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Ammy Nguyen

Literary Analysis

Mrs. Baker

20 November 2018

Weird in a World of Normal

World famous singer-songwriter John Lennon once said, “It’s weird not to be weird”.

Lennon is recognized as a star of his era for being unique from the general population. Breaking

away from the mold civilization creates is a repeated theme in music, movies, and literature. In

the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and the film Dead Poets Society, the theme of

rebellion versus conformity appeared in the protagonist's actions, external influences, and

resulting consequences.

Guy Montag, the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, and Neil Perry, one main character in

Dead Poets Society, both committed actions considered rebellious within their societies. For both

characters a single action began the subsequent chain of events. Montag began his downward

spiral when he revealed the books he’d stolen to Mildred as “he kept moving his hand and

dropping books, small ones, fairly large ones, yellow, red, green ones”(Bradbury 65).

Bradbury emphasized the variety of books Montag stole, highlighting the severity of the

situation, for Montag broke the very rule he once enforced. In comparison, Neil Perry’s changing

action was less dramatic, but nonetheless significant. Neil began his rebellion by auditioning for

a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This broke away from the rigid structure of

Welton Academy and pushed Neil on his path of self expression.

A huge connection between the two characters is the reading of literature. Montag read

books as he sought to understand the wrongs of the world he lived in. He defied the ban against
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books to try and understand himself and other people. While it was not illegal to read poetry in

Neil’s universe, putting emotion and expression into poetry was considered a waste of time. By

not only reading poetry, but performing it, Neil defied the disciplined education system at

Welton Academy. Take for example the scene when Neil read a poem by Henry David Thoreau,

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck

all the marrow out of life” (“Dead”). This is the first poem he read at the reopening of the Dead

Poets Society, symbolizing the opening of new gateways to seek personal identity.

Montag and Neil are also related because they defied the authority above them. In

Montag’s case he ignored the warnings Captain Beatty gave him and chose to read anyway. In

doing so he defied his superior and rebelled against the overall authority of society. Neil chose to

defy his father when he joined the theatre production. For instance Neil Perry said, “‘For the

first time in my whole life, I know what I wanna do! And for the first time, I'm gonna do it!

Whether my father wants me to or not! Carpe diem!’” (“Dead”). Neil’s father represents the

authority over Neil and by rebelling against him Neil begins to gain self identity like Montag.

Furthermore, both Guy Montag and Neil Perry were influenced negatively and positively

by the people around them. A mentor is an essential character in a hero cycle to teach the

protagonist to break away from the frame they were set in. In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse acted as

Montag’s glasses to reality. Her personality and words forced Montag to realize the pitfalls of the

world around them. Montag revealed Clarisse’s impact on him by stating, “‘She was the first

person I can remember who looked straight at me like I counted’”(Bradbury 72). He realizes

she is different from society, and he feels he must understand her differences, leading to his

actions in the novel. In a like manner, Neil is influenced by Mr. John Keating. Mr. Keating’s

motivational statements such as, “You must strive to find your own voice because the longer
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you wait to begin, the less likely you are going to find it at all” (“Dead”) inspired the boys,

including Neil, to seek their own paths. Keating supports Neil in his endeavours to perform and

advises him to express his feelings to his father resulting in the subsequent events of the film.

As protagonists of their stories, Neil and Montag were also influenced by the antagonists

they faced. Beatty represented the authority in Montag’s society. Before his separation from the

ideals of society, Montag believed in Beatty and the ideals they shared. After Montag begins to

pull away Beatty attempts to persuade him back to the standards of society. Similarly, Mr.

McCallister, the Latin teacher in Dead Poets Society, and Headmaster Nolan represent the

authority at the Academy. Both men teach the boys to ignore individuality and free thought, and

instead just follow the clearly marked paths paved for them. They do not believe in free thoughts

and big dreams. Mr. Mcallister once said , “‘Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams,

and I’ll show you a happy man” (“Dead”) meaning, happiness cannot be found in dreams.

These ideas are driven into the boys until they meet Mr. Keating.

In both Fahrenheit 451 and Dead Poets Society there are characters who represent the

majority, or the norm of society. These characters cannot break away from the mold they have

filled, and often expose the rebellious nature of other characters to the authority. For instance,

Mildred from Fahrenheit 451 reported Montag, her own husband, to the firmen because she

could not deal with defying the law. In a similar vein Richard Cameron from Dead Poets Society

exposes the Dead Poets Society and blames Keating for Neil's suicide leading to the termination

of Keating’s teaching position. Cameron holds the thought process of characters like him. He

states, “You can’t save Keating but you can save yourselves” (“Dead”) revealing how selfish

and rule abiding he is, much like Mildred.

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Because of the society of conformity they live in, the actions of Guy Montag and Neil

Perry led to life altering consequences. In both situations the pioneers of rebellion were punished

for defying authority. In Fahrenheit 451, Captain Beatty came to Montag’s home and forced

Montag to burn it down. Like Beatty says, “‘I want you to do this job all by your lonesome,

Montag. Not with kerosene and a match, but piecework, with a flamethrower. Your house,

your clean-up’”(Bradbury 109). A similar situation in Dead Poets Society would be when Neil’s

father announces he must go to military school. His father did this to show Neil his rebellious

actions in joining the production are unacceptable and will be punished. These consequences in

both the novel and the film are meant to discourage rebellion, but both only push the rebellion

along.

The consequences Neil and Montag face lead them to make extreme decisions. Montag

chooses to leave the society he lives in, after being pursued for murder. He can no longer deal

with the restrictions society places on knowledge, so he leaves. The group of intelects he joins

explain to him the power of knowledge. Neil chose a much more extreme route of escape when

he commited suicide. He believed death would be better than conforming to the ideals his father

placed on him. After learning he was to attend a military academy Neil made the ultimate

decision to take his own life. By doing so he committed the ultimate act of rebellion and escaped

the fate he felt conforming held in store for him.

At the end of both the movie and the novel, the societies of conformity in both works fell

apart do to the destruction they caused and the inspiration the protagonists gave to others in the

society. In Fahrenheit 451 after Montag leaves, the city burns because of the war society found

themselves in. This represents the burning of the corruption and conformity and the ability to

rebuild after disaster. In Dead Poets Society Todd Anderson is inspired by Neil’s suicide and the
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firing of Keating to speak up against the regulation of the academy. He stood on his desk and

proclaimed, “Oh Captain, my Captain”(Whitman), and other boys from his class joined him in

saluting Mr. Keating as he left the school. By doing this the boys show they won’t snap under the

pressure of conformity, and will continue to rebel and keep and open mind.

Society is always carefully guiding people to follow the parameters considered normal;

however, some of the most recognizable people in the world are known for rebelling against

conformity in their societies. These same people are labeled weird, but weird is not an insult.

Weird is defined as something beyond normal, something unique. No average person has

become a changing force by being average. Great rebels began as a weird people with a weird

ideas, refusing to conform to the world around them.

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York, The Ballantine Publishing Group, Oct. 1953.

Dead Poets Society. Directed by Peter Weir. Touchstone Pictures, Jan. 1989.