Conformity In Fahrenheit 451

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In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, our protagonist, Guy Montag, takes us through a society without literature. The idea of “sameness” and the lack of variety in this society, prevents intellectual thought. This blindness to intellectual thought eventuality results in dangerous situations. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once stated, “The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.” The statement concurs with the novel completely as, without literature, society is negatively impacted as it is headed for great decadence as shown through the countless losses of life. The decline of literature allows for the progression of social conformity and turmoil. The desensitivity and devalue of human life becomes present while the ability …show more content…
This includes children driving at top speeds endangering civilians including Montag, and Mildred. Similarly, Mildred's friends thought process with their stinted compassion for their husbands at war. This exploits the society's lack of value towards human life. Montag sees the potential damage that nearly occurred due to danger as, “They would have killed me, thought Montag...I wonder if they were the ones who killed Clarisse! He wanted to run after them yelling….His eyes watered “(122). Montag in a state of despair cannot comprehend the children's reasoning behind their reckless actions. The lack of books definitively degrades society as people show they no longer care for one another. The society has become significantly degraded when the wives of men fighting in war talk casually about, "Oh, they come and go, come and go,’ said Mrs. Phelps… ‘He'll be back next week….’I'm not worried,’ said Mrs. Phelps. "I'll let Pete do all the worrying"’(90-91). Montag is disturbed due to the women's mindless behavior and lack of awareness towards the rest of the surrounding world. The details in this sentence illustrate the decentralization individuals have towards human …show more content…
When Montag and the fireman are called to action early in the novel, they are confronted by the owner of the home they have been called to destroy. The owner is one of the minority in preserving the values of books is confronted as Beatty demanded she leaves. The older woman who owns the property is willing to go so far in protecting in what she believes in as, “ The women’s hand twitched on the single matchstick. The fumes of kerosene bloomed up about her” (36-7). She is one of the countless pitfalls this society has, where a civilian is willing to die in what she believes in and that belief contradicts the organization of society. This organization is based off the principles of a bookless society, which will keep everything in balance, but it is not realized that this equivalence in society blinds the general population relating to the problems of social conformity causing social turmoil. It blinds the members of society from understanding the true values of life and how people can work hand in hand rather than living their individualistic lives. Another example of the turmoil caused due to an absence of literature is the destruction of society in its whole. The “bombers overhead” have been a motif throughout the novel as they represent what society has come to be and the turmoil caused without literature. At the end of
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