Kennedy once said, " Conformity is jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." This quote relates directly to the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. According to this statement, when a person is told how to live their own lives they often forget to make their own decisions, and they are no longer their own person. Conformity is following all commands and laws regardless of one's own beliefs. In the story, Guy Montag followed the rules set forth by the government, never second-guessing them. He never once thought of what these regulations really meant, or what the effects of his actions were. He never really experienced freedom. This quote expresses the changes that he made in his life.
The book Fahrenheit 451, set in the future, shows rules that the world today would think of as "outrageous laws". The most apparent law shown in the novel is that citizens of the country are unauthorized to own any type of book, or medium that expresses knowledge or the opinions of people. Although that this law is very well known in the land, it is often broken by those who refuse to give up reading books for entertainment or religious purposes. What the modern world's definition of a Fireman is today does not match the definition of a Fireman in this novel. Firemen in Fahrenheit 451 are employed with the sole purpose of starting fires as opposed to putting them out and saving lives. The fires started by these Firemen are provoked by reports that the owners of the building that is to be destroyed are hiding illegal books in the establishment. Guy Montag is a Fireman in this novel. He lives his whole life never thinking about what a book is or why it was so important for people to risk their lives to have them. His whole mindset on life changes when he meets an amazing girl named Clarisse McClellan. She begins to have Montag question his lifestyle and other aspects of life in general.
