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
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