Conformity In The Book Thief

The Common Theme of Conformity in Dystopian Literature
In the movie adaptation of The Book Thief by Brian Percival (2013), the main theme is the pressure to conform to society. For example, when Liesel goes to the bookburning, she is forced to burn the book she’s holding by the people around her, and she feels that she has to collect her knowledge in secret from this overbearing community, causing her to start stealing books. (Youtube). This scene in the movie showed how the Nazi party had held books that went against their ideology in such contempt that they poisoned the minds of the public, and society’s deluded opinions forced a young girl to burn a vessel of knowledge against her will. The scene shows how people change their beliefs in order to conform to a

Fahrenheit 451 and “The Pedestrian”, both by Ray Bradbury, are also good examples of books where the theme is conforming to society’s rules and aversions. For example, it is stated by Professor Faber in Fahrenheit 451 that “[t]he public stopped reading of its own accord[…]so few want to be rebels anymore.” (Bradbury 83). This quote by Professor Faber shows that the cause of the censorship was the public slowly moving from books to other types of media. This transition is what caused this society to devolve into the cold, bleak state that they’re in. The Pedestrian shows the story of an individual sticking out from society, and how the government removes him so that society can be in conformity again. ""What is it now?" he asked the houses, noticing his wrist watch. "Eight-thirty P.M.? Time for a dozen assorted murders? A quiz? A revue? A comedian falling off the stage?" Was that a murmur of laughter from within a moon-white house? He hesitated, but went on when nothing more happened. He stumbled over a particularly uneven section of sidewalk. The cement