Fahrenheit 451 Passage Analysis

Both Ray Bradbury and E.B. White’s given excepts analyze the purpose of direction in life through descriptions of the natural world. For example, the motif of smells is evident in both excerpts to connect the ideas of direction, observation, and searching to physical images and things. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury writes “There must have been a billion leaves on the land; he waded in them, a dry river smelling of hot cloves and warm dust” (144). Meanwhile, in Stuart Little, the repairman describes, “I have sat at peace on the freight platforms of railroad junctions in the north, in the warm hours and with the warm smells”. “Warm smells” carries the connotation of being attractive to the senses. In both passages, the smells are used to orient the characters in a direction; the repairman, Stuart Little, and Montag each move follow the appealing smells of nature, which ultimately provides them with both physical and mental direction.

Furthermore, both passages describe the influence of searching from something and nature on human thought, observation, and reflection. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag says, “He stood breathing, and the more he breathed the land in, the more he was filled up with all the details of the land. He was not empty. There was more than enough here to fill him. There would always be more than enough” (144). As a firefighter in the society, Montag had lived a fast-paced life devoid of thought, nature, and true reflection and observation. However, the natural forest forces Montag to slow down and observe his surroundings and look for something specific, the railroad tracks. As he notices the natural world, he recognizes its value, and begins to understand the artificial emotions material items had given