Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 explores the idea of ​​a person living a tedious and restrictive life while trying to fool themselves by making him believe in a feeling of happiness. Similarly, Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem, "We Wear the Mask," proposes the idea that people wear masks in order to deceive themselves and others and suppress their true emotions. Fahrenheit 415 further states that one can only find true happiness if they make the decision to abandon everything familiar and run away, achieving inner tranquility and pleasure. “Barn Burning,” a short story by William Faulkner, also features the life-changing decision to flee the unpleasant and well-known life in order to find true contentment. This essay, through the explicit use of "We Wear the Mask" and "Barn Burning", will explore the superficial urban life of Guy Montag, the main character of Fahrenheit 451, and later his important decision to flee civilization, finding thus his true self and his inner peace. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury argues that the best way to break free from the vicious cycle of a false monotonous life without real feelings or excitement is to make a conscious decision to escape this reality and find a new place to start exploring. . one's inner self and the observation of a new environment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay While going through this empty and false life, a person who can think for himself must pretend that he is stupidly content and oblivious of its faults. of his way of living. The characters in these texts find different ways to escape or conceal the true feelings related to their own lifestyle. In “We Wear the Mask,” the mask represents the face as something fixed and unchanging, and this is the norm. “We smile” because it has become the only acceptable behavior. These two words insinuate that putting on that fake smile is simple and effortless. Authentic emotions, on the other hand, are heavily repressed and people “only let them see us, while we wear the mask.” Allowing others to see him without his usual satisfied face is considered a sign of weakness. Therefore, this person may feel miserable or miserable, but "let the world dream otherwise", because hiding their true feelings deep within their mind is the only way to fleetingly escape them. In “Barn Burning,” Sarty’s constant movement embodies the way he and his family attempt to free themselves from their critical problem. His father's warlike burning torments the entire family, so they flee from one town to another without knowing "where they are going" (Barn Burning, 7) in a desperate attempt to temporarily forget Abner's problems. “It was always somewhere, always some sort of house waiting for them for a day or two or even three days” (Barn Burning, 7). This quote illustrates Sarty's attitude towards this nomadic existence. He constantly keeps a small glimmer of hope within him, because he feels that there will always be a suitable place for the family and that they can continue to pretend to be happy in a new place. In Fahrenheit 451, people are used to hiding any real emotional outbursts and living this pseudo-delightful life, only showing what's on the surface, "We Wear the Mask" style. Montag and his wife, Mildred, are “in love with no one” (Fahrenheit 451, 51) but claim to be happy in their marriage. When he confronts her about something reallike "taking all the pills in [her] bottle last night" (Fahrenheit 451, 27), Mildred has already absorbed this problem, saying she "wouldn't do that." (Fahrenheit 451, 27) and dismisses it as a figment of Montag's imagination. These two passages demonstrate that in Fahrenheit 451, people are unable to deal with their pure feelings, so they simply hide them deep in their minds. At the most conscious level of one's mentality, on the other hand, is the basic commandment to be obedient and follow orders issued by one's superiors. Sarty "had not been allowed to choose for himself" (Barn Burning, 21), so his father's orders are carried out without question or hesitation. A simple “Come on”. sends the son “to move, to run, out of the house, to the stable” (Barn Burning, 21). This single word expresses the strength of Abner's influence over his son, as Sarty seems frantic, desperate to carry out the orders given. Similarly, Montag is also harshly controlled by his boss, Beatty. “Everything in its place. Quick with the kerosene! Who has a match! » (Fahrenheit 451, 44). These quick, forceful orders show how Montag learned to succumb to instructions without thinking individually in his mind. Like the other firefighters, he has become a senseless slave as he “smiles the fierce smile of all men scorched and driven back by the flames” (Fahrenheit 451, 11). This quote provides even more insight into how Montag, like his colleagues, was brainwashed. He has been deceived into believing that he loves and enjoys this terrible profession, but in reality he only burns these books because such orders are given to him. Beneath this superficial appearance, a person can easily keep their true identity intact. In “We Wear the Mask,” our true emotions are hidden behind