Christina Martyniouk
Dr. C. Koulouris
Sophomore Accelerated English
4 December, 2015
When is rebellion a necessary response?
Rebellion can be an act of violence or resistance of formal rule. It is recognized through written letters, such as Martin Luther King Junior’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, or books like “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. Rebellion is a necessary response when there are heinous acts being expound in a tyranny. People don’t conform to society when they refuse to go along with the status quo. Rebelling against their societies status quo means there may be social structural issues as well as political ones. Independence is a desired outcome when a form of rebellion occurs, which is why many people create a rebellious
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The tyranny of the majority is referring to the higher authority in this dystopian society. Books are not to be read or even talked about, this immutable regulation only leads to the populace feeling it be necessary to rebel. This is a cruel and oppressive rule created by their government, and it generates a lack of legitimacy. This action of burning books causes people of the society to rebel. They don’t understand why such cruel actions ensue. This train of thought leads to stealing, hiding, even dying for their precious books. 3Tyranny is as well mentioned in Martin Luther King Junior’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, "I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever." The ‘gauntlet’ King is referring to, is the intimidating and frightening action of segregation, the message conveys to the tyranny of the narcissistic …show more content…
Montag was tired of the status quo and chose to rebel, which was a necessary act in order to save himself. "'I feel alive for the first time in years,' said Faber. 'I feel I'm doing what I should've done a lifetime ago. For a little while I'm not afraid. Maybe it's because I'm doing the right thing at last (131).” In this chapter Montag finally prevails and escapes the city, he was tired of conforming to the society’s standards. He realized, reading books is not a bad thing, in fact the opposite. Status quo does not always have to be maintained or kept constant. If someone does not believe that a society should be run that way, then they may rebel.4In “Civil Disobedience and Deliberative Democracy”, William Smith says “At the same time, this duty of democratic decisions may be overridden by the good of expressing opposition to the status quo through civil disobedience (Civil Disobedience and Deliberative Democracy). When someone takes action about an opinionated structure, like a status quo, they are following an act of civil disobedience, by overcoming injustice
Rebellion is an act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler.
In Montag’s world the citizens do not have any knowledge of anything. They are content with what they have. “Books aren’t people. You read and you
(STEWE-1) Montag wants to be heard and no one cares to listen because they are so where else. “‘Nobody listens anymore. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I can’t talk talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say’”(Bradbury 78). Montag has emotions and wants someone to hear for what he has to say. People are being self-centered and don’t even pay attention to the real world. No one even notices that there is a war going on. (STEWE-2) “‘Maybe the books can get us out of the cave. They just might stop us from making rather same damn mistakes’”(Bradbury 70). No one in Montag’s society does not know much because they don’t care about the books, when really they should because books can give you the knowledge that you want. (SIP-B) By Mildred and everyone else in the society leaning more and more on technology, they have all gained selfishness, and they all run on instructions, and everyone is the same person. (STEWE-1) "The small crystal bottle of sleeping tablets which earlier today had been filled with thirty capsules and which now lay uncapped and empty in the light if the tiny flare"(Bradbury 11). People like Mildred keep forgetting that they are taking these pills and are not focusing about themselves and they could commit suicide. These people are overwhelmed with the technology and people are trying to kill themselves. Maybe everyone is doing the same thing. (STEWE-2). (CS) People like Montag and Clarisse who get away from technology, understand that there is more than technology in this world and they realize that there is a thing called
First of all, Montag faces government censorship over society’s citizens, which changes him to become a courageous character, and he learns that because the government has taught people to take what they have for
Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!
