Theme Of Conformism In Fahrenheit 451

The dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury introduces a local fireman named Guy Montag, but being a fireman isn’t the same occupation it is today. In this far away world books are illegal, just like drugs or treason. The job of getting rid of these binded pieces of literature lies in the hand of the firemen, burning every novel they can get their hands on. Montag has lived under the impression that this is normal, with his wife MIldred constantly hypnotized by a screen covered wall to which he can’t even break her trance. This is all Montag knows and lives by until Clarisse, Montag’s neighbor, pops into his life.

I guess that led to the development of my interest in modern television series, which I would spend hours binging the entire season. My family would watch television during dinnertime and we would spend the night discussing the plot of a drama series, I think it really gave us a common topic to bond over. Time passed and I had a regular preteen phase where I obsessed over celebrities, so magazines are without a doubt the best way to find out every detail about their lives. I have to say that mass media played a fairly big part of my early life. Being a millennial, social media has definitely had more impact on myself than the mass media, so I will be focusing my account on the former.

The books are burned; Mildred and other innocent people die; the disorder in the society is not fixed and it might pass to the next generation. “Fahrenheit 451” uses a lot of imagery to portray the features of the wrong society and the people live in the condition. It makes me think of the lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”, “People talking without speaking; people hearing without listening; people writing songs that voices never share and no one dared disturb the sound of silence.” People notice the oddness in the society but yet they never dare or care to change. They wear smiling masks, but under the masks, tears are falling and hearts are breaking. Perhaps the best ending for the censored society is to fall apart and break.

In the novel by Ray Bradbury he uses conflict to illustrate humanity and technology. One of the main characters is named Mildred. She watches television all day at a television parlor all day. She is addicted to three walls screens. She is a big snitch.

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury uses Satire throughout the novel to satirize censorship. In Fahrenheit 451 the government burns books so that they can hide the history of the past and keep the citizens unknown of everything. The government wants the society to be kept clueless. The government controls its citizens through television and meaningless activities so it avoids the discussion of conflicts and issues. Bradbury Satirizes the lack of education and social skills the children have due to school “I don’t think it’s social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you?

She stated, “You’re not sick.” Then again, when talking about the death of Clarisse, she states, “She was simple-minded,” “That’s water under the bridge.” These quotes show how Mildred feels no type affection toward anyone. Society has trained and brainwashed everyone to only care for themselves. Convincing people that nothing else, other than their own well being, matters. Not even those they are closest to. Mildred has become self-centered, robotic, and unfeeling due to the ways of society.

Commentary #4. The most important theme of Fahrenheit 451 is restriction of freedom of speech because of the fear to offend another person in the society. There are strict censorship laws in the totalitarian society of Fahrenheit 451. In the novel the job of a fireman is to start a fire and watch the forbidden literature burn, these firemen had never read the books they burn nor were they all allowed to keep one for more than 24 hours. “It was a pleasure to burn”, the opening line of Fahrenheit 451 clearly states that the destructive firemen enjoyed lighting fires.

The telescreens are more than just cameras explained by Winston, He explains how, “ ... your breathing could be control … but you could not controlled the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to pick it up” (Orwell, page 79). Citizens of Oceania are always being watched by the thought police office. Even in the privacy of a party member’s office they were noticing his heart beating. In

The book is about a dystopia society in the future. To read forbidden books are not prohibited because the state said so. It is a very evil society there they think books are dangerous for the society. Fire-fighters trying to find books to burn them, with the help from a robotic dog and humans betraying each other. All the time you hear the sound from military aircraft and that makes it feel like war is coming.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

Censorship of literature has always been a powerful means of manipulating society by limiting what the people are exposed to. This has been used as a way to suppress free thinking and new ideas, that could cause a shift in power in the society. The censorship of literature has been used by the powerful members of society forever, because of this societies fear the idea of their governments hiding information from the public. In Americus, a small town in Oklahoma is divided over a new teenager book series that some feel the series should be banned from the library. In contrast in Fahrenheit 451, a curious fireman indulges in a banded book, which enlightens him to a new outlook on life.

Instead of enjoying a nice day outside, or spending time with family, most people in this world have different technology, which is addicting. This new tech are called ‘Seashells’. Seashells are inserted into somebody 's ears so they can listen to a ‘show’. These shows are playing a reality tv show, all day. In some ways, this technology is similar to ours, seashells are a bit like Bluetooth speakers, and our society does have reality tv shows, that, in some cases, can be addicting.

This photograph of the “Life Wall” is connected to Fahrenheit 451 because in the story the narrator constantly highlights people sitting around in the “parlour”. In Fahrenheit 451 the “parlour” is a living room in every house that instead of four normal walls has four TV walls. Just as how in the story, which is placed in the 24th century, people have walls as TV’s, the photograph of the “Life Wall” showed TV walls as well, but for our current time period. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s wife, Mildred, is constantly in the “parlour” watching drama shows or talking to her friends. Montag indicates that everyone in the society he lives in spends all their time in the “parlour”.

The image of equality “Harrison Bergeron” is making everyone go to the most average, they can be by using handicaps to stop their natural abilities. “George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” (Vonnegut 1).