“You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing there will be no result”~ Mohandas Gandhi. One of the many themes shown through the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is action vs. inaction. The main character Guy Montag, who is an inactive fireman who burns down the homes of book owners as a punishment for breaking the law, turns into an active man who takes action upon his beliefs. Bradbury, who published the book in 1953, predicts a future filled with restrictions and a strong government that controls everything. When Montag starts to understand the value of books, and how the books can change the society, he becomes a rebel and tries to help save the society. Relatively, the song “Once in Awhile” by Timeflies portrays the same idea of action vs. inaction. The main character in the song has to ask himself what he is doing, and if he is making a change to the society he lives in. “Once in Awhile” and Fahrenheit 451 have a strong correlation with each other because they both have lines that illustrate the theme, action vs. inaction. To begin with, Timeflies’ song “Once in Awhile” uses lyrics that describe the theme action vs.
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inaction in Fahrenheit 451 flawlessly. The main part of the chorus presents this relation- “Once in awhile, I ask myself / What am I doing?” (Steve Mc Ewan and Tom Shapiro). These lines relate to the realization that Montag makes in the middle of the novel. This realization comes from the old woman dying with her books. The novel states, “‘There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there’” (Bradbury 54). Because of this brave act made by the woman, Montag asked himself what he was doing, and if what he was doing was the most lawful thing. This is the eye-opening act that made Montag take action. Montag, from this point forward, tries to find out what is really inside of books, and what made the lady end her life with her books. To continue, another line in the song that goes with the theme is, “Once in awhile, I need your help”. This line ties into this theme because after Montag knows what he is going to do and what he will take action upon, he goes to Faber to go get some help. Faber is an English professor who loves books, and he is called upon by Montag to help him. But at first, Faber does not want to take action like Montag even though he believes in books strongly. The novel says, “Then you don’t care anymore (books)?” Montag said. / “I care so much I’m sick.” / “And you won’t help me?” / “Goodnight, goodnight” (96). This shows how Faber does not want to take action, unlike Montag. Eventually, Montag does persuade Faber to help him, but it takes him awhile to change his mind. Montag goes to get help because he wants to take action, but Faber, who believes strongly in books, does not want to take action. This is the main part of the action vs. inaction theme, Montag being active and Faber being inactive. Finally, the last lines that make a strong connection to the theme are,”I've been looking at where we're going /
inaction in Fahrenheit 451 flawlessly. The main part of the chorus presents this relation- “Once in awhile, I ask myself / What am I doing?” (Steve Mc Ewan and Tom Shapiro). These lines relate to the realization that Montag makes in the middle of the novel. This realization comes from the old woman dying with her books. The novel states, “‘There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there’” (Bradbury 54). Because of this brave act made by the woman, Montag asked himself what he was doing, and if what he was doing was the most lawful thing. This is the eye-opening act that made Montag take action. Montag, from this point forward, tries to find out what is really inside of books, and what made the lady end her life with her books. To continue, another line in the song that goes with the theme is, “Once in awhile, I need your help”. This line ties into this theme because after Montag knows what he is going to do and what he will take action upon, he goes to Faber to go get some help. Faber is an English professor who loves books, and he is called upon by Montag to help him. But at first, Faber does not want to take action like Montag even though he believes in books strongly. The novel says, “Then you don’t care anymore (books)?” Montag said. / “I care so much I’m sick.” / “And you won’t help me?” / “Goodnight, goodnight” (96). This shows how Faber does not want to take action, unlike Montag. Eventually, Montag does persuade Faber to help him, but it takes him awhile to change his mind. Montag goes to get help because he wants to take action, but Faber, who believes strongly in books, does not want to take action. This is the main part of the action vs. inaction theme, Montag being active and Faber being inactive. Finally, the last lines that make a strong connection to the theme are,”I've been looking at where we're going /