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Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Fahrenheit 451

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Reality and fiction, though easy to decipher, often share a baseline of truth. This truth lies in a stories theme and in histories testimony of occurrences and reasons for these occurrences in the past. Look simply at the words and one can see that every history has a “story”; a story with a theme and message. In the life o f Guy Montag, Farenheit 451, the main goal is simply survival in a dystopian world where all that he knows and trusts is put to the test of doubt and change. Frederick Douglass was an American Slave, hoping only to one day be freed of his chains, both literal and figurative. It is in the two divergent lives of Guy Montag and Frederick Douglass where one can truly see how a story and history are not so different after all. …show more content…

On page 113, Ray Bradbury uses the mechanical hound to personify the future of the people and their ignorance. This unsightly creature seems to be something only those who are blind to their surroundings, like those in Fahrenheit 451 and in the era of slavery, are able to imagine. While this beast shows the inner conflict of Montag with what he knows is right versus what he has been taught, one can also cross apply the analogy to that of the lives of slaves and free men in America. Looking toward the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, the analogy is furthered in meaning by Douglass's courage and ability to overlook the flaws of Christianity and to keep his faith, as seen on page 158 of the novel. Simply looking at the history of slavery, it is clear to see that many people refused to see the theoretical hound and instead chose to be blind to the terrors they …show more content…

The complete lack of knowledge in the world of Fahrenheit 451 leads citizens to be afraid of what they do not understand. Firemen keep this fear in place and provide reasoning as to why the people of that world should fear knowledge, whereas those who rebel and read simply try to prove that what you do not know is not always bad or evil. In American history, many people were simply unaware of the happenings of slavery. While one would know slavery was real they wouldn’t know, or understand, that the slaves were put through torture and were barely able to survive their owners. The proof that lack of knowledge leads to actions of evil proves that knowledge is

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