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Examples Of Conformity In Fahrenheit 451

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The Cost of Conformity There is a world that finds solace in the destruction of intellect, a world fearful of the limitless possibilities created by unrestricted knowledge, a world in which it is a pleasure to burn. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, society is reimagined as a black hole, devoid of individuality and reliant on technology and materialistic objects, but failing to recognize the necessity of thinking in daily life. Our protagonist, Guy Montag, starts the novel as just another man in the machine. However, as the plot develops, so does Guy's character, as he finds merit in knowledge. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Montag's wife, Mildred, who is a static character throughout, consistently dismissing the chance at a deeper …show more content…

Both sides of the same coin, Mildred is the poster child of conformity, whereas Clarisse is the epitome of individuality. Throughout the story, the juxtaposition of Mildred, Montag, and Clarrisse's character development, or lack thereof, is used to reveal that it is crucial to be an individual and not conform.
Mildred Montag and her stagnant character development work to communicate the dangers of conformity. Mildred is portrayed as a very one-dimensional character who does not care about much besides her belongings, most of all, her parlor walls; this is especially prevalent in Mildred's discussions with Montag, in which she never expresses much emotion unless she is talking about her material possessions. When Montag comes home after witnessing the woman burn with her books and ponders quitting his job, "'You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, because, one night, some woman and her books–' 'You should have seen her, Millie!' 'She's nothing to me; she shouldn't have had books. It was her responsibility, she …show more content…

Clarisse is a free-thinking person who rejects social conventions. Never once straying from her personal beliefs, mainly those in the beauty of individuality. Other characters' reactions to Clarrise help to further this point. To others, Clarrise is disarming and disorienting; the way she lives her life leaves them baffled, especially Montag, "What incredible power of identification the girl had; she was like the eager watcher of a marionette show, anticipating each flicker of an eyelid, each gesture of his hand, each flick of a finger, the moment before it began. How long had they walked together? Three minutes? Five? Yet how large that time seemed now. How immense a figure she was on the stage before him; what a shadow she threw on the wall with her slender body! He felt that if his eye itched, she might blink. And if the muscles of his jaws stretched imperceptibly, she would yawn long before he would." (Bradbury 9). This quote shows how Clarrise is depicted as an almost otherworldly figure due to her willingness to create her perspective on life instead of blindly accepting those of the people around her. In this scene, Montag's reaction to Clarisse reveals how different she is from everybody else because of her refusal to conform. Additionally, Clarrise's curiosity about the past and how things were "before" indicates her inability to accept what she is told,"' Sometimes I'm

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Clarisse McClellan was a vital part of the development of the story and Montag’s transition into the person he becomes. Clarisse helps to trigger the transformation of Montag’s character from a book burning, law abiding, brainwashed citizen into a person who thinks outside of the box and questions the norm that everyone follows. From the first moment we see Clarisse we can all assume she is different;she does not conform to the culture of the people around her and in her community. The first that we see of Clarisse in the novel is that Clarisse is walking alone outside on the streets at night. What she is doing is very unusual in that society because most people stay in and sleep or watch TV or anything besides go out and have alone time.

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Clarisse is recognized by Montag because she is his new neighbor. She begins to spit out the oddest thoughts to Montag who believes she is crazy. However, she begins to change the way Montag thinks and opens his eyes to the dullness of his life. One day Montag notices he does not see Clarisse on his way home from work anymore. He soon realized Clarisse either has disappeared or been killed.

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1517 Words | 7 Pages

Compared to Clarisse, Mildred is so insignificant to Montag that he even confesses this to his wife in a fit of pent-up frustration during a one-sided argument; "She was the first person in a good many years I've really liked. She was the first person I can remember who looked straight at me as if I counted." (33). Here, Montag is referring to Clarisse, and revealing to both Mildred and to himself that it was Clarisse McClellan who sparked something inside of him, something that would later drive him to confront his inner demons and deal with the guilt he has been carrying on his shoulders since the very day he started his career as a fireman. Through his self- intervention, he comprehends his utter disgust towards his coworkers, and even himself, as shown in the quotation when Montag vents to Mildred; "And Clarisse.

