From century to century there have been many instances of people standing up against wrongdoing in the face of great danger. One good example of this was slavery in the United States and the movement to abolish it. Frederick Douglass, a famous author and former slave from the time period, wrote numerous pieces arguing for the freedom of his people. In his autobiography entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he describes his experiences as a slave and how he attained education, despite overwhelming adversity. His story draws similarities to the fictional character Guy Montag created by Ray Bradbury, author of the book Fahrenheit 451’s protagonist. Both of these authors utilize characterization and conflict to develop their main …show more content…
person, the two authors develop their characters in the conflict of person vs. society. Douglass opposes slavery in the slave-dependent south, making him a target for slave-owners. While he does not publicly speak out in the story because of his situation, he knows in his mind that he wants freedom for slaves. He obtained this view after learning how slavery was born in the United States, which was through taking Africans from their homeland across the Atlantic and forcing them into grueling farm work. Douglass wrote that, “The more I read, the more I was lead to detest and abhor my enslavers.” This quote comes after he had read The Colombian Orator, works from Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and other documents which vindicated his position on emancipation. Through his education, which was already in direct defiance of slave-holding southern United States, he had developed a longing for liberty for himself and his fellow slaves. Similarly, Guy Montag holds the extremely unpopular view in his society that books should be preserved, not singed and seared. Montag has much less support for his position than Douglass does in his society, as literature in the world of Fahrenheit 451 had faded into oblivion after years of condemnation. Professor Faber, a somewhat cowardly but knowledgeable man who supports Montag’s position adds gas to the fire of Montag’s changing views on society. It is Faber who influences Montag to feel justified in his thoughts, even going …show more content…
person, person vs. society, and person vs. self. Each conflict reveals different traits about each character and influences them in different ways, but by the end of these stories Montag and Douglass are dedicated to improving society by freeing their people, whether it be from the physical fetters around slaves in Douglass’s autobiography or from the mental shackles that imprison free thought from literature in the world of Fahrenheit