Individuality is when a person stands up and fights to
become different and unique from others; it is when they strive to better themselves and
to be their own person. They do not succumb to peer pressure, trends or fads; rather,
they are uniquely themselves. Conformity is when you follow the crowd and trends, and
do what the majority of people do to fit in, not be noticed, or be liked and
accepted.
In the second part of Fahrenheit
451, conformity is best represented by Mildred and her friends. They gather
together to watch the t.v. walls, and when Montag tries to speak with them, he gets
frustrated. They all look the same; they all act the same; they all buy into their
society's entertainment brainwashing; they all have the same distant and alientated
values; in addition, they all find Montag, who is trying to take a different path than
most people in their society, to be alarming and dangerous. Individuality is embodied
in Montag. He is striving to understand, for himself, why he is unhappy. This means he
does unusual things, things outside of the norm, and forges his own path in doing them.
He reads; he questions; he seeks out Faber for answers; he plots an attack on the entire
system itself. He is seeking out answers for his own individual happines. Compare this
to Mildred and her friends, who when miserable, don't seek out answers but drown out
their sorrows in television and sleeping pills. Rather than stand out, they do all they
can to fit in, even when it is making them miserable.
I
hope that those thoughts help a bit; good luck!
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