Corruption In Fahrenheit 451

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John Steinbeck once vocalized,“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” These words were spoken in order to emphasize the corruption of the ruling classes in society such as the government. The government fears many aspects in society that threaten their loss on power. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, he reveals that the 3 most threatening forces to government control are autonomy, bravery, and individuality. The proposition that autonomy is a danger towards the government is furthermore conveyed through the movie Pleasantville as two teenagers are introduced into a black and white world in their television and those that think on their own and experience their own emotions contribute towards their perspective …show more content…
In the book, the people that did not conform towards their monotonous society by abstaining from books were generally scorned of by the government through burning their houses down. This condition is further examined when Montag is embracing his individuality when questioning his wife for her mundane perspective on reality that she obtains from society. The lack of Mildred's individuality is noted when Montag questions her, “We really need to be bothered once in awhile. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”(Bradbury 52). The government in their society wants people to be all the same emotionless beings because individuality will arise change from becoming bothered by thinking on your own and seeing life differently than most. Individuality is also drastically threatened by governments as described by Soren Kierkegaard in The Journals Of Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard demonstrates how the government rejects individuality because it is associated with truth, “Truth always rests with the minority … because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion”(Kierkegaard). This majority that ignores the value on individuality represents the character Beatty's role towards their society as a fireman. While discussing the …show more content…
A system that advocates autonomy, bravery, and individuality are essential for the growth and development of humanity. This sort of government in the novel strives to dumb the people down resulting in a detrimental future of society as it avoids these three essential attributes in life. As people understand the lack of nobility in the government more people like Montag, can conclude that corruption does not exist in a natural state of mind, but in a state of fear on the
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