Importance of Individuality

900 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social norms in romeo and juliet

Without the slightest of hesitation, many choose to change who they are in order to fit in. A person may change to fit in with a certain group of friends or so they are able to live as the government wants. No matter the situation, the process of change appears to be a daily event. The fact that many speak out so they do not have to change the person they are is a daily event as well, though. This very theme, the importance of individuality, is dominant not only in today's world but in Ray Bradbury's “Fahrenheit 451”, John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace”, and Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, also.

In “Fahrenheit 451”, the majority of the population does not see that they have no choice as to who they want to be. Why? Every person in the population knows what is to happen if they do question the authority. These people’s fear has practically driven them to insanity. All government receives their power through the people of which they rule. The government knows that if the people were to refuse them, they would be nothing. Those who willingly accept their government’s actions are in turn granting the government power and giving them the privilege of telling others what to do. Therefore, conformity is a source of power. In “Fahrenheit 451”, the major authority takes away all possibilities of the population gaining knowledge which in turn will give them power to turn against their leaders. The removal of useful knowledge, which in this case is books, leaves many very ignorant to the fact that they are being controlled and brainwashed. Those who refuse to go against this ignorance are like "The faces of saints in a strange church ... whose enameled faces mean nothing," (Bradbury, 95).

Another example of the problem of conformity in “Fa...

... middle of paper ...

...act that individuality was not allowed in their town.

Not only in all literature is individualism shown throughout, but also in today’s world. Every day brings a new being to this world. Whether they choose who they are or let others choose for them is completely their decision. One’s destiny is based solely on the decisions that one individual makes. Everyone is an individual. Even those who choose to conform are individuals. Now not choosing to see this is what leads to a life full of pleasing others and changing who you are so others will see you as a likeable person. Individuality is of the utmost importance where ever one may choose to go. The theme of the importance of individuality not only in books, but also in our world, has now been represented.

Works Cited

Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury.

A Separate Peace. John Knowles.

Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Fahrenheit 451 And The Lottery

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 leads from an average beginning by introducing a new world for readers to become enveloped in, followed by the protagonist’s descent into not conforming to society’s rules, then the story spirals out of control and leaves readers speechless by the actions taken by the main character and the government of this society. This structure reinforces the author’s main point of how knowledge is a powerful entity that would force anyone to break censorship on a society.

    Read More

  • Censorship Quotes In Fahrenheit 451

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Fahrenheit 451, the government exercised censorship supposedly for the purpose of happiness. Through technology and media, the government was able to eliminate individuality by manipulating the mind of the people into believing the propaganda of what happiness is. The people’s ignorance made them obediently abide that they failed to realize how far technology and the media have taken control of their minds. The free thought of characters such as Montag and Clarisse collided with that of Captain Beatty, who strongly believe in and enforce the censorship, and the firemen, whose role was to burn illegal books; these clashes were Bradbury’s way

    Read More

  • 1984 Rhetorical Analysis

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine the world we are living in today, now imagine a world where we are told who to marry, where to work, who to hate and not to love. It is hard to imagine right, some people even today are living in the world actually have governments that are controlling their everyday life. In literature many writers have given us a view of how life may be like if our rights as citizen and our rights simply as human beings. One day the government may actually find a way to control and brainwash people into beings with no emotions like they have in the book 1984 where they express only hate, because that’s what they have been taught by the party.

    Read More

  • Deception of Happiness in Fahrenheit 451

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because the Government removed the ability to question, the people in Fahrenheit 451 have deceived themselves into believing that they are happy. Guy Montag had been harbouring books for quite a long time, but only recently made it known to his wife. She had friends over, and he took out a poem book and read from it, in front of his wife’s dumbfounded friends. “Then he began to read...Mrs. Phelps was crying. The others...watched her crying grow very loud as her face squeezed itself out of shape....She sobbed uncontrollably... "Sh, sh," said Mildred. "You're all right, Clara,... Clara, what's wrong?" "I-I,", sobbed Mrs. Phelps, "don't know, don't know, I just don't know, oh oh...””. The poem book caused Mrs. Phelps to actually think about her life for the first time ever. Government censorship prevented the people from ever being exposed to material that would make them question. For the first time, she thought about her l...

    Read More

  • Innocence and Oppressiveness in Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...heit 451 make for a naive group who supply for a harsh government. Characters like Boxer and Mildred are ignorant to their oppressive leaders and see no harm in what they are being taught is right. Beatty from Fahrenheit 451 is a domineering leader and is eventually killed. Mr. Jones is also a cruel leader and he was run out of the farm by all the animals’ very early on in the book Animal Farm. The place for an oppressive power can be easily found when characters are so ignorant and coherent to rules. It is because of characters like the ones in Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm who uphold such behaviors that a harsh government with selfish leaders can prevail.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Individuality In Fahrenheit 451

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a novel that was written based on a dystopian society. It begins to explain how society copes with the government through conformity. Most of the characters in this story, for example: Mildred, Beatty, and the rest, start to conform to the government because it is the culture they had grown up in. Individuality is not something in this society because it adds unneeded conflict between the characters. The government tries to rid of the individuality it may have. Individuality was shown in the beginning quite well by using Clarisse McClellan and Montag. Clarisse McClellan shows her individuality quite clearly, more towards Montag. After Montag has been living off conformity, he decided to start questioning the world and ends

