Montag turns to Faber for answers to his questions about
his society, brought up by his relationship with Clarisse. He remembers his afternoon in
the park with Faber, and knows that he holds the key to understanding why life is the
way it is. He asks Faber why books are banned, and what about them makes people so
uncomfortable. Faber replies:
They show the pores in the face of life. The
comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless. We are
living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good
rain and black loam. Even fireworks, for all their prettiness, come from the chemistry
of the earth. Yet somehow we think we can grow, feeding on flowers and fireworks,
without completing the cycle back to
reality.
Thus, people fear
books because they show the truth of life. They show ugliness and and hurt, death and
tragedy. The people in Montag's society have no use for such reminders of the dark side
of life. They want happiness and only happiness. Faber understands that this is no way
to live, and it goes a long way to explaining why Mildred tries to kill
herself.
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