Similarities And Differences Between Anthem And Fahrenheit 451

At first glance, Anthem by Ayn Rand, Fahrenheit 451 (F451) by Ray Bradbury, and Frederick Douglass may not have the same history or have any of the common grounds. However, all three of the main character somewhat faces the same conflicts in each of the stories. Montag, the main character from F451, struggled with his society over wanting to read books and letting them be aloud therefore; with the knowledge of knowing what was right and what was wrong, Montag got himself into some trouble. Frederick Douglass, in Narrative of Life of Frederick Douglass, was once a slave, wanted to learn to read and write and wanted to be free but faced many dilemmas to contain the desires. Equality, from Anthem, was born into a society where everything he believed …show more content…
All three were placed in complete ignorant societies. Therefore, Douglass was put in a society where blacks were treated different than whites and where not aloud to read. “I pretend not to be interested in what they said, and treated them as if I did not understand them” (Douglass 100-102), explained Douglass. In Douglass’ society the people were ignorant and did not believe that he would understand what they were uttering. Douglass knew he was not aloud to read and write in his type of society, but did not pay any attention to the people who doubted him. Meanwhile, Montag was at the point in his life where his society decided that having revenge was relevant. It needs to be clear that Montag did not kill Beatty for revenge. Beatty’s death was because he was ignorant and did not choose his last words wisely. “And then, after a time of the men sitting around the fire, their faces expressionless, and announcer on the dark screen said, ‘The search is over, Montag is dead; a crime against has been avenged “’ (F451 70). In Montag’s society, this is what should be done. It’s also very ignorant. Everybody in that society believes what he/she told to believe. Therefore, the crime he committed was from having books. In Equality’s society everything that is done wrong is a transgression. Equality believed himself as a transgression. Everything he has done was different from the …show more content…
In Fahrenheit 451, Montag had killed his boss. He had many emotions that came with Beatty’s death. “In the middle of crying Montag knew it for the truth. Beatty had wanted to die. He had just stood there, not really trying to save himself, just stood there, joking, needling, thought, Montag, and the thought was enough to stifle his sobbing and let him pause for air” (F451 57). This explains that Montag was trying to convince himself that Beatty was giving him permission to kill him. In Anthem, Equality said, “Darkness swallowed us. There was nothing left around us, nothing save night and a thin thread of flame in it, as a crack in the wall of a prison.” Equality explains the darkness in that time. He believed it swallowed him as a person and would not be able to come out of it. This shows how bad of a time it was for him. Additionally, Frederick Douglass went through a disturbing time also. Douglass had stated, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free.” At that time in Douglass’s life, he did not believe anything would get better. He felt that that giving up would be his best option. For him all he wanted was to be free and not to be a slave. Also to move on in his life and being able to read and write was his main goals in life. Therefore, all three characters had many problems with darkness in their lives