That is the time when any one person realizes that it is necessary to escape and go against society. Individuals begin to break free and go against a corrupt society when they start to think further than what the society wants them to. This is shown through the use of indirect and dynamic characterization in Ayn Rand's timeless novella Anthem, as well as Ray Bradbury's everlasting novel Fahrenheit 451.Throughout the whole story, Equality 7-2521 develops through the use of indirect characterization. He starts off his life being different from others, even looking different: “For your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers” (Rand 18).

Even from the start of his life, he is different from others. And although little is known about him except his physical feature, the author constantly reveals what he is like through his thoughts and his actions by the use of indirect characterization. It should be obvious to the reader that he is already beginning to think differently and further than the society thinks. This is revealed through his early thoughts and actions: “'This is a foul place. They are damned who touch the things of the Unmentionable Times.' But our hand which followed the track, as we crawled, clung to the iron as if it would not leave it” (Rand 33). Here, Equality, knows that being around and examining this thing is wrong, and he knows that he shouldn't be doing it, but he does it anyways. We can see through indirect characterization that he is beginning to think differently and beyond what the society would like him to think. He was taught when he was younger that the things of the ancient days were not to be experimented, yet there's this impulse inside of them that tells us, as the reader, that he is really beginning to break away from society.

His train of thought is running into a different station than all of the other ones. He doesn't quite realize here that he needs to start breaking away, but this passage alludes to it. Later on in the story, he realizes what is wrong with the world that he is living in and starts to break free from it: “We swung our first through the windowpane, and we leapt out in a ringing rain of glass” (Rand 75). Equality finally recognizes that it's necessary to getaway from the corrupt world that he is living in. There is always a time in an individual who understands when his moment comes and he needs rebel against the messed up society that he's living in. This was Equality's moment. He leaves in an outburst of anger and by this action the reader should comprehend through indirect characterization that Equality is an individual who is striving to get rid of the government system that exists.

In comparison, indirect characterization is also used throughout the story of Guy Montag to show when individuals recognize the need to break free from a tainted society. Guy is a burner of knowledge. His job is to destroy books as if they were monsters. He is stirred to think about things from a different viewpoint by Clarisse McClellan, his neighbor. His conversations everyday always end up with him rethinking about what life is: “He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a non-trembling, the two halves grinding one upon the other” (Bradbury 24). Through indirect characterization, the audience can tell that he's beginning to question everything that he has been doing. His conversations with this one girl, Clarisse McClellan, have such a big effect on him. Montag lives in a brainwashed society, but he is starting to think beyond what the government wants him too.

Only one in a million, like McClellan, actually think about what life is and question what happens every day. Montag, being a fireman, is almost like a tool that is being used by society to destroy all knowledge of the past. This is like in Equality's story, where to seek knowledge of the past is forbidden, and it's wrong and shunned upon. Both of the characters in the stories realize that knowledge is something that should be sought through. Equality and Montag both take extreme measure to prevent the destruction of knowledge, which eventually leads to straight-forward rebellion. Later on in the story, Montag begins to escape and rebel against society. This can be seen as he is talking to an old scholar, Faber, when they start to hatch a plan, “Plant the books, turn in an alarm, and see the firemen's houses burn” (Bradbury 85). His words tell the audience that he is a man of action, and that he wants to do something about the “burning books” problem as soon as possible.

This is the time in his life that Montag begins to understand why he needs to run away from this polluted society and get away to rebel. He's ready to turn around and betray his fellow fireman and instead of burning books, he plans to burn the people that burn books. Although this plan is very direct, in reality it would never work because the society has already stopped reading, the problem is not because of the fireman, but it goes deeper, it goes to the loss of knowledge probably years and years back. In both stories, it should be obvious that Montag and Equality relate to each other in many ways. They both have a point in their lives when they realize that need to break free from the society that is corrupt and damaged. This indirect characterization in both Fahrenheit 451 and Anthem show the reader and the audience the development of the main characters and when and how they break free of the corrupt society that they live in.

Also, as Equality develops throughout the story, he is seen as a dynamic character and this is also another element that shows why and when individuals need to break away from a corrupt society. As Equality grows through the story, he changes quite a bit. He is taught the rules of society and the values of the society, but he changes from them and develops his own values. He is always constantly changing and disregarding the rules: “Never, not in the memory of the Ancient Ones' Ancients, have men done that which we are doing. And yet there is no shame in us and no regret” (Rand 37). Equality is obviously changing dramatically because, he feels that never, not once in the history of the whole world, has anyone done as much evil as he has. This dynamic change shows us how he is breaking away from this tarnished society. He starts disregarding the rules, he develops his own ideas and own values, and he doesn't feel any wrongdoing in it, where as any other person in that society would feel wrong and live with it on their conscious.

He is always constantly growing and realizing that he needs to break away sometime soon and his changes are dynamic. And even once he is away from society and his community, he still is constantly changing: “But I am done with this creed of corruption. I am done with the monster of “We,” the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame” (Rand 97). This change in character tells the reader, that even though he's basically alone, he is still going against society. Throughout his whole life, he has been taught the word “we” as a word of equality, but he realizes that this definition of “we” isn't the definition that is true. His dynamic characterization in this novella shows how individuals break free of a corrupt society.

Along with Equality, the dynamic growth in Guy Montag also shows individuals breaking free of society. He starts of as a fireman, a burner of knowledge, and a wielder of fire. In the beginning, he believes that fire is this beautiful thing, this flame, but as he is changing and growing, he realizes that “Its real beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences” (Bradbury 115). This is a very dynamic change because he was always someone who favored fire. The author tells us that he always loved to burn; he always thought, “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 3). And as he goes on through the story, he comes to realize that fire destroys as well as creates. It takes away as well as gives. This change in him helps him realize that knowledge should be sought and should be taught instead of being burnt and lost forever. His thought changes from the brainwashed state that was of the past: “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame” (4).

