Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Fahrenheit 451

Human Resilience Many people revel in the understanding that, no matter how different we look on the outside, human beings are all the same inside, not just with the placement of organs and the ways our muscles flex, but also in our wants and fears, such as our need to understand the meaning of life and our fear of death and the unknown. This sense of sameness makes characters in books and movies relatable and easy to connect with. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Frederick Douglass’s The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the fictional Guy Montag and one of the leading abolitionists of the 19th century, Frederick Douglass, experience many of these conditions as they fight an oppressive government and its laws. In Fahrenheit 451 and The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, both authors
address the human conditions that cause us to be resilient.
In Fahrenheit 451 and The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the authors address the human’s instinctive sense of curiosity. For example, when Clarisse prompts Montage to wonder about his job, he asks the captain “Was it always like this? The firehouse, our work?” (Bradbury 34). Clarisse’s friendship with Montag instills in him a curiosity about his life that fuels his development as a character throughout the novel, leading him to steal forbidden books and question his relationship with his wife. As Montag’s curiosity ignites, his life changes dramatically as he begins to distrust the life he leads under the rule of a government that actively suppresses human curiosity and creativity, a life he once led without question or thought. Similarly, In The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the titular narrator became interested in the word abolition and “set about learning what it meant” (Douglass 51). The curiosity that led Douglass to explore an oppressive term he did not understand eventually inspired his role in the abolitionist movement. Without utilizing his natural curiosity, an innate human trait, Douglass may never have had developed the desire to escape to freedom in the North. In both Fahrenheit 451 and The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the authors exhibit the human need to understand and learn.
In both Fahrenheit 451 and The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the authors address the irreducible fear of isolation.
In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse McClellan remarks, “I haven’t any friends. That’s supposed to prove I’m abnormal” (Bradbury 30). Clarisse addresses the fear of exclusion that many people associate with being alone. Clarisse, shown throughout her conversations with Montag to have an unhindered view of their world, understands the human need for contact and interaction and the “abnormality” of rejecting this construct. Also, in The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass notes, “The thought of leaving my friends was decidedly the most painful thought with which I had to contend” (Douglass 106). Even when faced with the very real possibility of freedom, Douglass’ worries still lie in his friends that he has gained in his time in the South. Humans instinctively fear the inevitability of isolation, and the very real danger that he would face should he escape slavery elevates Douglass’ fear of leaving the people he loves. In both Fahrenheit 451 and The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, the authors address the irreducible fear of
isolation.
No matter how different the human race may look individually, as a whole, we are fantastically alike in our nature. In Fahrenheit 451 and The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, both Guy Montag and Frederick Douglass keep a resilient mind through curiosity and a need for human contact as they fight both a fictional and historical government.

Works Cited
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine, 1991. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Schuster, 2004. Print.