretells an extremely exhibit struggle in our advanced society, and in addition recognize the presence of the conflict in the year when the book was published, 1951. Four diverse basic theories identify with the contention in Bradbury 's dystopian society. The first is ‘Knowledge versus Ignorance’, another is ‘Technology versus Reading ' by MIT innovation Review - "A perspective from Mara E. Vats.", next is the 'Sorts of Conflict in Literature ' by Katherine Docimo and the last is ‘technology supplanting books in education. ' These four hypotheses precisely mediate with each other yet vary to stress the conflict between Technology and Literature.

Individuality is defined as the “quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind, especially when strongly marked.” Individuality is the one thing in the world that can set you apart from your neighbor. It defines who you are. No matter if it is by your looks, personality, or other characteristics. We are all different. We are all set apart from one another in varying ways, but what if there was no individuality? That everyone was the same. We all had the same thoughts, the same ideas, and the same looks. This was the common theme that was incorporated into Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. People were stripped of their individuality and forced to conform. Many people accept the change

Conformity, one of the main factors preventing individuality in Fahrenheit 451. Strict rules can be useful at times, but they never allow for people to express themselves. In some cases, people are not even allowed to have opinions. This can prevent conflict, but it can also create people who know nothing. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, conformity prevents free thought, eventful existence, and individuality.

There are two types of traits that Ray Bradbury gave to his characters; those traits are conformed, and non-conformed to society. Citizens in the novel live in this society, truly, believing that books are evil and will make them unhappy. These are conformed characters. Their dystopian world does not allow people to read or have any amount of individuality. Beatty is a conformed character, who is also captain of the firemen. Clarisse is a seventeen year old who reads, and questions everything. In the book Fahrenheit 451, many characters represent conformity while others represent nonconformity.

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Montag is an individual that the conformists of the society fear. The towns obedience to the law that bans knowledge and books alters the way Montag feels about the world he lives in. Unlike everyone else in the story, the books intrigue Montag and make him want to rebel and go against the law. Montag decides to step outside the bubble of conformity and steal a couple of books. One day, when Montag's wife has guests over he reads a line from the book to the guests and they don't react well to it. “Mrs.Bowles stood up and glared at Montag. You see? I knew it would happen! I’ve always said, poetry and tears, poetry and sickness; all that mush. Now I’ve had it proved to me. Youre nasty Mr.Montag, you're nasty.” (Page 97). Mildred and her friends are the perfect conformists in the story. Since it is a social norm to hate and despise books in their society, all of the women including Mrs. Bowles act appalled by the reading of the book because it is what is expected of them, and it is what is the normal thing to do. In a society where social norms are extremely valued anyone who does otherwise seems monstrous. In this scene, Montag seems like a monster to Mildred and her friends because he holds onto the one thing that everyone in the town is supposed to be afraid of. As human beings, we pick up social cues and align with the behavior around us. Mildred and her friends are so intrigued by conformity because it gives them a sense of relief and lessens the risk of judgment and denial from others. Beatty is the head firefighter and holds a lot of power in the society. Beatty wants a world where there are no

When people question things, it causes different people to have different opinions and have their own individuality.Captain Beatty explains to Montag that “ Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal” (58).If everyone is the same, there is no way for someone to be disappointed with themselves for not being like another person. The society in Fahrenheit 451 believes that life for everyone would be better if everyone was the same because then this comparison wouldn’t happen. But, without this individuality, nobody has a different opinion. Without different opinions, a society

Clarisse’s rebellious personality helps support the theme by showing how no matter what others will always fight for the truth. Mildred’s fear of the unknown and dislike for change personality supports the theme by showing how broken the whole society is by the government but yet they are fine with it and don’t want anything to change. The book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury’s, theme is “If you have ruled paper write the other way”