His thought differs from everybody else's, and this difference causes him to discover that his true purpose in his life is to break free of the polluted society that he was born into and then change. He knows that once he takes this road that he can't turn back, but once he started thinking real individual thoughts, there was no turning back from that either, which was like Equality. Also, in both stories, both of the main characters take dramatic action against the society when they break free of it. They both change from people who kind of believe in the society, but always have a doubt, to individuals who both understand when and why they need to take action against the society is damaged beyond repair, so they need to break free, rebel, and create their own. All of these similarities in both stories demonstrate when and why individuals need to break away from a corrupt society because both of the stories are very similar.

Both of the stories, of Montag and of Equality, are similar in many ways. They both start of as individuals who are a part of the society and are apart of the big picture, a piece of the puzzle. But once they break away, the piece is missing and that ruins the whole picture. Both develop by means of dynamic and indirect characterization and this characterization shows individuals breaking away from a corrupt society when necessary. The two stories are also similar in the manner that they both realize that there needs to be a change in the society, whether it's for individuality or for knowledge, the two main characters recognize the need to change and rebel against society.

The authors demonstrate good use of dynamic and indirect characterization in the manner that they are able to convey the message of an individual distinguishing when a society needs to be questioned and to be rebelled against. It's when individuals begin to actually think, to think beyond the need to think, but to think because there's a want to think. To think thoughts that are different, to think thoughts that aren't manipulated, to be creative and think in a manner that would never be imagined, as long as that thought is in a positive manner. That is the moment that an individual will feel the need to change society.

Governance and Maintenance

During the Anthem story, the society met the needs of government and maintenance, but it wasn't a quality government where people can express themselves. The only reason that the government could work in such a society is because the people have not experienced a different one and so when they are born into a society like this, they can't do much about it. The whole system of the government picking the jobs and the government deciding basically everything that happens in your life is something that really makes you feel that you're being totally controlled. The people in that kind of society are brainwashed in a sense because they don't know a life of individuality and a life of freedom. I guess that the society met the needs of government, but the government that was established was one that did not improve upon society, but rather held it back.

When Equality 7-2521 went to see what job they would get they were assigned street sweeper, “for the lips of the oldest did not move as they said: "Street Sweeper"”(26). This is a specific example and it shows how society meets the government's needs. The government established was controlling everything that was going on. Everyone has to be satisfied with what they do because the government controls everything and that's how this collective society decided to meet the needs of a government system. Also, the response to whatever job that a person received was “The will of our brothers be done” (25). This doesn't make sense because they call each other brothers even though it is very obvious that the council members that are giving the jobs have a position of power so not everyone is exactly equal although they call each other equals.

This government system reflects the value of everyone being equal. Even though the people have no choice in what they are to do, everyone needs to be happy with it and satisfied with it because it is for the greater good of that society. So the society values everyone being equal, and I would think that most individuals don't value that, but they have to just because the society does. The government also reflects the value of obedience, because in order to listen and to take every order that you receive without questioning it or without arguing is very hard to do. All the individuals need to be obedient towards the government and that is another value that the society has as a whole.

Education

I think that the collective society in Anthem chose a good way to meet the education needs of the society. Everyone learns what they need to learn in their ten years at the Home of the Students. It's a very organized system that I think should work out well. The only problem with this system is that learning too quick is a sin. If you learn quick, it should be counted as a blessing, but it's almost like the government is trying to control what the people learn so that no one can be better than another person. The education system that the society has come up with is a good one, but the fact that they reject quick learning is a horrible problem with the education.

The good part about the education system is that it's organized and everyone should be learning the same thing throughout the 10 years in the learning progress. “In the Home of the Students we arose when the big bell rang in the tower and we went to our beds when it rang again” (21). This passage tells me that the system was very effective and it was a good system that was established by the collective society. It's kind of like the education system that we have today only longer and without any kind of free time. The worst part of about it was that it was a bad trait to have a quick learning ability. “It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick” (21).

The educational system of the collective society once again shows that the society as a whole values the fact that everyone should be equal. The story tells us that it is a sin to have a quick head which means that everyone should be at the same pace, no one should be any worse or any better than another single person. It shows that everyone isn't actually living for themselves, but for the society. This educational system also shows that the society values intellect, because everyone is constantly learning from the morning until the night and that's a lot of learning. Even though quick learning is a sin, the society still values education because the educational system puts a lot of time and effort into it.

Recreation

The collective society did not meet the needs of recreation because there were very few examples of recreational activities in the story. The one example that they had was the social recreation time at the end of the day. It's always a theatre play and it's always about the same thing. This definitely does not meet the needs of recreation because recreation is a time where individuals can have fun and enjoy themselves, not a place where you sit and watch a play everyday.

“Then the bell rings and we walk in a straight column to the City Theatre for three hours of Social Recreation. There a play is shown upon the stage, with two great choruses from the Home of the Actors, which speak and answer all together, in two great voices” (28). Although this is a long quote, it really shows that there is no difference in recreation everyday. At the end of the day it's always the same thing, by the same people and there is no possible way that anybody can enjoy themselves every single day like this. Recreation is about the individual having fun and in this collective society, there was no such thing so the needs of recreation was not met.

Once again, recreation shows the value of everyone being equal. The actors all speak and answer together, in two great voices it says. There is no individualism in that, it's all a group effort and something that is completely based on society. This type of recreation also shows that they don't really value variety. Everyday, everybody does the same exact thing, watching the same exact things, eating the same exact things. There is absolutely no difference in anyone's lives because no one really values change in this collective society.