Without the ability to successfully think or communicate, humanity becomes no different than a machine. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Montag represents the power of the Proletariats to rebuild a stronger society that values the freedom to express oneself. Bradbury’s intent of the novel is to demonstrate that the destruction, and the subsequent loss of freedom of thought, will be the thing that makes humans disappear. In the novel, Montag begins to have feelings of uncertainty and wants to bring change to the world with his own voice and actions. He was clearly unhappy at the beginning of the book and he lacked self-expression. We see Montag become more confident with his words and actions, and show a rebellious attitude. Lastly, he goes on the run to find people who strongly believe in self- expression and who want to change society to its once diverse self. In Fahrenheit 451, it is evident that society has taught individuals not to express their feelings or thoughts.
Being able to express oneself is a quality that makes a person who they are and determines what role they play in society. In the beginning of the book Montag lacks individual self-expression which is why he is clearly unhappy. Bradbury writes: “Nobody listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me, I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make sense” (Bradbury 82). People are not happy in this government controlled society, they want a way out and in Fahrenheit 451 Montag is the power of the proletariats that strives to achieve change. He began to open his eyes to change when he met Clarisse, someone who really began to help Montag see the life he has been living because of her free and independent attitude. She came into Montag’s life and made an immediate impact, as she questioned him about his career and his happiness. She asked Montag “Are you happy?” (Bradbury 10), which he thought was an irrelevant question until he got home and processed their conversation. He realized that he is not happy at all and becomes more aware of the tragedy that was his current society. As their conversation carried on Montag realized that he lived in a place where people only cared for themselves. This can be exemplified by the burning of books. The lack of freedom of thought is causing the society to fall apart and in order to create a free society, people must stop government suppression of expression.
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When curiosity is suppressed, it is only a matter of time before the curious rebel. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury paints an image of a futuristic world filled with technology, violence, and mind control. Montag was one of many firemen who were ordered to burn books and rid them from society. The firemen would raid individual’s homes and destroy all of the books they possessed. On one occasion, Montag, along with several other firemen, entered a woman’s home after it became known that she had books hidden in it. The woman was determined to stay with her books and preferred to burn with her books than to leave her home. Montag was shocked with her decision to stay with her books, but concerned with her safety: “Montag placed his hand on the women’s elbow. ‘You can come with me’” (Bradbury 39). This can be seen as a turning point for Montag. He began to understand that there was value in the books that he was burning and he needed to do something to stop the government from oppressing its citizens. Montag explains “there must be something in the books, something we can’t imagine, to make a women stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing” (Bradbury 148). Montag is seen being controlled by his own curiosity early on in the novel and shows a more rebellious attitude later on. The author writes “every fireman sooner or later hits this” (Bradbury 83), Beatty explains they all get curious about books and the meaning to freely express oneself. Even when Montag realizes that his questions against the government can have consequences, he continues to search for answers because he believes that it is the right thing to do for himself and his society. Montag goes against order and begins to secretly hide books taken from fires, building his future with books.
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, illustrates that when freedom is lost, individuals will coalesce and seek out others with similar beliefs to fight for what is right. Montag rebelled against his controlling government and went on the run to find people who were strong believers in expressing themselves and who wanted to change their society. He believed that individuals had the right to read books, have the ability to think independently, and spend time in nature. Instead, people were forced to spend their time watching television, and listening to the radio. Montag is truly a new character at the end of the book after he abandoned his life as a book-burner. He was seen as an individual who wanted to live a meaningful life, and make a positive difference in the world. This began when Montag thought “Beatty, you’re not a problem now. You always said don’t face the problem, burn it. Well now I’ve done both. Good-bye, Captain” (Bradbury 121). By killing Beatty, Montag planned on fleeing the city to preserve books and make copies of them to distribute throughout society. By doing this with Faber, a retired English professor, he was preserving prior knowledge, and was hoping that someday he would positively influence a new culture. Montag ended up joining a group of intelligent travelers who taught him the skills he needed to remember works of literature. He would later then use these skills to remember books after an atomic bomb was dropped on his city. Montag lead the proletariats to a free and liberated society. Those in power who did not believe in the freedom of self-expression didn’t survive to see the new society.
Freedom of thought is often taken for granted in today’s society. However, in Fahrenheit 451, there is no such freedom. Throughout Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, Montag proves to himself that thoughts are important and leads the proletariats to a free and liberated society. This freedom is not seen until a fireman, Montag, wants to bring change to the world through his own actions. The way he became more rebellious from the confidence he gained, and finally how he faced the government because of his interests in books. This book shows that everyone should have the right to freely express themselves, and have the right to freedom of thought. Even in today’s society, people are not able to truly express themselves for who they are, and books like Fahrenheit 451 are a crucial reminder that freedom of speech is something we cannot stop fighting for in our world. Having the ability to express oneself allows for creativity and imagination in society.
References
- Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012. Fahrenheit 451. New York :Simon and Schuster, 1967.
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