The Theme Of Conformity In Fahrenheit 451

The book Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates the theme rebellion vs. conformity through the 3 most crucial events in the novel. The first event occurs at the very beginning of the book when Guy meets Clarisse for the first time. The brief meeting with Clarisse had planted some seeds of defiance in Guy’s head, “He was not happy. He said the words to himself…. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with it.”(Bradbury 9). For the 10 years, the fireman told himself he was happy and he believed it, it took one teenage girl 5 minutes to cause Guy to rethink his whole life. Clarisse is the main symbol of rebellion in the novel, she does not conform to society’s norms and because of this nobody wants to associate themselves with her. …show more content…
The tragic event left Guy feeling very confused while and the same time curious, “There must be something in these books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house.”(Bradbury 48). At this point, we can see Guy is not rebelling yet but he is definitely not conforming anymore. Guy stop conforming to society views on books and decides to give them a chance. This however, creates a paradox because Guy burns books while at the same time keeps them. The last crucial event occurs when Guy meets with Faber. At this stage in the book, Guy starts to rebel with Faber, “A few bombs and the families in the walls of all the houses, like harlequin rats, will shut up! In the silence, our stage whisper might carry.”(Bradbury 85). The duo set out a plan to plant books in peoples houses to rebel against the government. Like Guy, Faber is an example of a paradox, he conforms to the rules yet he knows they are all