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Censorship

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ray Bradbury displays the notion of self censorship throughout the book. He accomplished this by using examples such as books and false happiness. He uses these concepts to help the reader understand that all the little problems are a result of self censorship. Overall the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury suggests that the main theme of the story is self censorship. Ray Bradbury's concept of self censorship in very relevant in today’s society. People often ignore the bad things in life, hoping they will find happiness in ignorance. They censor themselves from what could potentially ruin the fake happiness they have constructed. While Bradbury uses self censorship in an extreme manner, his ideas are still relevant to today’s

    Read More

  • Shakespeare’s play The Tempest and Michael Cervantes Saavedra’s Don Quixote

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    How important is an individual that most often than not authors focus on the growth of one over the growth of the many? Is it because the growth of one symbolizes the growth of all? Or is the focus on the individual due to the image it presents which is the growth in us? In any event, this outlook of individualism is widespread in literature and different genres and techniques excavate the development of the individual. Another factor that comes into play in the development of the character is the situation and the effects of the environment. Within William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest and Michael Cervantes Saavedra’s satire Don Quixote are two different characters molded and formed or in both cases malformed to incorporate their capsules which are the genres and settings that imprison them.

    Read More

  • Freedom Of Speech In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    e a world where books were banned and all words were censored. Freedom of speech has always been considered to be the most fundamental of the human rights. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury emphasizes the importance of freedom of speech by giving readers a glimpse of how the world would be if written works were prohibited. The novel is considered to be a classic because it can usually be linked to society. The novel’s relevance is connected to its themes and its overall message. The themes of loneliness, alienation, conformity, and paranoia play a crucial role in the novel by showing how censorship can transform society negatively.

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury’s Mental DNA

    2345 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Nobody listens any more. . . . I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense." Utopias and Dystopias are alike in the fact they both appeal to the feuding political thinkers. Once a challenging idea is brought to attention, criticism immediately follows the claim. In Fahrenheit 451, the sense of nationalism wasn’t used because everyone acted as equals in whom no one could read books legally. Fahrenheit 451 was published as a dystopian novel, one that epitomizes the meaning of a futuristic controlling state. Ray Bradbury’s novel is one of misfortune where every citizen lived their life in censorship. It describes a society of the future that maintains a culture of an illiterate populace without books. Even though as a young boy Bradbury loved to read books he saw the world for what it was going to be. This is why Fahrenheit 451 is continually taught in schools today and will be taught for a long period time. “ Fahrenheit 451 was selected by a national endowment for the arts (NEA) for its big read! It shows a society without reading.” (3) Its literary techniques developed brilliantly organized, along with its life changing message. His dystopian novel made the pedestal of a warning; although his purpose wasn’t to predict the future, his valiant claims came close to reality. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury raises questions to people to wonder as to why our society will heavily depend on technology, become uneducated and resume a life of communism and one without religion. Many say that his surroundings influenced a thought of negativity which was shown in several of his novels.

    Read More

  • The Spirit of Individualism: Transcendentalism

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the unit “The Spirit of Individualism” there are two parts, “Celebrations of the self” and “The Dark side of Individualism” with pieces that present very different perspectives on human nature. “The Dark side of Individualism” portrays human nature as greedy, confused, easily caught up in fame, and addicted to wealth and possessions. In “Celebrations of the Self”, human nature is viewed in a more positive light. The characteristics shown are self reliance, independence, wisdom and selflessness. “The Dark side of Individualism” pieces are written in a more macabre tone, whereas “Celebrations of the Self” pieces have a more positive and uplifting tone to them. The generalizations of human nature are different because of the pieces in “The Dark side of Individualism” and “Celebrations of the Self” have entirely different views on life and human nature.

    Read More

  • Individualism in American History

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience: Henry David Thoreau

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    The notion of individualism is extremely important in exercising the duty people have to cease from the...

    Read More

  • Human Individualism

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    The beliefs of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Galileo on the Bible are similar in some aspects, but mostly different from one another. Martin Luther and John Calvin are somewhat similar in their belief that faith alone is the key to salvation. Galileo, however was a scientist, and his views on the Bible differ from those of Calvin and Luther. Since Galileo was not a theologian, most of his writing is not about God and the Bible, but it is about science. Though their writings are very different, Calvin, Luther, and Galileo all speak about the subject of human individualism. Their views of human individualism differ from one another, and arise from different circumstances. Each of these three men’s writings contain their beliefs on human individualism and how it relates to the individual’s relationship with God.

    Read More

  • The Myth Of Individualism Analysis

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the recent weeks, I have noticed a trend in our cultural beliefs regarding groups outside of our own. As a nation, while the United States has a strongly individualistic nature from a personal perspective, there is also a strong collectivist belief regarding everyone outside of themselves and their groups. Rather than believing that each member of an external group is responsible for their decisions alone (myth of individualism), separating them from a collective (one bad apple), the consensus is generally geared opposite. For example, the belief that all immigrants want to steal American jobs, when one is not an immigrant, or that feminists are actually misandrists, when one is not a feminist. What I believe we have

    Read More

More about Importance of Individuality

Open Document