Figuring out who you are as a person is tough enough, let alone having to be a teenager in high school trying to figure out how to be themselves. Sometimes people can feel like they're drowning in the expectations they're held to. In Ray Bradbury's book Fahrenheit 451 and Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the sun, characters in each story go through some tough times figuring out who they truly are, with community and appreciating the little things characters figure out who they are. .
Community is a huge part in Bradbury and Hansberry's stories. Characters in both story lines use the community and people around them to help them discover who they truly are. Bradbury writes "And then, very slowly, as he walked, he titled his head back in the rain, for just a few moments, and opened his mouth" (21). This quote shows how community is effecting Montag in the book Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse had talked to Montag about how the rain tasted like wine; when Montag caught himself alone, he tried to taste the rain. This was a step closer to Montag figuring out who he was. He wasn't like everybody else. Hansberry wrote "It don't sound nice for a young girl to say things like that, you wasn't brought up that way" (22). In this quote Hansberry has Mama talking to Beneatha about how she raised her. This is showing how community has made Beneatha who she is today and helped her in the process of finding out who she is. Community can help when finding who you are as a person, both Hansberry and Bradbury show that in their stories. .
Along with community, appreciating what you already have and the little things is portrayed in both stories. Bradbury says, "He stood breathing, and the more he breathed the land in, the more he was filled up with all the details of the land" (138). Montag is realizing that beyond the technology of the city there is so much more beauty to behold.
