Examples Of Enlightenment In Fahrenheit 451

Enlightenment brings a greater emphasis and celebration of true values rather than blissful ignorance through the perseverance of thought-provoking questions and the search for a higher calling. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag becomes self-inflicted when his entire identity is uprooted by questions from strange characters that are socially marginalized. In pursuit of the true meaning of life instead of what society deems as valuable, Montag is forced to go on the run, but maintained “a grip on the books, and forced himself not to freeze” as “the roar from the beetle's engines whined higher as it put on speed” (Bradbury 120). Though Montag has been persecuted to a vast extent, he remains conscious of his original goal of maintaining the

The same hope is brought to many in contemporary society through religious texts such as the Bible, Torah, or the Quran. These texts illustrate to the masses what values a person should carry with them, and how they can beneficially serve God and others. Many have been persecuted for their beliefs and many continue to be persecuted. But, their continued faith in God is what propels them forward, just as Montag is propelled as well. Just as Bradbury demonstrates the importance of a higher calling, so does Aristotle in his text “Allegory of the Cave”. In the allegory, the prisoners who are bonded in the cave, once given freedom, are too blinded by the light to embrace it. He argues to the audience that the “lord” is this bright “visible light” that is “the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual” (Aristotle 35). The light that society pushes many away from fully gasping in the idea of enlightenment. The prisoners in the cave are a metaphor for the vast extent of society that turns away from a greater truth of love, acceptance, caring, and