times”(105). As shown, Bradbury uses this metaphor to symbolize and reveal the oppressive relationship between the government and its people. This relationship is compared to the dictatorial relationship between sheep and their shepherds. In this case, Montag is the sheep and the government that controls him is the shepherd. Beatty explains this as bewilderment because, similar to the way sheep escape from the strict conditions of their shepherds, occasionally people in this society try to think and rebel against the rules. Montag is lost and in this part of the book he is not willing to go back to work after the incident with the old woman. He realizes how she provided insight into his inner self and that she must have died for something important. Furthermore, this example of oppression from the book shows that the government thinks they have been successful in controlling the knowledge that people can acquire, so that if no one has more sensitivity than them, who will be able to oppose their decisions? Additionally, another reference in the novel that illustrates metaphor as a way to show oppression is when Montag talks to Faber about the rebellion. However, Faber thinks it is too late and is initially unwilling to take the risk. Faber quotes, “Why waste your last hours running around your cage denying you are a squirrel” (68). This example of a metaphor compares the people of 451 to squirrels locked in a cage. People have been censored from everything outside of this cage they've been forced into, all the same. Faber explains that it was Montag's last hours because no one, including him, took action when it could have changed the outcome, but now he's trying to change his society after everyone has already been sucked into... middle of paper. ... ..ges his thoughts on her and her entire society. Montag is revealed to be human, unlike the rest of society, however he is still limited to speaking due to the strict conditions imposed. The author of Fahrenheit 451, through Foil, Similes and metaphors, has shown us a practical and effective way to present how the theme of oppression is used in this novel. It shows how the government has unfairly controlled its people and how people sucked into orders can't think straight. People began to enjoy sadness, as shown many times in the novel. If it were not for Montag, even after the war the people would not have realized that what they were doing was wrong. Processing mass culture to think and say the same things will result in a boring, empty and gray world, people will turn to machines, doing the same things every day, without rebelling against orders.