Government officials should be caring, loving human beings who have people’s best interests at heart and want us to have our own thoughts and opinions. Sadly, for Guy of Fahrenheit 451 and Cassia of Matched, it just wasn’t like that. Guy’s people of authority wanted no way for their citizens to learn what they didn’t want out into the world, so books, which held that information, were burned to a crisp. In Cassia’s world, your whole life was planned for you. Nothing was of your own choice or doing, from your job to even what you ate. Both characters wanted an escape from their personal nightmares, but didn’t know how. They just wanted to break free, though each person would do it on their own terms.
Every day, Guy would participate in the burning of novels, of the turning of ideas and thoughts into nothing but ashes. Though he always had an underlying feeling of not wanting to, Guy never thought he could act upon it. This is exactly how Cassia, the primary character in Matched, felt. She always wanted to be able to make her own choices in life, yet her life was chosen for her. Both characters had a feeling of hopelessness, and they were so confused with what to do with their lives. How could their life be their own with the government choosing it all?
Although it seems like the main characters in these stories didn’t know how to change their lives, both had inklings about what to do. For Cassia, she felt that if she disobeyed the order to take her medication that supposedly “distressed” them, Cassia would be able to have feelings and thoughts that belonged to her. Guy felt that quitting his duty as a firefighter and going out on his own could prove to the government that they didn’t own him. Cassia and Guy connected with each other by not responding to the rulers of their lives, by following their own instincts.
Even though these human beings lead you to believe that everything about them is the same, there are factors of their personality that couldn’t be more different. A factor like that is how Cassia and Guy feel about love and relationships. Mildred, Guy’s wife, is so unconnected from the world. She has no feelings about anything, so as an effect, he has no feelings about her. Cassia is the polar opposite. This girl is in love with two men, one that was chosen for her and the one that truly sets her free. Both of them are very connected and in sync with the world, though, unlike Mildred. Guy and Cassia don’t agree on love and how it affects you, and as a result, how it affects the world.
Government control is exactly what drove Cassia and Guy to feel the way they did, and it’s what caused them to commit their actions. Both characters rebelled in their own personal way, and that way had connections and disconnections. Their actions made the whole novel change, and made the government fear that maybe their system wasn’t so secure after all.
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