Theme Handout

Why Individual Self Expression Is Important

Olivia Popovich, Kayla Blumberg, Jenna Caimano, Andrew Hahn, Aaron Goetz

Bell 4

Timeline

• After meeting Clarisse, Montag starts to question his life and if what he’s doing, with burning the books is actually the right thing to do for society.
• During the situation with Ms. Blake, and her showing Montag all of the books she owned, and telling Montag her true feelings and thoughts on being able to have books, changed the way Montag  looked at himself and his actions.
• Meeting Faber and showing him a want to go see the books, and not turning him in. Obviously being a person that starts fires for a living for people that have books, it doesn’t seem like a usual thing to do to not start a fire for someone with books. This shows Montag’s change in character ever since realizing that books may actually be a key party to the way society works
• When Montag reads the poem, Dover Beach to Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles, he is trying to get them to see how important self expression is to individual people and to society.
• After burning down his house, Montag kills Beatty because he is willing to do anything to save the books.
• After the bombs hit the city, Montag starts remembering the book of Ecclesiastes,  Montag gets time to reflect on his life, and he thinks about everything he has done and all that had just happened to him, through the actions of him showing his true self.

Montag grows as a person in the book, and shows more self expression as it goes on.

Textual Evidence

• “Of course I’m happy.  What does she think?  I’m not? he asked the quiet rooms.” (Bradbury 8)
• “Then the old man grew even more courageous and said something else and that was a poem, too.  Faber held his hand over his left coat pocket and spoke these words man’s coat.  But he did not reach out.” (Bradbury 71)
• “He twitched the safety catch on the flame thrower.  . . . And then he was a shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling gibbering manikin, no longer human or known, all writhing lame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him.” (Bradbury 112-113)

Why Is this Theme Important to the story?

This theme is important to the story because without it nothing would’ve happened, Montag would never feel the same way towards books if he would have never showed his true feelings about how books can really change the way someone views society and life in general.

How does this theme connect to modern society today?

This theme connects to modern society today because in our country we are able to show who we are through the clothes we wear, our religion and many other things that we can turn to to express our own self expression, which shows up in Fahrenheit 451 multiple times. It’s very important to be aware of this because without it, everyone would be and act in the same manner.