Granger talks to Montag about his grandfather, saying,

When I was a boy my grandfather died, and he was a sculptor. He was also a very kind man who had a lot of love to give the world, and he helped clean up the slum in our town; and he made toys for us and he did a million things in his lifetime; he was always busy with his hands

Granger asserts that when a loved one dies, what we miss about them is the ways in which they impacted the world around them. He then says everyone needs to produce something that will leave an imprint on the earth. People need not necessarily create something that has a major impact—they might do something smaller like having children, painting a picture, making a pair of shoes, or planting a garden—but every concrete contribution is important. By producing, people leave behind a little bit of their souls when they die.

Montag thinks sadly of Millie, who in contrast to Granger's grandfather, made no imprint on the world. Montag comments that her hands never did anything at all. Millie is a symbol of the way their dystopic society robbed people of their essential humanity. All Millie did was watch her view screens day in and day out. Her life, like that of millions of other people's, was hollow. This society failed its citizens because nobody was ever challenged to create, achieve, or impact the world around them. It was thought that people would be happier if they didn't read, think, or produce, but the consequence of this was that members of this society made no contributions and left no legacy. Unlike Granger's grandfather, their existence will not be missed, and that is perhaps the biggest tragedy at all.