Tessa LaForge Mrs. Zvanut Honors English II 21 May, 2024 Conformity for comfort: Conformity in Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit 451, a novel written by Ray Bradbury, takes place in a future society where books are not allowed and if you are caught with them they are burnt by firemen. Firemen in this society do not save things from fire, they cause fires. The story follows the main character, Guy Montag, who is a fireman that becomes disillusioned with his duty to the state as a fireman after his entire character is questioned by a girl named Clarisse, who he slowly becomes friends with. In the end, he is forced to choose between his personal beliefs and his loyalty to the government. Bradbury uses the journey Montag takes to display how people will often support conformity because they …show more content…
In their society everyone from the school children to the fireman seem to believe in conformity and will do anything to keep it the way they have it, “Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal” (Bradbury 55). People are willing to go to extreme lengths in order to make sure they cannot be disagreed with. In this world, people who stick out from normal societal expectations are seen as “odd ducks” (Bradbury 57) and are ostracized by their peers. They can even be subjected to “beatings and tortures” (Bradbury 55) just for simply being seen as brighter than anyone else in any capacity. Some people may say that conformity leads to a more organized, comfortable, and productive society, and therefore that makes conformity the best option. People often find comfort in conformity, as you don’t have to think for yourself and it makes them feel overall safer when everything is alike, especially because people often “always dread the unfamiliar” (Bradbury 55). In today’s society, an example of conformity is school uniforms, people like them