Montag’s plight in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, illustrates the human instinct to fight conformity in order to pursue knowledge when it is forbidden. The government’s attempt to ban literature from society proved only to incite the masses further. The effects of banning books lead to common suicides.
In Fahrenheit 451, we learn that suicide is a common occurrence. When Mildred is in the hospital, the workers nonchalantly mention that suicide is rather common. Despite Beatty strongly reinforcing society’s ideas throughout the novel, Beatty didn’t truly support their ideas in the end. We learn in the novel that Beatty had an identity crisis and wanted to stage revolutions. He tells us that he used to read books, and he was highly informed.