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Happiness In Fahrenheit 451 And Krakauer

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What makes people truly happy? Is it money? Or is it something more modest like knowledge? There’s no right answer to this question, even if it may feel like there’s one definitive choice. Both Bradbury, in his novel Fahrenheit 451, and Krakauer, in Into the Wild, depict different states of happiness in both major and minor characters. Most importantly, Montag, in 451, and McCandless, in Wild, both search for their own positions on happiness since the definition they were handed does not resonate within them. Some may argue that they should accept the lives they were handed, instead of searching for themselves. Either way, it can be decided that some forms of happiness that are pumped through subtle subliminal messaging can be taken with …show more content…

Overall, Montag’s displeasure in the definition of happiness society gave him, lead him to finding out the truth and finding out who he truly is inside.
Next is McCandless, in Krakauer’s Wild, whom is an actual person that existed: which means that this is a real life society being interpreted. Now, he had everything you could have imagined, money, and a social life: still he dreamed of going to Alaska, a place for “dreamers and misfits” in his mind. (Krakauer 4) His search for happiness is because he’s dissatisfied with his life, even with money life is not perfect. His journey revolves around suspense, abandonment, and overall, survival skills. He does stay in touch after he escapes, sending small postcards every now and then, but ultimately he decides to go his own way to “live amongst the wild” (69). He leaves his mother, Billie, father, Samuel, and his sister, Carine behind, and even with the postcards he sends, they all go through his pseudonym, Alex. His love for the outdoors in his early life pays off for early survival, and throughout the journey he is quite pleased with his new life. Yes, he threw away scholarships, sports, and other activities for basically, a journey to death all because of his “undisciplined imagination” and his drive to pursue it “ with a zeal bordering on obsession” (134). He loved nature, mountain climbing, and overall the dangers of it, even if he was

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