Fahrenheit 451 shows a futuristic society where nonconformists are persecuted. Unlike the teaching of Emerson being different is not acceptable. People are unsocial and live lives which revolve around the television. Intellectuals are hunted down and killed. Citizens are unable to think for themselves. Everyone conforms to the wishes and ideals of the government. In contrast, Emerson preaches individuality and the value of having self identity. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag breaks away from the societal norms to develop his own opinions and thoughts. The principles on Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” parallel the themes of Fahrenheit 451. Emerson believes that people need to be independent in order to reach their fullest potential. He says, “Whoso
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This is demonstrated in Fahrenheit 451 with the character Clarisse. Clarisse is the one who first shows Montag the problems with society. She is very mentally advanced for her age and very smart. One day she disappears. Bradbury says, “And then, Clarisse was gone. He didn’t know what there was about the afternoon, but it was not seeing her somewhere in the world… He almost turned back to make the walk again, to give her time to appear” (Bradbury 32). Because Clarisse was different she was made to disappear. One day she just is gone. Montag has no explanation for why this happened, though it is expected that she was killed because of her ideas. However, this does not deter Montag. He is focused more than ever on thinking for himself. Once he realise the maturity that comes with individuality he wants is more than anything. He is committed to learning more and soon after takes a book for himself. This part of the book shows the risks that nonconformists are willing to take. Clarisse’s untimely death will not stop Montag. He is so determined that he takes a book- something which could cause his house to be burned- and starts to read
This is demonstrated in Fahrenheit 451 with the character Clarisse. Clarisse is the one who first shows Montag the problems with society. She is very mentally advanced for her age and very smart. One day she disappears. Bradbury says, “And then, Clarisse was gone. He didn’t know what there was about the afternoon, but it was not seeing her somewhere in the world… He almost turned back to make the walk again, to give her time to appear” (Bradbury 32). Because Clarisse was different she was made to disappear. One day she just is gone. Montag has no explanation for why this happened, though it is expected that she was killed because of her ideas. However, this does not deter Montag. He is focused more than ever on thinking for himself. Once he realise the maturity that comes with individuality he wants is more than anything. He is committed to learning more and soon after takes a book for himself. This part of the book shows the risks that nonconformists are willing to take. Clarisse’s untimely death will not stop Montag. He is so determined that he takes a book- something which could cause his house to be burned- and starts to read