I have been reading Fahrenheit 451, a book about a dark, futuristic society.  Montag, the main character, is trapped in a society that brainwashes its people and takes away freedoms.  Montag is a fireman who starts fires rather than putting them out.  The fires are started at homes of people who possess unapproved ideas (in the form of books).  He starts to think more independently after he befriends a girl named Clarisse, whose profound thinking changes Montag's perception of the world around him.

Montag burns a woman's house down at the end of part one, and it clearly affects him, as evidenced by this quote:

"'I'm counting to ten,' said Beatty. 'One. Two.' 

'Please,' said Montag. 

'Go on,' said the woman. 

'Three. Four.'"

Montag, by saying please, demonstrates his minuscule understanding of the true effects of his job, and takes a baby step towards fully realizing the wrongs of the society.