Firstly, Montag faces the conflict of having to burn down a house with a woman in it, which led him to thinking that something important may be hidden within the books that could be different from what he has learning in this new version of society; Montag becomes more curious through this event and starts to wonder. Eventually, the protagonist is so deeply engrossed in his curiosity that “his hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion, with an insanity of mindlessness to his chest” (Bradbury 34). This quote illustrates
In a conformist society however, Montag still has no outlet for his intellect, and thus finds himself without a purpose: ‘I am lost without it.’ This quote
Montag's attempts to rectify the damage his distorted society has cast upon humanity parallels with the prisoner’s return to the cave, where his newfound beliefs are rejected out of fear. Despite Montag's intentions, the public only attacks him, berates him and labels him a criminal for acting out and rebelling against the society’s wishes. Montag’s attempts to “sear all their faces and wake them up” only result in failure (Bradbury 128), as after all, the public is too afraid. Any threat to the fragile peace the society holds is automatically fought against. The members themselves protect the status quo by isolating outsiders who think differently, as Clarisse explains to Montag, “The others would walk off and leave me talking. Or threaten
Book-burning is the first thing that is explained about this future based society of Fahrenheit 451. Burning books is the obliteration of the single thought on paper or in one word- censorship. Books are considered evil because they make people question and think. All intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledge must be quelled for the good of the state — for the good of conformity. Without ideas, everyone conforms, and as a result, everyone should be happy. When books and new ideas are available to people, conflict and unhappiness occur. Some of the many different motifs in the novel Fahrenheit 451 are conveyed through the use of various sardonic lines and connotations planted throughout the book. On the matter of technology and modernization it explains how TV reigns supreme in the future because of the "happiness" it offers. People are content when they don’t have to think, or so the story goes. TV aside, technology is the government’s means of oppression, but also provides the renegade’s opportunity to subvert. Rules and order is another popular topic written into the book. It is stated that “All books can be beaten down with reason.” This was said by Captain Betty, a quote ironically coming from a book itself. Much of the restrictions on the general populous are self-enforced. The government has taken away the citizens’ ability to dissent and marred all dissatisfaction with a cheap version of "happiness," a.k.a. TV. This means
As readers, we see how the analysis of conflictive themes has been taking over literature scenarios. When reading between the lines of certain books we can perceive themes such as conformity and rebellion. Mostly these themes can be seen in writings from times of social upheaval. According to The Oxford Dictionary, the word conformity means “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards”, while rebellion means “the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention.” These terms create a constant battle among societies. A certain amount of conformity needs to exist in life in order to avoid disorder. This is the reason society has laws, rules and expectations. Literature represents life, and these themes can be found at the root of many literary works. Conformity can also be considered as silence. This silence is based on the restrictions of real feelings and thoughts in some literary pieces. During the sixteenth century, the emphasis on conformity was at its height. Works of literature from this time period have often reflected a fascination and frustration with this particular characteristic. People do not want to be restricted in terms of expressing opinions and developing certain activities. When facing oppression, denial of their freedom, they rebel, and that contributes to the part of the process of change in society. Not all kinds of rebellions are rationally fundamental, but when they are, it can transform society for the
Most people see a good girl who decided to dye her hair black and gets a nose ring while skipping curfew to be out partying with her friends. Or maybe a guy starts hitting mailboxes and yelling at his father a lot. What is easily missed is that rebellion can be completed without cheap hair dye or a baseball bat. Rebellion can be something as simple as going against what your family would describe as normal. Listening to rap music could be a step of rebellion.
With rebellion comes a need for independence, we need act like ourselves no matter what society thinks. I define rebellion as a fight for individualism and the action of going against society. Shakespeare and Kesey show the themes in their novels just waiting to be picked up the reader. In “One Flew Over the
It was once said by famous Australian author Germaine Greer, “Revolution is the festival of the oppressed.” She is explaining how rebellion can be a great thing. A beneficial escape from an oppressive ruler who controls every waking moment of one’s life. Despite this, many people see rebellion as a negative term. Something that should never be expressed or even mentioned. So many deem said act as unaccept. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451 however, goes to say otherwise as the main character Guy Montag is put in a position of living in the shadow of an oppressive ruler but his rebelling isn’t all bad. The rebelling that Montag expressed actually managed to better himself as a person as well as his own well being. That being said, rebelling in circumstances of oppression can be acceptable as it can allow someone to escape manipulative brainwashing that controls their every waking moment. It can also aid in discovering hidden truths that can lead to the betterment of society, as well as eliminating the fear of living under the iron fist of an oppressive leader. All of these displayed by Guy Montag on his journey to escape.
Rebellion is the action or process of resisting authority, control or convection it can be violent or it can be for a positive reason. The stories tell you how Muslim women in Iran rebelled because they were being treated poorly and had no rights, the result of them rebelling they were sent to prison, tortured or killed.
Rebellion means to refuse to do that order for whatever reason and oppression is when the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner is broken, oppression is very important to the world because you're trying to see how much power you can play around with and rebellion means to be refusive and not listen to who ever told you what to do, that's not good especially if it's your parents. The whole point is that sometimes it's okay to be rebellious against someone who is trying to make your life miserable.