Conformity Of Thought example essay topic

Essay About Censorship in the World and in Fahrenheit 451 Most people have a basic understanding of obedience; however, many may fail to see the application and the impact of it in their own lives and in our society. Submission into conformity discourages the type of independence that is valued in our supposedly free-thinking world. Censorship is one of the major themes in Fahrenheit 451, and its impact is illustrated through submission in appearance, behavior and thought. This invites us to draw clear relationships between Ray Bradbury's novel and our current society. The association between appearance and social acceptance is already apparent in our lives. In order to achieve societal norm we wish to look and act like our peers, and as a result censorship in appearance has become a common example of submission today.

In Fahrenheit 451, Montag realizes that a major part of being socially accepted as a fireman is to conform through appearance. Montag observes this fact while there are countless examples of conformity through appearance in our society. The belief that physical beauty is more valuable than intelligence is a very common habit throughout the world especially in schools and those people make the others feel inferior. And as a result we may often conform to accept standards of appearance rather than focusing on the value of our gifts and talents. In this way we are able to draw a fundamental relationship from our own society to the troubling world described in Fahrenheit 451, citing conformity in appearance as proof of this connection. Conformity in behavior is another damaging example of submission found in our culture today.

However, in Fahrenheit 451 Beatty describes conformity as a positive aspect of society - he argues that conformity in behavior prevents violence and jealousy by restricting the gifted and talented people from their ability to excel, which is good in a way because then the others won't feel bad. However, the real problem in the situation Beatty describes is not the exceptionally bright child (when he is trying to show Montag the uselessness of books) but the group of people of those who submit to it. Unfortunately, this very situation occurs repeatedly in our society today. People who choose not to conform may be persecuted by the groups of people who submit into censorship, and through that act of persecution the people reinforce conformity of behavior. In this way we see that Bradbury's portrayal of censorship in behavior is similar to the way we conform in our society, illustrating yet another fundamental connection between Fahrenheit 451 and our world today. Because of the democracy in which we live, we are free to hold any opinions we wish and we feel pride in ourselves on our right to freely say these opinions by talking and making announcements in the daily news and also on the television.

However, we often find that although we have the right to think freely we often choose instead to take upon the opinions of the others. Thus, one of the most prominent examples of conformity in our society today lies within thought. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury sees a futuristic society in which this submission of thought is highly valued. In the novel, the fire captain Beatty strongly believes that every person must think alike; for conflict and unhappiness only arise when differences are perpetuated. There may be some truth to Beatty's claim that conflicting theory and thought creates unhappiness and discomfort within a society (again when Beatty was saying the uselessness of books).

One example of this is the strong pressure from our culture and some factions of government to be "politically correct". As a somewhat ordinary remedy for the cruel intolerance of minorities, our society has created a system of thought in which we must exhibit ultimate acceptance of persecuted groups. The pressure to be politically correct can be so strong that any opinion that does not suggest an underlying discrimination but which is conveyed to the public in a "politically incorrect" manner is considered socially unacceptable. Those who communicate their non-negotiable thoughts may be viewed as immoral and dishonest. Through the strong pressure to be "politically correct" we see that conformity of thought remains in our society and parallels Bradbury's portrayal of the theme in Fahrenheit 451. "If they give you ruled paper, write the other way", a man said the previous quote and this quote was placed in the beginning of the novel.

Obviously selected to create awareness of Bradbury's principal theme. By choosing this quote, Bradbury reaffirms that the purpose of the novel was to encourage independent thought and create a basic awareness of the submission found in our world. This conformity is illustrated through appearance, behavior and thought both in the novel and in our society today. Also some people think that with the knowledge of books and other references they are somewhat superior than others and that is why Beatty claims that books should be burned with no restriction. On the other hand if it weren't for people like Dr. Nash, Einstein and others we wouldn't have the technology and intelligence we have today.

Why do you think that the books were allowed to be burned in the novel? Because of the ignorance of humanity. We humans wish for everything to be as simple and with the least effort possible, that's why we don't like to learn, we want everything to be as simple as it can be among others. In conclusion, censorship is found in many ways throughout our world and if we keep up our discrimination of people, the censorship in our world, submission into conformity, etc. We will wind up on the world Bradbury portrays in his novel..