Fahrenheit 451: An Analysis

“There must be something in books, something we can imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”(Pg. 51) Main character Guy Montag is a servant to a society that is controlled by censorship and the fear of knowledge; Montag has spent his life burning books, to prevent the spread knowledge. But a series of events cause Montag's mind to change, and result in him breaking free from his society. The internal struggle of dynamic character Guy Montag, as to whether he should go on believing the lies his society has told him, or risk his life for something as simple as words on a page, brings readers into the corrupt society of Fahrenheit 451. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 author Ray

During an answer to an alarm, Montag witnesses a woman with a hidden collection of books choosing to be burned alive along with her house. A few days later, he discovers that Clarisse was killed by a speeding car and Montag becomes sorrowful. He begins to act upon Clarisse’s advice. When Montag fails to show up to work one day, Beatty, the fire chief, visits Montag and explains how it’s natural for firemen to become curious about books and what they have to offer. Beatty understands Montag’s situation and gives Montag twenty-four hours to determine if books are worthwhile and then turn them in once the day is up.

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury, published in 1953. The novel describes a futuristic society in which books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. The protagonist is a fireman named Montag who becomes perturbed with his role in censorship and destruction of knowledge, eventually quitting his job and joining a resistance movement that memorizes and shares the world's greatest literary works. As Montag struggles over the value of knowledge, he becomes a skeptical, rebellious and dynamic person, driving him to the fringes of society in pursuit of an absolute truth.

In both Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Vonnegut’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, the authors show major concerns about the future. Bradbury’s major concern is the misuse of technology that leads to the corruption of society while Vonnegut’s major concern is overpopulation and the lack of natural resources for the future. Both authors show concerns that can turn out to be real if people do not do anything about the environment and about technology.

Guy Montag, a local ‘firemen’ lives in a despairing dreary world where instead of firemen extinguishing fires they create them, they burn and banish books. They believe that books are a sin and trouble to society. Although Montag is one of the main sources of the books being burned he meets a bright young girl that changes his ways of thinking and

The dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 written by author Ray Bradbury in 1953, shows what he speculates the fate of society to be. Fahrenheit 451 takes places in the corrupt United States when people no longer read books and are satisfied only by entertainment. In Fahrenheit 451, the fire has been perceived in many different ways by the main character Guy Montag, once a fireman. Fire in Fahrenheit 451 represents both rebirth and destruction. Mythological creatures, such as the salamander and Phoenix have influenced the change in the perception of fire.

Guy Montag, a typical fireman, lives in a futuristic society full of conformity. However, the future’s definition of a typical fireman consists of men burning books and the houses or buildings in which they are found. Montag goes through his life just living to please and be accepted by society. Nevertheless, his life is turned upside down with the introduction of new characters who get him thinking and wondering about the principles of their society that are so easily conformed to. These characters are represented using the impactful archetypes of an innocent youth and a mentor.

Fahrenheit 451 is an enlightening story featuring a man, Guy Montag, who is struggling with his desire to read in a society where reading is prohibited. While it is plausible that Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 to inform the readers on how damaging it is to disregard books and turn completely to technology, it is much more likely that he wrote this book to show how important thinking on your own, or individual thinking, is. He does this by creating Montag, a dynamic character who experiences a journey from ignorance to enlightenment. His purpose in doing this is to to warn his audience, predominantly teenagers and young adults, of a possible outcome if people don’t start thinking for themselves.

Books are on the edge of extinction, and Firemen start fires instead of putting them out.

This is a major event within the story, because Montag realized there is no longer anyone happy in his life and he wanted to know why. Later in the book, Montag’s fire department was called to this building supposedly filled with books. When Montag and his fellow firefighters arrived, they bombarded the building and found and woman inside guarding a large pile of books. Intrigued by a book, Montag picked one up, read a few lines and stowed it away. Soon after Montag took a book, the house was doused with Kerosene. Threatening to burn down the house with her inside, Beatty waited for her to leave, until the old lady pulled out a match and burned the house down ultimately killing herself. Thinking about why the woman would end her life for the books Montag states, "There must be something in books, things we can't imagine to make a woman stay in a burning house, there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing." page 51. When the woman died she showed life's not worth living without her books like life is not worth living with knowledge. Seeking the knowledge that lies in the books, Montag attempts to solve his inner conflict, which is the main conflict of the story thus

In the end Captain Beatty turns Montag into a killer. After Captain Beatty makes Montag burn his house, he grabs his ear piece from Montag and threatens to trace it back. Montag does not want this, because he had received the transmitter from his friend Professor Faber. This causes Montag to aim the flame thrower at Captain Beatty. “ Go ahead now, you second hand litterateur, pull the trigger.” He took one step toward Montag” (Bradbury 119). Beatty then pushes Montag until he cannot take it anymore and Montag finally shoots hot flames,

He no longer wants to burn books because he recognizes how important they are to the people who have them. Montag then begins reading the books that the firemen take and burn from other people. He keeps a handful of books which makes him realize that books are a necessity for the future generations. So Montag wants to figure out ways he can help save books or at least remember books. Montag meets a man who used to be an English professor, Faber.

One day after Montag watches a woman choose to be burned with her books, he calls in sick to the firehouse, causing Captain Beatty, the firehouse captain, to come and have a conversation with him. Beatty hints to Montag that if he has books, he has to burn them after 24 hours, so after Beatty leaves Montag tries to read as many of the books he has before getting rid of them (Bradbury 69). Montag finally realizes that he wants to know information and to understand it, as well as wanting to preserve each one. If Montag hadn’t seen the woman burn, he wouldn’t have called in sick, and if he didn’t do that, Beatty wouldn’t have stopped by; Beatty causes him to start taking action because if he hadn’t shown up, the books would stay hidden in an air vent for a long long time. Montag starts to take action now, and when he goes to a man named Faber’s house, he is told, “

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 the importance of knowledge is important in the real world also in the novel because it can give one the opportunity, power, and independence. In Fahrenheit 451 the main focus was how education and book was going to be no longer needed or wanted. The author Ray Bradbury believed that with the new advances in technology and how people could receive information by not having to read books that the whole education system would fall apart or just not be needed anymore. The novel could be related to today’s world by many different ways. Isis is one way that could relate to the novel.

In the story Fahrenheit 451, the author Ray Bradbury gives examples of how he is concerned for America’s future. His novel is titled as a dystopian novel, which shows concern for the future of America. It shows what may happen to the nation if Americans continue to make mistakes and follow others footsteps whom are making bad decisions. He tries to warn people of the dangers that could arise if everyone continues to bring negative aspects into their lives. Being too attached to technology and the concern for war in the future are two of the main concerns that Ray Bradbury has for the future of the United States of America.