The men that Montag met when he ran away from civilization seemed to just be ordinary men, but on the inside they were extraordinary. They each would read books and important passages or scripture, and memorize them. Montag only met a few of them, but they said that there are thousands more people just like them who live on the roads and look like bums but on the inside they are libraries. They are memorizing all of these things so that they may pass the knowledge down to their kids and someday, they hope the books will be written again.
As one of the men was explaining to Montag how they were able to live a lifestyle like that, he explained to Montag, "The most important single thing we had to pound into ourselves is that we were not important, we mustn't be pedants; we were not to feel superior to anyone else in the world. We're nothing more than dust jackets for books, of no significance otherwise." (Bradbury. 153)
How those men lived, was extremely humble and they must have much character to be able to live where they everyday told themselves that they were not important and of no significance. However, those men were able to live that way because they were not living for themselves. They were living for a greater purpose, which was outside themselves. They were living for others instead of themselves. It would be so easy for them to live how everyone else lives. Everyone else has such an easy lifestyle, and lives so selfishly and lavishly. Yet these men do not live for themselves, and they live on the road and have to put in much effort to live, when the other citizens literally do nothing.
As a Christian, not living for myself is something that i strive for. For me, it is not always very easy to do and I fail at it quite often. But like the men that memorize the books, I live for a greater purpose outside myself. As a child of God, I am called to a higher standard. I need to be living for others and firstly focus on loving the Lord, then loving others, and serving the world. And then, I come after that.
Bradbury, Ray. "Burning Bright." Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. 153. Print.
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