He was looking for a brightness, a resolve, a triumph over tomorrow that hardly seemed to be there. Perhaps he had expected their faces to burn and glitter with the knowledge they carried, to glow as lanterns glow, with the light in them.. They weren't at all certain that the things they carried in their heads might make every future dawn glow with a purer light, they were sure of nothing save that the books were on file behind their quiet eyes, the books were waiting, with their pages uncut, for the customers who might come by in later years, some with clean and some with dirty fingers. Ray Bradbury
About This Quote

When this quote is read, it’s easy to think of the characters as parents of two young children. This seems like it could be a scene from a fairy tale or children’s story where the “innocent, sweet parents” are trying to save their child from the harsh world they see coming. However, this isn’t actually what is happening in the scene described. The two characters who were on the bus are on their way to work.

The character on the left has already left for work and is about to shut the door behind him. He doesn't want another day on this earth of suffering and wants his death to be quick and painless. His counterpart waits for her last chance of happiness, her last moment of glory.

She is ready to face what she had always feared before reading the books that had given her so much hope before she had come across them.

Source: Fahrenheit 451

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More Quotes By Ray Bradbury
  1. You're a hopeless romantic, " said Faber. "It would be funny if it were not serious. It's not books you need, it's some of the things that once were in books. The same things could be in the 'parlor families' today. <span style="margin:15px; display:block"></span>The same...
  2. Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.
  3. Don't ask for guarantees. And don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore.
  4. Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.
  5. Too late, I found you can't wait to become perfect, you got to go out and fall down and get up with everybody else.
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