“ Don't step on the toes of the dog lovers, the cat lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons,
Baptist, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Germans, Texans ,Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon, or Mexico.” (Bradbury 57). This quote, a statement from Captain Beatty, is an example of how conformity is a big ideology in the society. His statement proves that they believe conforming removes conflict. Take away opinions, likes, dislikes, and everyone is happy. Tell the people how they should feel and what they should believe. Montag's society's idea of a utopia is that compliance is honing. " Mildred backed away as if she were suddenly confronted by a pack of mice that had come out of the floor." (Bradbury 66). In this quote, Bradbury describes Mildred's reaction to being presented books by Montag. An example of complying to the law. She reacts in fear to illegal objects. She is unsure of why she's apprehensive of the books, other than that because the society says she should be.
If a book, tradition, or common practice, anything human, doesn't conform to the societal standards, then it is offensive, therefore in need of being burned, or forgotten. They erase books to erase the past.
Erase tradition. An example to support the previous statement is when Beatty says, " Colored people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it.
Someone's written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The
While the government may gain from restraining the thought of society, the people in society lose many important traits. Their whole culture has disappeared, people have lost all of their social skills. When Mildred and her friends are having a small party, Montag observes how they act together, and how they speak to each other, “Doesn’t everyone look nice!’ ‘Nice.’ ‘You look fine, Millie’ ‘Fine’ ‘Everyone looks swell.’ ‘Swell!” (89-90). The women haven’t talked about anything besides how everyone looks, a topic that they barely get into. The women can’t talk about war, because that’s been hidden from them, they also can’t debate anything, because debates and controversy have been eradicated from their whole society. On the other hand, Clarisse
Juan Ramon Jimenez once said, “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way”. This quote shows the challenge of authority, like Montag and his society. Just like challenging the normal, or doing the opposite of what seems to be right by “writing the other way” on a lined piece of paper, Montag chooses to challenge authority by instead of burning books, reading them, remembering them, and comprehending them. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a dystopian society in the twenty-fourth century and the main character is Guy Montag. He is a fireman whose job is to burn books and start fires instead of putting them out.
Conformity and ignorance go hand in hand. Fahrenheit 451, The Lego Movie, and The Twilight Zone’s ‘Obsolete Man’ are all prime examples of this statement. It is glaringly obvious in Fahrenheit 451, specifically when Clarisse is talking to Montag about how her uncle was arrested for driving slow. He was complying with all the rules and regulations of his society, yet he was still arrested. This is because he wouldn’t conform to what everyone else was doing. Mildred mentions in the book that when she needs to let out her anger she drives around fast and kills animals in the road. This is a stark contrast to Clarisse’s uncle, who wanted to drive slow in order to appreciate the beauty of life, not destroy it. This labels Clarisse’s uncle as a non-conformist, something so dangerous that you can be
John F. Kennedy once said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”. This has been a puzzling idea for many; most of us are grown into some form of conformity at one time or another. At what point does following the rules become wrong? When is it too much? Over the years many people begin to question what the acts of following the crowd can mean; whether or not we need these orders, and structures to function; or whether it’s really worth losing yourself just to make everybody else happy. When does it become too much? And once is does, how do we break the cycle? This topic has been used throughout many different mediums; films, and literature, all alluding to the signs, and actions of when conformity is doing nothing
1. Montag is not happy. 2. They decided to just forget about the things that made people unhappy. 3. Society has no feeling so it is not
Part two in the story we start to see Montag explore new things and the rest of the night after the walk with Clarisse he sits and reads through books that he has saved. Montag learns what Clarisse meant on their walk and starts to be fascinated by books, while millie on the other hand got bored and would rather be watching the tv. This can show the reader not everyone is as interested in the illegal books as other people. This is also the part of the story when things go south and while they are reading the forget about there dog which was sniffing
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
(MIP-3) When Montag does find the truth that the relationships in his society are void of genuinity or of value, he rebels against society completely to find himself truly happy with the genuine relationships he makes with Granger’s group once he leaves society. (SIP-A) When Montag finds the truth about everyone’s relationships in society, he completely rebels and breaks free from society. (STEWE-1) A crucial point where Montag starts to completely rebel against society is when he hears Mildred’s friends are talking about their husbands and children at his house. Regarding those relationships, one friend says, "’Anyway, Pete and I always said, no tears, nothing like that. It's our third marriage.’” (Bradbury 91) and another says, “‘I plunk
Conforming to societal norms has been shown many times throughout history one example of conformity is during the Holocaust. Hitler had such a powerful control over so many people so they all had followed his commands and did as he said because they were scared to be punished and they were scared to act out against what everyone else was doing. Hitler had such a strong influence on these people they had lost their individualism and were committing horrible acts because of the fact that they conformed to Hitler’s society. Just like Beatty these people were hiding who they were because they were scared of what would happen to them, if they had done what they thought was right instead of conforming like everyone else. People lost who they were by following the rest of society and continued carrying out these awful actions of killing innocent people even though it may not have been what they believed was truly right. These people were acting extremely different than who they actually were. Another example of how conformity is shown throughout society is the
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth” John F. Kennedy. In both cases the conformist and the nonconformist face problems because of their choices. When you are placed in situations that can effect you, do you chose to conform or not? Boxer, a horse from the book, Animal Farm, is an example of someone who chose to conform with everyone one else under the oppressor. Martin Luther King Jr. on the other hand stood out amongst the masses against all of the people that tried to keep him down. It is undeniable that these two beings are completely different. One chose to conform and the other did the opposite. Conformity and nonconformity can be both good and bad things. While this is true, both result in long-lasting effects. Conformity is a double-edged sword that stabs those in the line of power, while also slashing the hands of those who reside under the authority. There is no way to avoid this.
their everyday lives. Our society appreciates every life that is given to us. We throw birthday parties and make plans to hang out just for the fun of it. Montag’s world doesn’t do that. Emotions and families cause too much feelings. Feelings are dangerous to the government. They don’t want people to feel
Society can greatly impact someone. In the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Mildred Montag is the wife of the main character, Guy Montag. Mildred is self-centered, robotic, and unfeeling because of the way society has been treating her.
Looking first at the issue of ignorance, the people of Montag’s community live in a pure bliss. They refuse to accept the hard truths, such as the looming signs of a war and the numerous murders that occur in their society. Instead, they divert their attention to their parlors and seashells. Montag, who realises the grim future his society is heading
Throughout the novel, Montag slowly begins to notice the wrong despite his dutiful nature, the need to ask why, and questions why books
For some, conformity is an unthinkable evil in American society. All individuals living within a community conform in some way to social norms, yet to label someone a conformist is akin to labeling them ignorant and unoriginal. However, conformity - and its associated impacts - are as integral to the functioning of society as the principles of nonconformity. Conformity is often positively utilised to induce positive social change nationally and internationally. It prompts dissemination of workload, provides protection (‘strength in numbers’), and encourages strict rule enforcement. Although less appreciated than non conformists, conformists and their resulting principles play a vital role in the smooth conduction of society.