In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the struggle between man's desire for knowledge and individuality and society's expectations of ignorance and conformity. This struggle is exemplified through the use of metaphors and similes, which effectively convey the damaging effects of conformity and the power of intellectual curiosity.
In the novel Bradbury used metaphors to illustrate the conflict between knowledge and conformity is that of the fireman's helmet, which is symbolically numbered 451. This metaphor is the temperature in Fahrenheit at which books burn. This suggests that the suppression of intellectual curiosity and the embrace of ignorance are central to the society depicted in the novel. This is demonstrated when Montag, the protagonist,