Fahrenheit 451 Pt. 2

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury connects to Divergent by Veronica Roth. In Divergent, people are being controlled. They are forced to mindlessly do what they are told because of a mind-control serum in their blood. In Fahrenheit 451 the people are also mindless, but not because they are directly being forced. There is no serum controlling them, but they are led to have no desire to really do anything or think about anything. 

In both stories there are people that can rise above the control and think for themselves. They are different. Fahrenheit 451 has people like Montag. These people are not content with the "normal" lifestyle. They want to think for themselves, read, and learn. I don't know how these certain people become aware, but few do. In the other book, people who are not influenced by mind-control serum are called Divergent. This includes people like Tris. 

Both of these groups of people are constantly in danger. The government does not want anyone to be different or to know what is going on. Both Tris and Montag are hunted and they are often close to being killed. The two books have many parallels. 

Montag is not happy with the way he is living. But are there some that are happy? Mildred, Montag's wife seems happy. She is content with staying at home. She sits and talks to the tv's that are covering three of their parlor walls. Mildred would rather talk to the fake people on the walls that to her husband. She is a perfect model citizen, very against books and any conversation, law abiding and quite average. And she seems very happy. The only thing that brings her distress is when Montag starts breaking the law and reads books. 

So are these laws actually for the best? If Mildred, and most everyone else can be so perfectly happy when they are distracted from real life, distracted from any worries, why isn't this a utopia? Is thinking really a good thing if it brings so many other unpleasant things with it? 

We need thinking. We need it because, even if it brings some bad things, it also brings good. You can sit and think about whatever you want, choose to think about war and poverty or choose to think about freedom and the miracle of human existence. That the thing, you can choose. Because when thinking is taken away from Montag's world, they aren't just taking their thoughts. They are also taking away freedom and individuality. 

"I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough. it'll make sense."

Even if you have time to think of bad things, you can't have good without bad. Mildred may think she is happy, but what is there to compare to? Nothing will ever bring her any real emotion. The only thing she can really ever feel is ok. There will be no heart wrenching sadness, but there will also be no glowing joy. The sadness we experience just contributes to make the happiness feel that much better. 

"Stuff your eyes with wonder... Live as is you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such and animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down all day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that, shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass."