Fahrenheit 451 Individuality Analysis

Being human or normal should not be weird or unacceptable. In Bradbury’s dystopian novel, everyone is supposed to be the same because they think that will make everyone happy. Of course, you will have your rule breakers that are not like everyone else or the one that wishes they could be that person. In the sci-fi novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, he uses imagery to show characterization of each of the characters.

Fahrenheit 451 a dystopian novel full of social commentary and so much more, comparing reality in a commentary to our real problems as a society. In every example presented in this essay a clear picture of a dystopian society is painted. From Fahrenheit 451 to District 9 every author revealed major characteristics that all dystopian societies have. I main set of characteristics were common in every example which was propaganda and corruption which would lead to abuse of power. These types of books and films allows us to experience a society which is degrading and unfair and allow us to appreciate the still messed up society we live in now.

The struggles to reach the American Dream are poverty, education, and language barriers. Poverty can cause struggles to reaching the American Dream due to the loss of money. Education that is not completed can also get in the way of the American Dream. Thirdly, if you are not able to the American language, it's difficult to even try to achieve the American Dream.

In the book, Beatty says, “People want to be happy, isn’t that right… I want to be happy, people say… Don’t we keep them moving…” (pg. 56). He thinks that if people keep moving, they won’t have time to think about their problems. Along with hiding their feelings, people are very selfish. An example of greed is Mildred, who wants a fourth TV so she can live up to everyone else’s standards. “How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in? It’s only two thousand dollars.’ ‘That’s one-third of my yearly pay.’ ‘It’s only two thousand dollars,’ she replied. ‘And I should think you’d consider me sometimes’” (pg. 18). Mildred expects Montag to pay for the TV, even though it costs so much money. In our society, people don’t always pretend to be joyful. There is violence everywhere and crime everywhere. If people were happy, there would be no pain and suffering, but there is. On the other hand, our society is like the one in Fahrenheit 451 because we too are self- involved. People only spend time on their phones or computers or TVs. People never spend time with each other, but instead find value in their virtual friends. Society today, as one could see, is much like and different from the Fahrenheit 451 dystopia regarding feelings and emotions.

In conclusion, conformity may dominate society, but there is always the chance to be yourself. Don't let others choose who they want you to be. Be yourself, choose your own decisions and have your own desires. In Fahrenheit 451 conformity and individuality are seen as problems that everyone has, which is true. Everyone suffers every day to fit in or not being accepted for being different. Conformity and individuality are important themes. We apply them to our lives.

You may think that by “starting over” in a society is going to make it perfect. But in Fahrenheit 451, it proves that theory wrong and ends up to be a bigger problem than it was before. It teaches everybody a lesson of not trying to avoiding different opinions and sadness. Fahrenheit 451 is suppose to be a Utopian society by trying to eliminating all emotions and books until one person finally speaks up about their feelings on the laws. While their society looks vastly different on the surface from our society but once you look deeper into the story, the different societies have many similarities.

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. The “perfect” society that is created, comes at the cost of individuality. In Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, the individuality of the citizens is threatened by the amount of government control in their lives, and can be seen through the Utopian goals, the government punishments, and the citizens’ conformity in response to this.

While Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s society, differs from current day society, they both are similar. To start, emotion lacks in Montag’s world. In Fahrenheit, no one shows any sympathy toward others. The novel states, “The operator stood smoking a cigarette… ‘Got to clean ‘em out both ways’”(Bradbury 12). This quote shows that the “M.D” does not care that Millie just attempted to kill herself. In Fahrenheit no one grieves, but people kill themselves everyday because they are not happy with the dystopian society their world has created. On the other hand, people in modern society mourn when someone passes; Present-day has funerals for their loved ones. Suicide is not as normal as it in Fahrenheit 451. There is emotion in present-day society because

In the Novel Fahrenheit 451, one way that the government controls their society is by outlawing owning and reading any type of literature. There are a couple reasons why the government does this. One reason they ban books is because they want everyone to be equal, so everyone is more comfortable with the way they are. There are no more labels, such as “Genius” or “Stupid” or “better”. As Beatty states in the book “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.” Captain Beatty compares a book to a “loaded gun”, the government sees books as a weapon because books contain ideas and knowledge, they inform and lead to a comprehension of life, a comprehension which can be a huge threat to the control the government has on society. It’s much easier to control a society that’s dumb and ignorant. With the ideas and knowledge people get from books, they would be able to see what the government is truly doing to the world around them. Books promote individuality and go against conformity. The people who

In today’s society, people achieve happiness through interaction with others, but in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian Novel, Fahrenheit 451, his characters believe that they need technology to enjoy their lives. People’s main priority is to be happy and have a successful life. They don’t want to have to worry about anything and just enjoy themselves. “‘You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can’t have our minorities upset and stirred. Ask yourself, what do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn’t that right? Well, aren’t they?’” (Bradbury 56). All people want in life is to be happy. They want to be untroubled and not have to stress about what’s going on in the real world. They think that technology will

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, firehouse captain Beatty remarks, “ Someone’s writing a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping ? Burn the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag.”(Bradbury 57). In other words, he believes that if controversial or uncomfortable issues are eliminated from society, in turn, the public will be happy. The world of Fahrenheit 451 reflects this greatly, in which many people are unhappy, but choose to sweep their troubles under the rug rather than face them head on. They use gadgets like TV parlor rooms, Seashell ear thimbles, and payed actors to drown out their sorrows. Driving down the road at 95 mph they don't only speed towards their destinations, but away from their distress. When

The word “social” may have as many definitions as there are souls inhabiting the planet, but what happens with that term is turned around completely? One answer can be found in the world of Fahrenheit 451, where a person is considered antisocial if he or she thinks freely or rebels against the norm. Society uses this term when referring to Clarisse, who spends her time exploring the world around her, rather than trying to fit in with her peers. Indeed, this world’s idea of social behavior is turned on its head, yet it is not so different from that of our own society.

Montag is forced to explore his own meaning of individuality In a society of followers . When he visits Professor Faber at his home. He begs Faber, “I want you to teach me how to understand what I read,” . Montag is capable of physically reading out words, but he is unable to put any meaning or emotion behind the texts he reads. Montag desperately wishes too understand and think about the texts. However Montag is unable to complete to contemplate original and uninfluenced thoughts. Faber implores Montag to look inwards unto himself for this book in itself is just an inanimate object and that, ‘“the magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us,”. The stress is placed on the individual

The story of Fahrenheit 451 and the way that its society has developed into one that focuses on pleasure and minimizes pain reveals a striking fact. That is that a society built the idea of minimizing pain and focusing on pleasure is self-destructive and can not last. It lacks the core foundation of a modern society, which is emotion and literature. It will eventually destroy itself and all of the people with it.

Beatty compares Montag to the story of Icarus to show Montag’s character Development. “Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he wonders why. Didn’t I hint enough when I sent the Hound around your place?” (p. 113) Characters compare Montag to characters in mythology, which can also relate to my life.