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Individuality And Conformity In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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If you are in a room where everyone else has something in common except for you, what do you do? Maybe pretend to share their ideas. Maybe leave the room. But generally there are very few who would face the negative attention that is created by situations such as this. No one ever wants to be the ‘odd man out.’ Yet, without controversy how can people grow to have established morals and motivation in life? This is exactly what Ray Bradbury was trying to explain in his novel, Fahrenheit 451. His main character, Guy Montag, starts as a government pawn, a fireman who had the job of burning books. He blends in to society until one day he meets a young girl, who for the first time in his life makes him ask ‘why.’ Through his struggle of finding …show more content…

These men were all mirror images of himself! Were all fireman picked then for their looks as well as their proclivities?”(Bradbury 33) Bradbury’s visual imagery is demonstrated here by creating the rough looks of these firemen. After working for years as a fireman, this is the first time that Montag looks around and really sees the world around him. The detail that they all looked the same yet their heritage shows, displays that originally these men had their individuality, but now their work has morphed them into thoughtless disciples of their profession. The difference in Montag is that he seems to be the first one that realizes what is happening around him. Until this turning point, he was just like the rest of them; all of them were content in the simple lives that they lead. Since they were just like everyone else there was no worries about conflict or arguments because these men had the same morals and ideas. Beatty the fire chief explains this further to Montag when he starts showing signs of independence. He says, “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against.” (Bradbury 58) Beatty’s dialogue displays how although some people may realize that they have

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