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She is not afraid to speak her mind and express her opinions, even if they go against the norms of the society. This is evident in her interactions with Montag, as she encourages him to question the government and think for himself. Her refusal to be silenced is a direct challenge to the government's attempts to control and manipulate the thoughts and actions of its citizens. Clarisse's desires and values are also in conflict with those of her family. Her father, in particular, is portrayed as someone who is completely indoctrinated by the government's propaganda and has no desire to question the status quo.

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An event within the book states, “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing” (51). In this scene, Montag is shaken up upon witnessing a woman choosing to stay in her house as the firemen burned it to the ground due to the fact she had books. He questions the importance books contain that someone would have a strong desire to fight for their beliefs about books. Dialogue between the characters states, “We’re book burners, too.

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Clarisse is a young, curious girl and she likes to ask questions. She was not afraid to approach Montag early in the book, even though firemen are scary to some people because people think they are aggressive and intimidating. She had a unique perspective on everything anyone had ever thought of. Clarise loves watching people and this was shown in the deep conversations Montag and she would have. She asks personal questions that make you think harder than you usually think.

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Throughout the story, Clarisse makes Montag question his surroundings; she makes Montag rethink his marriage, society and job. Clarisse’s claims eventually cause Montag to read books and rebel. Clarisse causes Montag to question his marriage when she claims, “You’re not in love with anyone.” (19). This realization allows Montag not to be dragged in Mildred’s world of drugs and

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In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, conformity is a prominent theme that is explored through various literary techniques. They convey the idea that it harms society by creating barriers to communication and hindering critical thinking. The novel is set in a dystopian future where books are banned, and individuality is discouraged. Bradbury uses his characters' experiences with each other and technologies to demonstrate the dangers of blindly following societal norms. The use of literary devices such as metaphor and symbolism allows him to highlight the harm caused by conformity and warns readers about the dangers of this society.

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1604 Words | 7 Pages

Montag then becomes fascinated by Clarisse due to her odd personality. She helped him realize what his life is like. Deep down, he already knew that his life was not great. Clarisse just helped him express these feelings. Clarisse is someone who helped Montag look at life through a different perspective.

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919 Words | 4 Pages

Clarisse is the young girl who makes Montag question why it is that he burns books without any hesitation. Clarisse is a girl who actually thinks about things instead of just going on wither day by day as usual like the people do. She doesn’t just go through her life forgetting what things used to be like because she and her family actually sit down

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991 Words | 4 Pages

Mildred's lack of concern starts to affect others. Montag starts to get concerned about Mildred's lack of concern for the society they are in. Montag feels Mildred doesn't care for anything serious and does not address much because she's always unbothered. “How long has it been since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”(49).

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1167 Words | 5 Pages

(Carisse) The quote demonstrated Clarisse’s differences with the others in the society. She asked why rather than how, and did not care about being ostracized by others. Her mind and thoughts were more important to her than her social standing. That alone suggested that, in contrast to people like Mildred, she would go and face any adversity presented and refuse to conform to the expectations of others.

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In a world that is overrun by an army of conformists, it is crucial to find one's individuality so as to not lose one's sense of self. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is set in a dystopian society in which books are burned by firefighters in order to control dangerous ideas and dictate how people should think. The book tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman, who questions the norms of his society after meeting someone new. Montag undergoes extreme suffering, loss, and pain as a result of breaking out of the small box his world is in.

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1613 Words | 7 Pages

Without Mildred and the firemen, Montag would not be able to achieve intellectual freedom. Mildred demonstrates conformity by falling into traps such as sleeping pills, technology, and common beliefs about books. Beatty represents conformity through full obedience to the government. Whereas, Clarisse shows individuality through her curiosity about the world and Montag shows individuality through rebellion and desire. These work together to create a captivating narrative that effectively depicts the themes of conformity and individuality, and illustrates what ultimately wins in the

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Do you choose to conform? or is it something you do without even thinking about it? Conformity is a theme consistently found throughout Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury illustrates how conformity is not always a choice and not conforming is a choice through the characters Montag, Faber and Mildred. Some people spend their entire life conforming to society, and can not imagine what being an independant thinker is.

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