a fake plastic smile. The mask “hides [his] cheeks and shades [his] eyes”, because these two parts of the face are a dead revealer of our emotions. Therefore, they remain secret from others. In “Barn Burning,” Sarty describes his own father as “faceless and without depth—a black, flat, bloodless form as if carved from tin in the iron folds of the frock coat that had not been made for him , his voice harsh. like tin and without heat like tin” (Barn Burning, 8). This vivid illustration of Abner evokes the feeling that he is this unreal, inhuman and almost alien entity in appearance and behavior. He doesn't need to hide behind a mask, because he remains impassive, like a blank canvas. Montag, on the other hand, deliberately begins to hide behind a mask, as he begins to think in a more vivid and poetic way, which shocks and petrifies him. "What?' asked Montag of this other self, the subconscious idiot who sometimes ran around chattering, quite independently of will, habit, and consciousness” (Fahrenheit 451, 18). mentally from this other, wiser personality, because being different is something truly horrible and dangerous in his world. The fact that these genuine thoughts occur at random times makes them even more unusual for Montag. hiding this part of one's entity well The second most important step in a person's path to discovering their true self consists of many small clues that there is something wrong in their life, leading. in the flash - quick moment in which he realizes that his existence until now had been anything but perfect and that his previous outlook had been tinted with rose-colored glasses. By wearing the mask, a person takes all into account. the difficulties she experienced,forcing him to put it in the first place. As “We Wear The Mask” reveals, “[A]ll [his] tears and sighs” were carefully controlled, but we eventually accept these misfortunes. The excruciating pain caused by the "torn and bleeding hearts" eventually catches up with the person, and he realizes that he must change something for the sake of his future existence. In "Barn Burning", Sarty fully realizes that his family's life is not in its normal state, but feels helpless when it comes to improving it. It is “not heavy enough to keep a firm footing in [the world], to resist it and try to change the course of its events” (Barn Burning, 9). Being so young, Sarty has absolutely no influence over the other members of the family, so any form of resistance on his part would be in vain. In Fahrenheit 451, Guy experiences many moments in which he questions his true feelings about his marriage and his lifestyle in general. "Well, wasn't there a wall between him and Mildred when you got there?" (Fahrenheit 451, 51) He has already found the answer, but inside he refuses to believe that his marriage is failing. After a while, as he begins to think more and more, Montag realizes that his relationship with Mildred can be described as being "a stupid, empty man next to a stupid, empty woman..." ( Fahrenheit 451, 51). This surprises him even more because he had gotten used to thinking that he had a perfect, solid marriage, full of mutual love. From this point on, Montag begins to think in an entirely new way, feelings like "[he] was in someone else's house..." (Fahrenheit 451, 49). He eventually realizes that there is no place for him in his own ordinary suburban home, where he lives with his impassive wife, sharing no real connection with him; analogically, his once docile mind can no longer contain the new, untouched thoughts rushing through his head. Montag's realization of his artificial life marks an important moment, as it sets off the snowball effect, leading to his release. In order to make this kind of life more meaningful, a person begins to make miniature but significant changes to his own lifestyle. In "Barn Burning", Sarty begins to openly question his father's orders and ensures that other people discover his father's arsonist tendencies. At one point in the story, Abner gives orders to Sarty, expecting the boy to react as always; however, “[t]he boy did not move. He could then speak. “What…” he shouted. “What are you doing…” (Barn Burning, 21). This quote demonstrates Sarty's first step towards a better life. Even though he eventually obeys the father's orders, he first tries to understand why he must obey. Correspondingly, in Fahrenheit 451, Montag also tries to understand the purpose of his work, but at first he actually begins to change his life unintentionally. “His hand had done everything, his hand, with a brain of its own, with awareness and curiosity in every trembling finger, had become a thief” (Fahrenheit 451, 45). Guy practically steals the book, but due to his conscious upbringing that books should be burned, he is afraid of his own act. As a result, he attributes this to his body's impulses. Later in the book, he envisions that by using the power of books, he could unite people again. “Maybe the books can get us halfway out of the cave.” They might just stop us from making the same foolish mistakes! » (Fahrenheit 451, 81). Montag is genuinely concerned about bringing change to the whole world. He believes that the knowledge that people can gain from.