Fahrenheit 451

This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing. † (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him. montag becomes kinder: he sees the self-destructing, depressed people and is affected by them, instead of merely moving on in his life and not caring. He is so moved by his new change that he states, â€Å"It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was. he decides to stand for a real purpose: he decides to rebell against this terribly corrupted government by remembering his book. Quote: It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journa ls. Quote: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. Fahrenheit 451 Most people today think nothing of knowledge and take it for granted because they think it is easy to gain. In fact, many young adults tend to resist gaining knowledge and would rather entertain themselves with games, television or partying. However, authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen Vincent Benet would pity their indifference. In science fiction story, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of Guy Montag whose search for meaning and knowledge leads him to make difficult decisions throughout his journey. In â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† a science fiction story, a boy, John, discovers the truth while on a journey to become a man. Both stories teach an important lesson about gaining knowledge, that it cannot be gained passively-it requires sacrifice. Primarily, both stories show that the cost to gain knowledge is to lose part of one’s old self. In Fahrenheit 451, we see the main character, Montag, doing actions that require him to abandon his old routines. He had to give up his job, his wife, and his house to gain the books and knowledge he so desires. Bradbury quotes Montag in his description stating, â€Å"You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, one night, some women and her books-,† (page 51). This quote shows that Montag wants to quit his job just for the sake of gaining books and finding knowledge so he can be happier. This is necessary to gain knowledge because it shows how he had to abandon of all the stuff he did over so many years because he can’t gain knowledge with the other luxurious life right in front of him. He needed to let it go so he won’t go back to it. Montag did not quit his job at that point (but did later) because of opposition from his wife, Mildred, but learned that he had to let go of Mildred because she did not want to gain knowledge. Similarly, â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is like Fahrenheit 451 when approaching this idea of losing part of one’s old self. John, the main character is on a journey to become a man. He wants to gain knowledge and truth. He must go to a forbidden land where the Gods used to live, but soon finds out that they were men before his time. Benet mentions John in the following quote, â€Å"It is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now—there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken-but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we can make a beginning,† (page 509). This is when John finds out the truth and decides to abandon his old life. He finds this necessary because he knew the truth and knew that he can no longer follow his old life because it wasn’t true. He wants to make a new beginning and begin right where the â€Å"gods† left off but more slowly. He wants it slowly because he knows that too much knowledge will eat anyone up. All in all, both stories show that losing part of one’s old self is necessary in order to gain knowledge. Without doing so, the journey will be more difficult. In addition, one must take risks in order to gain knowledge. not finished lost other part Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenheit 451 Most people today think nothing of knowledge and take it for granted because they think it is easy to gain. In fact, many young adults tend to resist gaining knowledge and would rather entertain themselves with games, television or partying. However, authors Ray Bradbury and Stephen Vincent Benet would pity their indifference. In science fiction story, Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of Guy Montag whose search for meaning and knowledge leads him to make difficult decisions throughout his journey. In â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† a science fiction story, a boy, John, discovers the truth while on a journey to become a man. Both stories teach an important lesson about gaining knowledge, that it cannot be gained passively-it requires sacrifice. Primarily, both stories show that the cost to gain knowledge is to lose part of one’s old self. In Fahrenheit 451, we see the main character, Montag, doing actions that require him to abandon his old routines. He had to give up his job, his wife, and his house to gain the books and knowledge he so desires. Bradbury quotes Montag in his description stating, â€Å"You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, one night, some women and her books-,† (page 51). This quote shows that Montag wants to quit his job just for the sake of gaining books and finding knowledge so he can be happier. This is necessary to gain knowledge because it shows how he had to abandon of all the stuff he did over so many years because he can’t gain knowledge with the other luxurious life right in front of him. He needed to let it go so he won’t go back to it. Montag did not quit his job at that point (but did later) because of opposition from his wife, Mildred, but learned that he had to let go of Mildred because she did not want to gain knowledge. Similarly, â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is like Fahrenheit 451 when approaching this idea of losing part of one’s old self. John, the main character is on a journey to become a man. He wants to gain knowledge and truth. He must go to a forbidden land where the Gods used to live, but soon finds out that they were men before his time. Benet mentions John in the following quote, â€Å"It is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now—there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken-but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we can make a beginning,† (page 509). This is when John finds out the truth and decides to abandon his old life. He finds this necessary because he knew the truth and knew that he can no longer follow his old life because it wasn’t true. He wants to make a new beginning and begin right where the â€Å"gods† left off but more slowly. He wants it slowly because he knows that too much knowledge will eat anyone up. All in all, both stories show that losing part of one’s old self is necessary in order to gain knowledge. Without doing so, the journey will be more difficult. In addition, one must take risks in order to gain knowledge. not finished lost other part Fahrenheit 451 This woman had a tremendous impact on Montag. She burned with her books. When he is talking with Mildred about it later, he says â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing. † (pg 51) Mildred tries to say that the woman was simple-minded and that it is water under the bridge. Montag knows that the experience will last him a lifetime. He cannot put it out of his mind. He goes on to explain that for the first time he realized that a man wrote the books He had to think them up and put them down on paper, and then he came along and in two minutes burned it all up and it was over. It seriously bothered him. montag becomes kinder: he sees the self-destructing, depressed people and is affected by them, instead of merely moving on in his life and not caring. He is so moved by his new change that he states, â€Å"It doesn’t matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was. he decides to stand for a real purpose: he decides to rebell against this terribly corrupted government by remembering his book. Quote: It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journa ls. Quote: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. Fahrenheit 451