According to (Oxford, 2019), free will is “the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate’ the ability to act at one’s discretion”. Both Bradbury’s and Atwood’s novels blatantly disregard this term and in replace, supplement different ways they think people can conform to their regimes. For example in Atwood’s novel The Handmaid's Tale, free will exists inside the loopholes of the system the government has set up for the handmaids. Even though they are dependent upon specific rituals and dress codes, as well as social techniques about speaking with the couples they serve, the 'system' can't control their emotions. Friendships are set up between handmaids even though jealousy proliferates for the pregnant ones like Janine, the handmaids still have contact with each other. Sex may never again be seen as pleasurable, yet doesn't limit the arousal Nick, the guard, and the Commander have for Offred. The handmaids in their edginess and confinement have devised certain schemes to set themselves free. Moira: Offred's great friend, who has disappeared, sets herself free by cleverly harming her 'employer'. On the off chance that the handmaid has the smarts, freedom is plausible to acquire. Nonetheless, that is the extent to which freedom is stretched out. This is because the punishments are desperate on the off chance that they do not produce a scheme within a certain measure of time or on the off chance that they are caught when escape. These feelings are expressed when Offred says, “A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze”.
One night, while Montag is on duty, he is forced to burn a heap of books with kerosene; however, the issue is that the elderly lady who owned the books would not leave her house. Thus, Captain Beatty forced Montag to burn the books alongside the elderly woman. The night wherein this occurrence happened, Montag resisted the rules by stealing a Bible. This was his first act of rebelling. Another demonstration that indicated to the readers that he was altering his perspective on burning books was the point at which he talked with Faber, alongside choosing to read books even though they were still illegal. He planned to end the act of burning books, promote them, and show his community that they were not harmful, but rather loaded with knowledge. This shows the readers then how he represents free will when he decides to secretly read books and go against the law. Later on, Montage then says, “Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. They just might stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes!”. This quote shows that he is no longer afraid of what books hold and no longer treats them as a threat but rather sees them as useful tools. Instead of seeing these books as a threat, Montag sees the possibility of books being able to restore the diseased faith in humanity.
Throughout The Handmaid's Tale, individuality plays a big part in how the story runs. For example, the three main conventions of individuality in The Handmaid's Tale include clothing, naming, and the economic status of women in Gilead. Gilead has attempted to expel the individuality of its residents from various perspectives. Everybody is ordered into a rigid chain of command, with various uniforms in explicit colors to indicate their role within the state association. Without a decision of dress, the distinctions in individuality are limited. In addition to this, the women’s original names are forbidden. Even though we realize that the kitchen workers at the Commander's are Rita and Cora, their name is rarely given, and the Handmaids are explicitly taboo their names: they are just known by the names of their ‘owners’. Handmaids are likewise distinguished by a number tattooed on their lower legs. Furthermore, in Gilead, women’s power is even more forbidden than the before statements. Throughout the novel and the movie series, women are no longer allowed nor able to work in professions. Women now working as jezebels were once scientists, lawyers, or in business in executive positions. They are restricted from having their bank accounts, every woman must be under the control of a male also known as their ‘owner’.
Joy chasing and interruption are the signs of the way of life where Montag lives. Even though these may seem like a self-serving set of qualities, the way of life does not celebrate or even endure a wide scope of self-articulation. Corruption and careless excitement are the standard, as long as the individuals in the society of Fahrenheit 451 stick to movies and sports and race their cars, interests that require minimal singular thought, they're disregarded by society. In any case, at whatever point people begin to scrutinize the reason for such a life, and start to search for answers in books or the common world and express doubts, they become threats. Their questions and actions may make others face the troublesome questions that their culture is intended to distract them from. Hence, in the society of Fahrenheit 451, individuals who express their individuality become social outsiders at best, and even at worst can find themselves at genuine risk. Clarisse McClellan represents free thought and individuality. She's that character that would preferably talk and observe the regular world firsthand, and ask questions. Fahrenheit 451's society is set out to extinguish individuality. Characters who go against the general societal conformity such as Clarisse, Faber, Granger, and Montag do so as if they’re trembling on thin ice.
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Essay on ‘Fahrenheit 451’ Characters.
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