Individuality Vs Conformity As The Main Themes Of Fahrenheit 451

 The idea of Individuality vs Conformity is one of the main themes of the book Fahrenheit 451. The author believes that it is easier to blend in and follow the crowd than to think for yourself the balance of both conformity and originality is essential for a society to function. This major theme is shown in my cover design in three ways; quote choice, characters, and symbols.

I chose the quote “I don’t talk things, I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and I know I am alive.” Because in the book, Faber believes in the value of thought and its meaning, not simply accepting things as they are. He talks about why just reading books isn’t going to make everyone think critically about their life because its not just the book, its what is in the books. Faber also says society needs three things to function 'Number one, as I said: quality of information. Number two: leisure to digest it. And number three: the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two.' Without these three things, as the book shows through Millie, her friends, and the rest of society, people will conform to what the government says is socially accepted and become unhappy.

In my book cover, one of the characters are blank people are walking off the cliff not noticing it because they are absorbed in technology. These people represent conformity, the people in Fahrenheit 451 who are controlled by technology and follow the crowd not knowing how life threatening it is. You can also see Montag in the fire hat, holding a book, watching all the people falling off the cliff because they didn’t think for themselves. He represents individuality because he knows society is not supposed to live like that. 'I've heard rumors; the world is starving, but we're well-fed. Is it true, the world works hard and we play? Is that why we're hated so much? I've heard the rumors about hate, too, once in a long while, over the years. Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!' This quote is when Montag is realizing something is wrong with the world and he wants to do something about it, to help change it and make it better.

The jets in the sky represent war and how they don’t value human life because they are so unhappy. In the beginning of the book when Montag was upset Mildred says 'The keys to the beetle are on the night table. I always like to drive fast when I feel that way. You get it up around ninety-five and you feel wonderful. Sometimes I drive all night and come back and you don't know it. It's fun out in the country. You hit rabbits, sometimes you hit dogs. Go take the beetle.' Mildred drives fast and hits animals to make her happier even though it is very dangerous, like the kids who tried to run Montag over later in the novel when he was running from the police. The cliff represents the opportunity for individuality and what will happen if society becomes totally consumed by technology but you don’t have to walk off the cliff you can turn around and have a good life without technology, but it doesn’t have to be just books that change your mind. 'No, no, it's not books at all you're looking for! Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself. Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us. ' This quote relates back to when Faber talked about what society was missing, he didn’t say books, it can be all around you.