Suicide In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

More than 1 million people die each year from suicide. These people commit suicide for various reasons. Some cite financial troubles, while others just cite unhappiness. Regardless of the motive, suicide is still a consequential decision. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, two women commit suicide. These women are polar opposites from each other, yet they both were discontent about their society. One of these women, named Mildred, is secretly discontent about her life. Mildred unhappiness grows because she is unable to express her unhappiness because of her fear of society’s backlash. The other woman was unwilling to give up her books. She would have rather died with them than to see them burn. Suicide happens frequently in this society because of people’s inability to express emotions and having to live in fear of backlash.

In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, Mildred is shallow and indifferent from everyone in the society. She is unable to express her emotions because of her fear of society’s backlash. It is this fear that lead to her overdose of sleeping pills. In the novel, it states, “You took all the pills in your bottle last night… I wouldn’t do a thing like that. Why would I do a thing like that?”(Bradbury 17) This quote implies that Mildred is unable to express her emotions to other people. This could be due to many reasons. For one, the society in which Mildred lives in considers expressing emotions taboo. If the society would learn to accept people’s thoughts, and allowed them to express themselves freely, then Mildred would not have attempted