I'm reading Fahrenheit 451 in my English class, and we recently read up to the point where the woman chooses to burn with her books. We discussed the importance of the scene and I do understand the scene. But my question is, why is her death so jarring to Montag?
From what I understand of the book, death and suicide seem to be trivial common occurrences. Mildred tries to commit suicide and the technicians are impersonal and act like it's just another one of many suicides that night. Children die as a result of violence. Clarisse's death is so insignificant to Mildred that she completely forgets to mention it to Montag. So, why is this woman's death so impactful?
It's not just Montag being affected by this either, Beatty mentions that other firemen encounter similar situations where they end up questioning their jobs as firemen.
I tried to search it up but it told me that the scene was important because the woman chooses to die rather than live without her books. I get that, but aren't all suicides people choosing to die?
Maybe I'm missing something, but I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.
by StygianReaper