Conformity In Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury envisions a dystopian society where books are banned, social interactions and thinking are looked down upon, and firemen burn houses instead of saving them. Bradbury creates this world to foreshadow the rise and takeover of technology over people’s lives. The takeover of technology leads to all books being banned because everyone believes the equality of knowledge will remove conflicting and radical thoughts, which makes society as a whole happier. The firemen have the important job of burning houses found harboring this illegal contraband. Guy Montag is a fireman, and he begins to think and question why things are the way they appear to be. He realizes that he is no longer content with the social norm, which fuels his drive to

Throughout the book, Bradbury includes details pertaining to the importance of society as a whole, “People want to be happy, isn’t that right? … That’s all we live for, isn’t it? For pleasure, for titillation?” (56). By including the details that people live to strive for happiness and pleasure, Bradbury creates the way the government views societal conformity as a method to keep the people “happy”. In these details, the author emphasizes that people live for happiness, but he leaves the details of what else do people live for other than happiness in society. He shows his critical tone through his details of the strict statements regarding happiness and society. Bradbury also includes a small detail near the end of the book, which shows his critical tone towards those who had conformed in the cities compared to the individuals who had chosen to escape the cities in “I wrote a book called The Fingers in the Glove; the Proper Relationship between the Individual and Society, and here I am!” (143). By using the title, Bradbury affirms his theme of societal conformity and reiterates his critical tone. Bradbury provides important details, which assist in presenting his critical tone towards societal