Cabble 1

Sofia Cabble
25 November 2015
Lit Analysis 3rd Hour
The Suffocation of Society
It is human nature to want to conform and be like everyone. However, it is also human
nature to want to rebel and be your own person. Many want to rebel but are too scared to do so
and they end up leading sad lives. Conformity is an everyday struggle for millions around the
world. Someone wants to fit in, someone wants to be like someone else. Stereotypes and
expectations rule society. Rebelling against this society only comes once in a blue moon, but
when it does it is something magical. The characters in the book Fahrenheit 451 and the movie
Dead Poets Society were pressured by an unchanging society to rebel and faced consequences as
result.
The society in the movie Dead Poets Society was based on the four pillars, Tradition,
Honor, Discipline, Excellence (Dead). These set the precedent at the school. Anyone who
strayed away from these ideas was immediately picked out so they did not influence others. This
environment was encouraged by their parents because in this society, the parents chose
everything for the boys. The boys did not think for themselves, everything was thought of for
them by their parents, mainly by the fathers. Putting this much pressure on anyone can be almost
unbearable, but to put this much pressure on young boys who are still developing their views on
the world could be and was catastrophic. In Fahrenheit 451 and Dead Poets Society, Montag
and Neil are put under tremendous pressure by society. Both of these characters have dreams of
their own that they cannot live because of the demands of the societies. These characters were
living ...lives of quiet desperation (Dead). Montag and Neil were influenced not by one

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person, but by an entire society of conformity and illusions of perfection to break the law of
society. Montag was pressured into finding out the information hidden within the pages of
books. He was shut down in response. Similarly, Neil, in Dead Poets Society, was pressured to
be just like everyone else in his school: smart, diligent, honorable, and disciplined. Neil was
being pressured by his father, and also by this idea of being absolutely identical to everyone
around him. When he finally decided enough was enough and tried to pursue his passion, he was
shut down by societys conformity laws. In both cases, the end results were catastrophic with
Montag fleeing the city and with the tragedy of Neils death. As you can see, not one person is at
fault for the actions of the characters, entire societies are to blame.
In the movie Dead Poets Society the circumstances for rebellion were almost perfect.
There was pressure from the administration of the school to be perfects students and to follow in
the footsteps of the alumni of the school, and there was a nagging need for the boys to be their
own person. When the boys were presented with an opportunity, they took it and ran with it.
This opportunity was the Dead Poets Society. This group met in the woods behind the school in
a small cave. The boys rebelled in all ways possible from something as simple as thinking for
themselves to Charlie inviting girls and them drinking and smoking pipes. They had found a
place where they could express themselves without being stomped on for it. Mr. Keating told
Neil, You are not an indentured servant meaning that he didnt have to do things for anyone
but himself (Dead). Much like Neil and the boys, Montag was also presented with an
opportunity to rebel and took it. Montag had been keeping books hidden away and once he saw
the woman burn with her book, something in him needed to know what those books said.
Montag had been keeping books hidden in his house untouched. After this day he broke into

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them and indulged himself with beautiful knowledge. These books are what showed Montag who
he really was.
Consequences follow almost every action. Whether they are good or bad depends on that
action. In this case, the consequences of the pressures put onto the young men were catastrophic.
In Fahrenheit 451, Montag and the entire society faced consequences with Montag fleeing the
city and the city being obliterated a few hours after. Neil, on the other hand, faced some more
severe consequences at the hand of the strict society in which he lived. Neil felt that he had to
leave the earth in order to get away from the constant yammering of society in his ear to do what
people wanted him to do, not what he wanted to do. This is the worst type of consequence.
There is no one at fault for this but the society itself for. These pressures are lethal as explained
by Mr. Keating. Mr. Keating did nothing but warn the boys of the consequences of conformity
and try to steer them away from that. He was not at fault in this situation and should not have
been fired. Consequences come naturally and unfortunately for these characters, cannot be
avoided.
Pressure, rebellion, and consequences are the three pillars that took advantage of the
characters of Dead Poets Society and Fahrenheit 451. Neil, from Dead Poets Society, was
pressured by an unchanging society to rebel and become his own person, and was given the
worst consequence by the same society. From Fahrenheit 451, Montag was also pressured to
give in to his curiosities and faced consequences for these actions as well. Conformity is a
dangerous thing. It can push people to do things that they would never do if under different
conditions. Rebellion is sparked by conformity and can be followed by good or bad
consequences. Being your own person is important, but as Mr. Keating said, Sucking all the
marrow out of life doesnt mean choking on the bone (Dead). Harsh, hostile societies can be

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suffocating, eventually you are going to need to breathe, and that is exactly what the characters
in both of these works needed. The consequences that followed, were the result of too much
suffocation.

Cabble 5

Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1953. Print.
Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf Robin WIlliams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ethan
Hawke. Buena Vista Pictures, 1989. DVD.