“There is no darkness - but ignorance” - William Shakespeare. Conformity and ignorance? Not much of a difference exists. Ignorance is being mindless as of ego. Conformity is being mindlessly happy as of ignorance.
Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451 shares a lot of Bradbury's personal feelings, predictions, and criticisms of how society was changing during 1953. His feelings were influenced by Germany's book burnings and the Second Red Scare, which took place during the writing of the book and influenced the dystopian elements of the society in Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury argues that the rise of communism in the future could lead to a society that values conformity over individuality; this view can be seen today from the effects of political polarization and with the shifting parties in our democracy, as both republicans and democrats are traveling farther to the left and the right of the political spectrum. Communism is evident through Bradbury's dystopian
Society establishes a set of rules and laws to keep it stable and the people who live in it safely. Normally, the majority will follow these rules, although occasionally, certain individuals or groups will exhibit their disfavor and revolt. In the context of Fahrenheit 451, its society and the rebellion that happens within is akin to this exactly. Bradbury writes of a time in the future when books are forbidden and television becomes the dominant media in the pursuit of a simpler, less volatile society. In other words, oppression was produced precisely at the juncture where knowledge was denied.
The Cost of Conformity There is a world that finds solace in the destruction of intellect, a world fearful of the limitless possibilities created by unrestricted knowledge, a world in which it is a pleasure to burn. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, society is reimagined as a black hole, devoid of individuality and reliant on technology and materialistic objects, but failing to recognize the necessity of thinking in daily life. Our protagonist, Guy Montag, starts the novel as just another man in the machine. However, as the plot develops, so does Guy's character, as he finds merit in knowledge.
An individual's roles and responsibilities with respect to society as a whole are to think about society's norms and contemplate about what is right or wrong about these according to their own beliefs, even if they are not fulfilling their responsibilities in their actual jobs. Also, they must think about what would make everyone as a whole maintain happy and efficient lives in order to create ideas to improve society. During Fahrenheit 451, the government trains citizens to believe that books are not beneficial. The majority of the population believes this and live as they are told by maintaining an inefficient life. An example of a character who fits this description is Mildred, Montag’s wife.
Trying to force one's identity on them, turns the light of the world into complete darkness. The burning of the Old Woman and her books intensifies passion and the death of individuality in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. She rebelled against society and stood for what she believed in. The horrific sight completely changed Montag's perspective on life. Shock filled everyone’s bodies exemplifying the importance of her actions and the impact she was beginning to make.
Obedience and Conformity "Without obedience to a relevant ruling authority there could not be a civil society" (Meyer 10). To have a successful nation or society, you need an authority or ruler. People don't always choose to obey or listen, but most do because they think that is what is best for them. When one chooses to go against their morals and what they believe it becomes that the government is taking advantage of them.
Society is a tyrant. It refuses to abide by anybody’s laws but its own, which are cruel and unjust. Overwhelming and authoritative, it oppresses people by forcing them to be complacent and blindly comply to its rules. But what happens if nobody is willing to retaliate against society’s abuse? Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey centralizes on the idea of government corruption and the overwhelming odds one must overcome to overthrow an abominable authority.
As said by John F. Kennedy, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth”. This quote relates to the conformity issues in the film Pleasantville and the novel Fahrenheit 451. Within these pieces, there is a significant sense of conformity as the characters are scared to break the continuous chain. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag wants to change the world he’s been placed into, Mildred needs Montag to push her to do new things, and firemen are responsible for burning books. In the movie Pleasantville, David doesn’t like the world that he’s been misplaced into with his sister, the man working the ice cream shop needs David to show him that everything doesn’t need to be done in the same order every day and firemen save cats out of trees instead of putting out fires.
Do you choose to conform? or is it something you do without even thinking about it? Conformity is a theme consistently found throughout Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury illustrates how conformity is not always a choice and not conforming is a choice through the characters Montag, Faber and Mildred. Some people spend their entire life conforming to society, and can not imagine what being an independant thinker is.
“A time to keep silent and a time to speak,” (158) is a quote from the book Fahrenheit 451. This novel is all about how people conform to a society that burns books. They do so because they make people “think” thoughts that the government doesn’t want them to. Though there are some who are not conformed and read books to enlighten themselves to the ways of the past, that changes the way they see the present. Mildred, Faber, and Clarisse are characters that represent different aspects of conformity or nonconformity in the Fahrenheit 451 society.
John Dos Passos once said, “Individuality is freedom lived.” The root of individuality lies in freedom. Without freedom, there is an inability to think for oneself and share one’s ideas. In a society where this freedom is lacking, people will not think for themselves and submit to whatever rule is enforced over them. In Fahrenheit 451, the government attempts to control freedom as a means towards reaching a perfect society.
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 conformity and individuality is something to talk about. Conformity and individuality are very important themes in Fahrenheit 451 and in modern life. The novel demonstrates how individuality is very rare. Is about modern America. Without individuality today, everyone would not be different and would follow someone else trends and everything about them.
The nature of conformity and individualism in Fahrenheit 451 is different compared to each other. Conformity is how everyone is in the novel while individualism is only shown outside of society. The true nature of conformity is that everyone is created equally while individualism shows what a real person is. In the novel, Montag was a character that was affected by conformity and individualism since he was once conformed in society, but then soon became an individual himself. Conformity and Individualism are polar opposites and that everyone should be unique in their own way.
The “Harrison Bergeron”: The limitations of excessive legislation The “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is a great work of satirical science fiction. It describes the equality has finally settled in the society by limiting people’s development, especially for someone who is intelligent. The story is worth people thinking about the phenomenon of extreme equality in the society today. In general, excessive legislation plays a huge important role to promote equality, notwithstanding it indirectly brings huge burden to the people on the basis of keeping equality.
