One of England's greatest literary figures, William Shakespeare, expressed the truth about the greed for knowledge by saying that “ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing on which we fly to heaven” (Quotes by William Shakespeare). One has to assume that Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, learned from this. Bradbury's novel shares a similar depiction of the desire for knowledge. In the novel the protagonist realizes that he lives in a world where knowledge is lost. People respect the rules and restrictions imposed on them by the government. There is nothing in this society that makes people think about how valuable knowledge is, except books. The protagonist is a firefighter whose job is to find books and destroy their contents. The mass population believes that books are a waste of time and are useless. The protagonist also believes it until a change of heart leads to a journey of identity and curiosity. Bradbury believes that this kind of world will eventually transform into ours. Clearly, Ray Bradbury's vision for man's future is bleak because it represses intellectual effort, lacks critical thinking, and becomes destructive. First of all, Bradbury shows that when man represses intellectual effort, no progress can be made. In this society, people are not allowed to be creative or make improvements, as well as not being able to read. This is described by the protagonist Montag when he confronts the boss and explains how easy it is for someone to change the hound's programming. The chief tells Montag that it is unrealistic because no one has enough knowledge to do it (Bradbury 27). This explains that people are seen as normal or simple because no one believes that a person can think that way. Furthermore, this is evident when Montag's wife watches television. Montag asks his wife “Why don't you watch something worthwhile for a change instead of these soaps? Because I don't need to be useful” (Bradbury 51). This shows how most people rely on the government rather than themselves. Also, when Fire Chief Beatty visits Montag, they start talking about books. Beatty says to Montag “What do people see in books? It's just paper and ink” (Bradbury 30). This shows Beatty's point of view on books and how they don't matter to anyone. Therefore, when man represses intellectual effort, progress cannot be made. Furthermore, Bradbury shows that when man does not think critically, his freedom is reduced..