"What does not kill me, makes me stronger."

Author's Note: I think that this quote applies to this book perfectly. Everything that Montag is going through in the novel is helping him become stronger.

Imagine the thoughts going through Montag’s head right before he murdered Captain Beatty. With Faber’s voice in one ear, Beatty’s in the other, and his conscience over powering, he must of just wanted to shut everything up, get rid of at least one of those voices. “What does not kill me, makes me stronger.” Nietzsche once said this, and Bradbury emphasizes the meaning to the quote in this novel. All of your troubles help you learn, all of the obstacles your face will help you out in the long run.

In the beginning of the novel, Montag is just another person in his world, doing what he is told, not what he thinks is right. Burning books for a living used to be a good thing for Montag, but luckily Clarisse came into his life. She helped him go through rough times, and realize what true happiness is. After Clarisse’s death, Montag took things into his own hands. He started to read some of the books he had stashed in his house, and discovered what he had to do, and his strength and independence is helping him do that.

After killing Beatty, Montag was attacked by the Hound. When attacked, he was hurt with the Hound’s needle. He immediately ran away, and now is wanted. Montag must have a lot of courage to be able to go through the rest of his life knowing that he is in danger. What he has gone through is making him stronger, is making him stand up for what he thinks is right, and is making him become more independent. With the help of Faber, I think Montag will be able to show some people the way life should be, and how to be happy.

Murdering Beatty, turning against the firemen, and turning against his life style may seem crazy, but since it’s not killing Montag, it’s making him stronger. Montag is becoming stronger throughout the book, becoming more independent, making his own decisions. It takes a lot of courage for just one person to stand up against so many people, and that one person probably has gone through a lot in their life, because “What does not kill me, makes me stronger.”