Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 explores the idea of ​​a person living a boring, restrictive life while trying to fool himself into believing in a sense of happiness. Similarly, Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem, “We Wear the Mask,” proposes the idea that people wear masks to deceive themselves and others and suppress their true emotions. Fahrenheit 415 further explains that true happiness can only be found if one makes the decision to abandon everything familiar and escape, achieving tranquility and inner joy. “Barn Burning,” a short story by William Faulkner, also features the life-changing decision to escape from the unpleasant and well-known life to find true fulfillment. 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 momentous decision to escape civilization, finding thus his true self and inner peace. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury argues that the best way to break free from the vicious cycle exemplified by a fake and monotonous life, without real feelings or emotions, is to make a conscious decision to escape this reality and find a new place from which to begin exploring. . one's inner self and the observation of new environments. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay While going through this empty and false life, a person capable of thinking for himself must pretend to be stupidly content and unaware of the flaws in his way of life. The characters in these texts find different ways to escape or hide their true feelings about their lifestyle. In “We Wear the Mask” the mask represents one's face as something fixed and unchanging, and this is the standard. We “smile” because this has become the only acceptable behavior. These two words suggest that wearing this fake smile is easy and simple. Authentic emotions, however, are heavily repressed and people “only let them see us, while / We wear the mask”. Allowing others to see one without his usual satisfied expression is considered a sign of weakness. Therefore, this person may feel unhappy or unhappy, but “let the world dream differently,” since hiding his true feelings deep in the mind is the only way to ephemerally escape them. In “Barn Burning,” Sarty's constant moving embodies how he and his family try to free themselves from their critical problem. His father's belligerent burning torments the entire family, so they flee from town to town without knowing “where they are going” (Barn Burning, 7) in a desperate attempt to temporarily forget all the Abners' problems. “It was always somewhere, always some kind of home waiting for them a day or two or even three days away” (Barn Burning, 7). This quote illustrates Sarty's attitude towards this nomadic existence. He constantly keeps a small glimmer of hope inside himself, 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 all real emotional outbursts and living this pseudo-delightful life, only showing what lies on the surface, similar to “We Wear the Mask”. Montag and his wife Mildred are "in love with no one" (Fahrenheit 451, 51) but pretend to be happy in their marriage. When he confronts her about something real like "taking all the pills in [her] bottle last night," (Fahrenheit 451, 27)Mildred has already absorbed this, saying she "wouldn't do it." (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 pure feelings, so they simply hide them in the back of their minds.minds. At the most conscious level of one's mentality, however, lies the fundamental command to be obedient and follow the orders given by one's superiors. Sarty had "not been allowed to choose for himself" (Barn Burning, age 21), so his father's orders are followed without question or hesitation. A simple “Go”. he sends his son “moving, running, out of the house, towards the barn” (Barn Burning, 21). This single word conveys the strength of Abner's influence on his son, as Sarty seems frantic, desperate to fulfill the commands given. Likewise, Montag is also harshly controlled by his boss, Beatty. «Everything in its place. Quick with kerosene! Who has a match!" (Fahrenheit 451, 44). These forceful and frenetic orders show how Montag was taught to succumb to instructions without thinking individually in his mind. Like other firefighters, he became a mindless slave while " smiles the ferocious smile of all men scorched and repelled by the flames" (Fahrenheit 451, 11). This quote provides even more insight into the ways in which Montag, similar to his colleagues, has been brainwashed. He has been deceived into believing to love and enjoy this terrible profession, but in reality he burns these books only because he is given such orders. Under this superficial appearance, a person can easily keep his true identity intact real emotions are hidden behind the fake, plastic smile. The mask "hides [one's] cheeks and shades [one's] eyes", as these two parts of the face are a clear indication of one's emotions. Therefore, they are kept secret from others. In “Barn Burning,” Sarty describes his father as “faceless and depthless – a black form, flat and bloodless as if cut from tin in the iron folds of the frock coat that had not been made for him, his voice as harsh as tin and heatless as tin” (Barn Burning, 8). This vivid illustration of Abner evokes the sense that he is an unreal entity, inhuman and almost alien in appearance and behavior. He doesn't need to hide behind a mask, because he remains imperturbable, like a blank canvas. Montag, on the other hand, deliberately begins to hide behind a mask, because he begins to think in a more vivid and poetic way, which shocks and petrifies him. "What?' - asked Montag to that other self, to the subconscious idiot who sometimes ran around stammering, quite independently of will, habit and conscience” (Fahrenheit 451, 18). wiser personality because being different is something truly horrible and dangerous in his world. The fact that these genuine thoughts come at random times makes them even more unusual for Montag. As a result, he feels obliged to keep this part of his entity well hidden The second most important step in a person's journey to find their true self consists of the many small clues that something is wrong in their life, leading to the lightning-quick moment when they realize that their true self is true. his existence up to that point had been far from perfect and that his previous vision had been clouded by rose-colored glasses While wearing the mask, a person takes into account all the hardships he has experienced, forcing him to wear it in the first place . As “We Wear The Mask” reveals, “[all of [its]tears and sighs” have been carefully kept under control, but in the end we come to terms with these misfortunes. The excruciating pain caused by the “torn and bleeding hearts” finally reaches the person, and he realizes that he must change something in the name of his future existence. In “Barn Burning,” Sarty fully realizes that his family's life is not in the right state, but he feels helpless when it comes to improving it. He is “not heavy enough to keep him steady 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 on the other members of the family, so any form of influence resistance on his part would be useless. In Fahrenheit 451, Guy has many moments where he questions his real feelings towards his marriage and lifestyle in general. "Well, there wasn't a wall between him and Mildred, apparently?" (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 "a silly empty man next to a silly empty woman..." (Fahrenheit 451, 51). This surprises him further because he had become accustomed to thinking that he had a perfect marriage, strong and full of mutual love. From this point on, Montag begins to think in a completely new way, feelings like "[he was] in someone else's house..." (Fahrenheit 451, 49). He eventually realizes that there is no room for him in his ordinary suburban home, where he lives with his emotionless wife, sharing no real bond with him; similarly, his previously docile mind can no longer contain the new, uncontaminated thoughts racing through his head. Montag's realization of his artificial life marks an important moment, as it starts the snowball effect, which leads to his liberation. To make this type of life more meaningful, a person begins to make small but significant changes to their lifestyle. In "Barn Burning", Sarty begins to openly question his father's orders and causes other people to discover his father's pyromaniac tendencies. At a certain point in the story, Abner gives orders to Sarty, expecting the boy to react as always; however, “[the] boy did not move. Then he could talk. "What..." he shouted. “What are you…” (Barn Burning, 21). This quote demonstrates Sarty's first step towards finally achieving a better life. Although he ends up obeying his father's orders, he initially tries to reason why he must obey. Similarly, in Fahrenheit 451, Montag also tries to understand the purpose of his work, but at first he begins to unintentionally change his life. “His hand had done everything, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in every trembling finger, had become a thief” (Fahrenheit 451, 45). Guy basically steals the book, but due to his knowing upbringing that books should be burned, he is frightened by his own act. As a result, he attributes it to the impulses of his body. Later in the book, he contemplates that, using the power of books, he might be able to unite people again. “Maybe books can get us halfway out of the cave. They could stop us from making the same damn mistakes!” (Fahrenheit 451, 81). Montag is sincerely interested in making changes in the entire world. He believes that the knowledge people can gain from books is too valuable to burn. As a result, Montag decides to permanently abandon his profession as a firefighter to learn everything from books. These changes begin.