Theme Of Individuality In Fahrenheit 451

Words: 1540
Pages: 7

The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury follows the story of Guy Montag, a “firefighter” whose pleasure and business is to burn books. As a citizen of this dystopian society, his duty is to destroy knowledge seekers and live in ignorance. However, the tables turn when he meets his 16-year-old neighbor, Clarisse McClellan, who is unique from everyone else he knows. After their meetings, Montag begins to question his life with Mildred, his wife, who does not want to question anything, and through the old woman he meets one night on the job, he starts to become curious about the missing things in his life. As in any imperfect world, people choose whether to conform to the standards of society or to pursue individuality at the risk of negative …show more content…
The protagonist, Guy Montag, was not forced to abandon everything that he had ever known just to learn the truth and try to repair the brokenness in his life. As a firemen, someone ordered to do the ultimate public service of burning books, he risked his job, wife, and entire livelihood when he chose to pursue individuality. However, this decision was not made entirely on his own; his bright, hopeful neighbor Clarisse, ignorant, miserable wife Mildred, and the bold, passionate old woman all played a part to shape Montag into making that choice. As a result, when he chose to leave his comfortable, complaint life and embark on the dangerous road of individuality, Montag decided to question the society in hopes of creating a better future. He wanted a future where everyone could be truly happy, instead of stuffing themselves with mass media to try to replace that happiness. In the future, where a dystopian society such as the one of this novel is possible, it is important to remember the actions and decisions of Montag so that the future generations can build better