In Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451, why is Alexander Pope's quote significant?"Words are like leaves and where they most abound,...

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451,
this quote by Alexander Pope is significant to the plot. In the society in which Montag
lives, people exchange words like a box of cereal across a breakfast table: it is a
mindless activity.

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Words are like leaves and where they most
abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely
found.

Pope's quote says that
those who talk a lot will often say little of value. He is generally encouraging people
to speak briefly—with purpose, and refrain from speaking just to be
heard. In Montag's world, all the masses do is exchange shallow,
pointless conversation. People are discouraged from having original thoughts, and
encouraged to embrace the government's ideas of acceptable behavior, especially
pertaining to books. In Montag's society, words are considered dangerous when coming
from a book, but spoken words—empty of meaning or value—are preferred as long as they
stick to socially accepted rhetoric.

Conversely, Clarisse
is someone who actively pursues original thought. She notices things that the
brain-numbed masses do not, such as the dew on the grass in the morning. Her questions
are purposeful and meaningful. She is not a model citizen in this regard, and she
surprises Montag with her conversation, but he finds her words irresistible, even though
he is one that burns books.

Beatty, Montag's boss, quotes
several famous writers, including Sir Philip Sidney and Alexander Pope. His entire
purpose is to convince Montag that words and ideas are of no value. Ironically, in using
Pope's quote, Beatty is making his point: Beatty's babbling
is pointless. However, the result is
not what he hopes to achieve in Montag. Rather than being discouraged, Montag is more
convinced than ever of the importance of books and the ideas conveyed therein.
Ultimately, Montag will kill Beatty to protect his own ability to pursue the written
word.

The quote argues for substance rather than quantity.
Beatty tries to use the quote to support his stance that words are meaningless, however,
Montag perceives the true essence of Pope's words: it is not the number of words you
utter, but the substance of thought and understanding in those words that will "bear
fruit," that will be essential.