Dead Poets Society And Fahrenheit 451 Comparative Essay

Do you ever find it hard to be yourself in a society that gives you an image of what a normal person looks like? These writers give great examples in their characters of what it means to stand out. The characters are steadfast in what they believe and don’t let the pressures of society weigh them down. Each scenario these characters are placed in is unique and difficult in its own way, but the way the characters handle them is similar and there is something to take away from that. They are uncommonly courageous, though it is not always seen by the reader. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Weir’s Dead Poets Society and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 all have characters that truly value the singleness of each human life and not conforming to society, the characters express that in their own way to show how no one is made to be like another and the right thing isn’t always popular.

Holden Caulfield embodies what it means to be your own person. Right from the beginning of the story, Holden is alone watching the football game in the cold away

from everyone else, and he is reminiscing on his day, as he does often. Throughout the entire story, he is alone wandering about New York by himself which is not what a normal high school kid does, but Holden isn’t a normal high school student. While in New York, a man stops him asking if he would be interested in what this man had to offer. Holden accepts and never does anything with the prostitute while she is with him. He respects her and tries to have a normal conversation with her. He respects her individuality as a person and isn’t comfortable with doing those sort of things. At the end of the novel he is watching his beloved little sister, Phoebe, on the carousel. He thinks to himself in his own way saying how he needs to become an adult and be his own person. He realizes that one-day Phoebe will be her own person too.
Mr.

Keating is very adamant about how his students need to be their own person in a society that tells them not to. He is a huge inspiration to his students, especially Neil, and impacts all of their lives in a unique way. Neil has a father which represents society as a whole on the youth of today. He tries to force his son down a one-way street and for many years Neil complied, but once Mr. Keating opened his eyes to poetry and the beauty of life Neil had a new view on things. He always tells them to find their own voice and to express it to the world, and he tells them how poetry is a profession of emotion. The students recreate the Dead Poets Society as the story goes on and Mr. Keating gets a quote from poetry which compares life to this powerful play to which people can contribute a verse to. He asks them what will their verse be. He is encouraging the students to speak out and be their own person to make a change in the

world.
Clarisse is a strange girl in the eyes of the dystopian society she lives in, but that doesn’t stop her from being herself. She is strange from the very start of the novel when Guy finds her out on the streets late at night and decides to strike up a conversation with him. She says later that she loves the rain and loves to play in it and Montag says that he doesn’t think he would like it. She tells him he needs to try it because she sees that he has that spark of individuality in him that one bit of him that doesn’t want to conform to the rest of what civilization became. Even though her being herself leads to her death she is a good example of how people should do what they enjoy and not base that off other people.
These writers have given characters that exemplify how people need to recognize the uniqueness of each person and recognize that uniqueness within themselves. Don’t let society tear down what makes humans different. Celebrate it and people must not hide what they are because of what other people might think. Be a shining example of courage like these characters.