Fahrenheit 451 and Billy Budd

        Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 has connections to Herman Melville's Billy Budd in plot structure and general ideas on beliefs and how one can stray from them and the consequences of doing that.  Bradbury's novel and Melville's both have their main character depart from the society or place that they were used to and felt comfortable with and changed their surroundings and actions and met new people and ended up facing consequences for their shift.  Budd's old life caught back up to him when he was hanged-- he departed from Rational beliefs to Romantic ones and he ended up killing a man and the judges weighed in on this rationally and so he couldn't escape his past.  Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451 rebelled against social norms and laws in his community when he brought home many books and paired up with Faber to take down the firemen.  His acts got him in trouble and he almost died which ended up with him killing the man who was accusing him, just as when Budd killed his accuser.
        When Montag decided to be upfront about his having books and he showed his wife and her friends he was met with trouble when his wife turned him in and when her friends freaked out and didn't know what to do.  Being in a society that dictates everything for you without you knowing anything made the knowledge of really anything unusual-- books, literature, not up to date facts-- made people stand out and get in trouble.    After killing his boss, Montag was yet again faced with a decision-- he could run away or be found out.  By choosing to run away Montag was making the decision to distance himself completely from his past society and when he met the men in the woods it was like a new start.  Budd got a new start when he left his first ship and he got another one when he died.
        Both Montag and Budd escaped everything that was holding them back in their society and in their endeavors through leaving-- by death and by foot.  That meant that they had new problems to face but none as bad as before and nothing they weren't ready to handle-- Montag would rather fight for books and knowledge is he had to rather than being stuck burning them and hiding them and keeping its secret.  Budd  no longer has to be accused of mutiny and he doesn't have to deal with anyone doubting him or changing up where and how he lives.