Fahrenheit 451 Intellectual Freedom Analysis

861 Words4 Pages
Beatty and Montag have a talk after Montag calls in “sick”. When Montag was reviewing the conversation to his wife, he states, “[Beatty’s] right. Happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I’m not happy, I’m not happy.” (page 62) In the future of a time when “firemen put fires out instead of going to start them”, Guy Montag, a fireman in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, starts to question the importance of intellectual freedom. This soon shows that intellectual freedom can help place wings, so that one can learn to soar for the finding of a fulfilling life. If there is no intellectual freedom one can be a hopeless broken-winged bird, frightened and curious if there is more beyond the place they…show more content…
Having freedom tied down by others is a difficult obstacle to overcome. It seems you have to first change the minds of the majority, or a group, to make a significant change. Fighting on your own makes it even harder. Desperate to find an accomplice or many, Montag makes sudden moves. He reads a piece of poetry to Mildred, his wife, and her friends. When they finish Mrs. Phelps starts to cry and Montag is to blame. Mrs. Bowles starts yelling, “I’ve always said, poetry and tears, poetry and suicide and crying and awful feelings, poetry and sickness; all that mush! Now I’ve had it proved to me. You’re nasty Mr. Montag”. (page 97) His reading did not open the minds of the ladies and allow them to speak for themselves, or see their intellectual independence. After Mildred’s attempt of suicide Montag calls the operator who comes over and responds, "We get these cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built." (page 13) This shows that not everything is perfect in the future, and dissatisfaction is subdued. Montag sees that we have to have lows before we can have highs. "Let you alone! That's all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?" (page 52) The society all says the same thing because, at that time, the government wanted everyone to be “equal”. Society takes away the curiosity of what is beyond just their town. Keeping it the same means no change which can make your emotions stay the same. Montag is sad simply because he is never happy. People need to be bothered, not by self-inflated bubbles but by something important, something real. The society closes further thoughts from the norm and leaves Montag to stand
Open Document