Comply or Defy: Why Certain Individuals Choose to Conform or Rebel
Contemplate a situation where someone is being oppressed. Would they agree to what the oppressors want or rebel against them? Characters in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, such as Mildred, Clarisse, and Montag, act differently in oppressive situations depending on their ability to think their own thoughts, their mental strength, and their ability to change. The society is oppressed by the powerful government who takes away freedoms of the people, specifically the freedom to read. Firemen, such as Montag, have the job of burning down the homes of those who break the law by reading. Mildred lacks the intelligence and strength to think without being told what to think, and therefore …show more content…
The oppression of individuals in a society such as the one in Fahrenheit 451 causes individuals, depending on their mindset, to conform to the expectations of the society or embrace their uniqueness and …show more content…
He lacks the knowledge of what a decent, non-oppressive society looks like due to the fact that he cannot read books and is lied to about history. Montag originally loves his job, which involves burning the houses of people who do not follow the law. After burning a house with his team of firemen, “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame” (Bradbury 2). Montag acts just as the other firemen do, enjoying the thrill of burning. He does not think about how he can possibly hurt others or mankind as a whole by destroying these books and homes. All Montag thinks about is that Beatty, the captain, and the government want him to burn houses. Montag states that his father and grandfather both were firemen, so he feels that he must continue the tradition. He is not yet strong enough to rethink his occupation, but has the ability to change if someone or something changes his perspective. This shift from enjoying burning to wishing to rebel against the fireman system does come when Montag meets Clarisse and witnesses a woman who burns herself to stand up for her books. Montag transforms into a free-thinking rebel who is no longer afraid to act against the government. He, along with the assistance of his new friend Faber, deviates a plan to plant books in the
Contemplate a situation where someone is being oppressed. Would they agree to what the oppressors want or rebel against them? Characters in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, such as Mildred, Clarisse, and Montag, act differently in oppressive situations depending on their ability to think their own thoughts, their mental strength, and their ability to change. The society is oppressed by the powerful government who takes away freedoms of the people, specifically the freedom to read. Firemen, such as Montag, have the job of burning down the homes of those who break the law by reading. Mildred lacks the intelligence and strength to think without being told what to think, and therefore …show more content…
The oppression of individuals in a society such as the one in Fahrenheit 451 causes individuals, depending on their mindset, to conform to the expectations of the society or embrace their uniqueness and …show more content…
He lacks the knowledge of what a decent, non-oppressive society looks like due to the fact that he cannot read books and is lied to about history. Montag originally loves his job, which involves burning the houses of people who do not follow the law. After burning a house with his team of firemen, “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame” (Bradbury 2). Montag acts just as the other firemen do, enjoying the thrill of burning. He does not think about how he can possibly hurt others or mankind as a whole by destroying these books and homes. All Montag thinks about is that Beatty, the captain, and the government want him to burn houses. Montag states that his father and grandfather both were firemen, so he feels that he must continue the tradition. He is not yet strong enough to rethink his occupation, but has the ability to change if someone or something changes his perspective. This shift from enjoying burning to wishing to rebel against the fireman system does come when Montag meets Clarisse and witnesses a woman who burns herself to stand up for her books. Montag transforms into a free-thinking rebel who is no longer afraid to act against the government. He, along with the assistance of his new friend Faber, deviates a plan to plant books in the