Without idiosyncrasies in today’s society, the world would be brimming with a myriad amount of followers with very few luminaries. Because of society’s growing population of diversity, more and more people are becoming mentors, dignitaries, and pioneers of the world. However, the mass influx of multiplicity is not the result of population growth, but rather, the result of individuals knowing that it is their obligation to rebel and to help improve society.
From his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, Martin Luther King states, “I believe that even amid today’s motor bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. ” (10) This quote simply states that there are always opportunities for society to develop. The truth is that most individuals are just merely afraid to rebel and contribute their ideas due to the possible chagrin and harassment they could receive. The poem, “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, reveals that people hide their thoughts to avoid being tortured by others.
However, in the book Fahrenheit 451 when the main character, Guy Montag, desperately tries to resolve his own marital problems and figure out how his dystopian society came to be, he discovers that by rebelling and breaking the law, he understands how he can help rebuild and fix his society after a devastating nuclear bomb decimates the city he used to live in. Therefore, individuals are justified in breaking societal laws and norms if they are bettering the lives of others and benefitting society. To begin with, the necessity to rebel has resided within the human being since the beginning of mankind.
People are born curious, wanting to know how things work, why things work, and what causes these things to work. For instance, as Captain Beatty of the fire department in Fahrenheit 451 states, “At least once in his career, every fireman gets an itch. ” (59) The significance of this statement truly undermines the characteristic of curiosity. By being curious, people are laying the foundation of rebellion. As this underlying curiosity builds into a burning interest, there is no way to stop the raging inferno of desire from growing until one discovers the answer. Even though, Captain Beatty tells Montag, “the books say nothing!” (59) Montag refuses to believe Beatty until he reads a book for himself.
Without discovering things for themselves, people will never be able to feel happy or sad, which is why the speaker in “We Wear the Mask” says, “It hides our Cheeks and shades our eyes” because naturally even though people are born with a necessity to rebel, the reason why many people don’t rebel is because they are simply afraid of being judged by others. The speaker says people hide their cheeks so that others cannot tell if they are smiling or not and people shade their eyes often seen as the soul.
Without this willingness to question ideas and actions, society cannot be improved. In addition, the role that rebellion plays does not have to be vital. Often, people are inclined to believe that rebellion is an attempt to revolutionize the customs and lifestyles that are familiar and safe. However, they are unaware of the importance of variety in society. The beauty, richness, and color all contribute to defiance. On more than one occasion, Montag’s neighbor, Clarisse McClellan, is a huge symbol of rebellion.
Often doing strange things out of the ordinary in Montag’s society, Ms. McClellan “[hikes] around in the forests and [watches] the birds and [collects] butterflies. ” (20) Although she does not ensue a citywide manhunt, she is the main reason behind Montag’s intellectual change. When she tells him “[she’s] still crazy. The rain feels good. [She] love to walk in it. Rain even tastes good” (19), her pristine personality completely alters the manner of how Montag observes his surroundings solely due to the fact of her trying to get him to taste the rain (which he does).
This elementary and delicate action is not a full-scale change the world rebellion. Clarisse’s actions are purely candid ways of getting others to view the world differently. Completely different from others, Clarise doesn’t break any societal laws to make a difference, but instead, helps others acknowledge the auxiliary sides of life through her anything but conforming actions. Moreover, the words of Martin Luther King Jr. also describe how rebellion is not always major.
He says, “Most people will never make the headlines and their names will not appear in Who’s Who, yet men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, and a more noble civilization” (14) The connotation of the quote is that people do not have to be superheroes to make a positive life change. Most people won’t even be recognized for what they have done, but if everyone makes an independent choice in life, then society will become finer as a whole. The simplicity of rebellion can make a difference in society. Lastly, the essence of rebellion is the pivotal characteristic element to continue humanity.
Without any variety or mixture of diversity, there is no way a society can become improved. Evidently in “We Wear the Mask,” the speaker states, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, - this debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile” (1) The speaker shows that everyone of us conforms one way or another, and it is because we conform that we smile and grin with “torn and bleeding hearts. ” By escaping shame and embarrassment through conforming, we pay for escape through “human guile” or the deception of human life.
Without having the mindset to rebel and to see daylight of the social and literal crimes that take part in everyday life, individuals will not be able to save themselves from their own people. For example, during Montag’s journey as a fugitive, he notices that after almost being run over “For no reason at all in the world [the people in the car] would have killed [him]. ” (122) In addition, because everyone in Montag’s dystopian society just wants to have Montag found and killed, they are tricked into believing that a normal everyday citizen walking during the late night was Montag.
Although the government may see this as a clever way to fool society, the action of killing the man was unjust. Instead of giving the supposed “Montag” a trial, he was brutally killed by the Hound. Without any kind of opposition, these innocent individuals are killed simply because the citizens failed to even question why “Montag” is killed and fail to criticize their own actions. Without having the curiosity or ability to disagree with others, then there is no way a society can continue.
Thus, the continuation of society ultimately depends on how individuals choose to contribute, maintain, or preserve their knowledge to a perpetually growing culture. Without the intelligence and righteousness to continue the human civilization, the societal collapse in Fahrenheit 451 is eerily accurate as to how the world would end. If individuals are willing to “refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality,” (9), then the future of mankind is looking up.
In other words, if individuals are willing to give everything they can to society, and not give up on fellow citizens of the earth despite the hopelessness or hostility of authority, then they still have a chance in salvaging humanity. People are born to rebel, discover new ideas, and reach new heights. Yet it is only through the work of those who can understand the rectitude of their conformity-defying actions that can help maintain the balance of justice and virtue.
