Montag In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

“Ecclesiastes contains the story of a man’s search for happiness. His writing often speaks of those things ‘under the sun,’ which are earthly things that do not bring lasting happiness or joy” (Valletta, Thomas). The Ecclesiastes from the Old Testament relates to the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Montag, the main character in the novel, discovers that he is unhappy with his life as a fireman when he meets a girl named Clarisse. He becomes very interested in the world around him and begins to question why he burns books for a living. At the end of the story, Montag begins to memorize the book of Ecclesiastes. Ray Bradbury mentions this book from the bible in his story because the story of Simon’s life in the book Ecclesiastes is very

As it says in the front of Fahrenheit 451 before it even begins, “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way,” Montag does not care about breaking the rules anymore (1). As Beatty told Montag, when nobody read books anymore because of technology, they eventually started getting rid of books all together. The government wanted everyone to be equal, and they did not want anyone being smarter than anyone else by reading books. Montag decides he wants to get out the books he has been hiding in his ventilator grille. Montag begins to learn: “I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness” (King James Bible, Ecc. 7.25). Just as Simon wanted to find the reason behind everything, so did Montag. Montag wanted MIldred to accept the book’s knowledge with him, although she was very scared of the books that he had. Montag knows that him and Mildred have to read these, or they will never find true happiness in life: “We’ve got to start somewhere here...We’re heading right for the cliff, Millie. God I don’t want to go over” (66). Once he does, he starts gaining knowledge. Montag is becoming a wiser man, and “the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it” (King James Bible, Ecc. 7.12). Books are necessary for Montag to gain knowledge about the world outside the bubble he is trapped

In Ecclesiastes, it talks about how “God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions” (King James Bible, Ecc. 7.29). Although back in Simon’s time there was not technology, they still sought worldly pleasures over knowledge and wisdom. There is a big time difference, but there are still many similarities between both stories. Evil can be known in all times: “For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them”-****. In Fahrenheit 451, the people are caught, and sometimes the inventions come so suddenly that they fall into the trap without even knowing it. When they are in the trap for a long time, it becomes their whole life. Mildred loves watching television so much that it has become like her family: “My ‘family’ is my people. They tell me things: I laugh they laugh! And the colors!” (73). Montag and Mildred are basically strangers now; they do not do anything together anymore because Mildred is always watching the parlor walls. Although Montag’s knowledge is growing and growing “ the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard” (King James Bible, Ecc. 9.16). The individuals in Montag’s life do not listen to him; they always listen to the media. How will they ever learn that there is more to life