Fahrenheit 451 Conformity Analysis

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, he uses light and dark as contrasts is used as a motif to help further develop differences between people in society through characterization and plot. Light symbolizes knowledge and purity; on the other hand, darkness shows ignorance in the society, while also being a form of safety.

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the author uses multiple motifs and symbols throughout the novel. The main character, Guy Montag, is represented as a metaphorical light in the dark due to his constant pursuit of knowledge. Characters such as Clarisse and Mildred affect the development of Montag. In Bradbury’s dystopian society he touches on the relevance of government censorship as books are banned. The firefighters burn down any household that houses books because of the government disapproves of them. Bradbury uses the motif darkness versus light to demonstrate that knowledge is what keeps society alive through Montag’s progressing characterization, Mildred’s persona, and continuous references to books.

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the motif of light and lightness symbolizes the knowledge of Clarisse McClellan and her angelic-like qualities and the acquired knowledge of Guy Montag.

Visualize a world where asking profound questions and deep level thinking was illegal and where unequal knowledge causes unhappiness among people. Ray Bradbury takes readers on a journey through the evolution of the main character, Guy Montag, in his novel Fahrenheit 451. In this society, firemen are no longer people who save houses, but instead, they destroy them. Montag is sent to burn down homes with books held in them, as they are illegal because they are said to make people unhappy. A young girl named Clarisse asks Montag if he is really happy with his life, and this is when he begins to rethink his career as a fireman. Montag begins to turn against his job and society and investigates the meaning behind the words in books on a deeper level. Readers follow Montag’s life as he faces the challenges it takes to save books and change the way society views the words inside, even if it means death for some. Ray Bradbury uses the symbol of fire to represent both destruction and purity, which evolves throughout the novel, in order to highlight the theme that perspective towards something can constantly alter; change and transformation is the key to life.

He formulates the characters in a way for the audience to fully understand the difference between their society and the one depicted in Fahrenheit 451. Therefore, although the concept of dystopia may seem fictional and unclear to the audience, Bradbury successfully relieves this obstacle by utilizing juxtaposition and archetypes. The use of juxtaposition is illustrated between a girl Clarisse and Montag’s wife, Mildred. Where Clarisse represents nature as the audience knows it, innocence, and curiosity, Mildred represents the cold, colorless nature of her society. This comparison is evident in the beginning of the novel, when Montag comes home from his encounter with Clarisse. “What incredible power of identification the girl had; she was like the eager watcher if a marionette show, anticipating each flicker if an eyelid, each gesture of a hand… He opened the bedroom door. It was like coming into a cold marble room of a mausoleum after the moon has set. Complete darkness, not a hint of the silver world outside”

In Fahrenheit 45, Ray Bradbury uses the motifs of light and darkness to develop characters and demonstrate that knowledge and ignorance impact the wellbeing of society .

The science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is about a futuristic dystopian society where everyone follows simple rules/norms: don't read books and spend time with their “families”. The families in the novel are also known as the TV’s. Whoever in the novel reads or owns books, gets put down by the hound. Montag, a protagonist in the novel, works as the fireman whom are very violent (like the rest of the society). No one in this society ever think, but when Montag (Protagonist) meets Clarisse McClellan, he becomes to question everything. Bradbury tries to portray that when people become emotionless, they don’t think about their actions which end up being violent. Bradbury’s hound (terrifying mechanical beast that kills who are unlawful) represents a type of police in the society that regulates everything and everyone. Thus Bradbury’s predictions are similar to today’s society in the police forces (which are controlled by the government).

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 features a fictional and futuristic firefighter named Guy Montag. As a firefighter, Montag does not put out fires. Instead, he starts them in order to burn books and, basically, knowledge to the human race. He does not have any second thoughts about his responsibility until he meets seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan. She reveals many wonders of the world to Montag and causes him to rethink what he is doing in burning books. After his talks with her, the society’s obedience to the law that bans knowledge, thinking, and creativity also increasingly distresses him. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows conformity in the futuristic America through schooling, leisure, and fright.

In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses literary devices uniquely to help the reader further understand the story. In the novel, Montag, the main character, lives in a dystopic society where people are allowed no freedom of thought and emotion. Montag himself is a fireman who burns books, rather than save people from fires. Eventually, Montag understands the significance of books and tries to learn more about them. Ray Bradbury paints the story of Montag and his pursuit for knowledge and happiness. He uses the literary devices of metaphor, imagery, and tone to reveal Bradbury's and Montag's feelings, ideas, and character. The tone of the story creates a somber mood and shows Bradbury's negative feelings for American society.

An archetype in Fahrenheit 451 is Light vs. Dark. In the novel, light vs dark is best showcased when Montag is talking with Clarisee once Mildred read her scirpt :“He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding one upon another “(Bradbury 1.207-8). Not only does this show how light and dark are fighting against eachother, but also how they are referring to Montag. He is offten refered to as light and dark coexisting eachother due to trying to free himself from ignorance based off of his societal beliefs. As light vs. dark are opposites , Bradury shows the similarity between both of them.

Thesis: The author of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, uses Montag’s change throughout the novel to warn the reader of the dark and unjust societies created from censoring books.

“There are two ways to spread light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it” Edith Wharton. In Fahrenheit 451, the American author Ray Bradbury shows Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books, is torn into two complete opposite characters, and he is internally conflicted between burning books and protecting them. Bradbury shows how Montag transforms throughout the story to go from darkness and sadness to find light in his life. Bradbury uses multiple different literary devices like description, characterization and symbolism.

Present day America, a country whose success can be credited to its diverse culture where people celebrate their differences. But what if Americans were not so accepting of each other’s quirks and anomalies? This question can be easily answered if one examines the America that exists within the book “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the book one message appears quite prevalent. Individuality is what makes humans flourish in society. Without difference mankind would be sucked into a cycle of destruction. A theme in the book “Fahrenheit 451” is the lack of individuality.

What does it mean to live in a utopia? Some value life and world peace, while others emphasize equality and conformity. One of Ray Bradbury’s most famous books, Fahrenheit 451, takes place in a much more advanced universe that appears vastly different from modern life, where society strives to make everyone content by ridding the world of controversy. The setting of Fahrenheit 451 may seem like a perfect world, but people are actually ignorant, mundane, and dissatisfied. Fahrenheit 451 features a futuristic dystopian American city during the 24th century, after the world has endured two atomic wars.

There are many interesting themes throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451. In this novel, Bradbury seems to be saying that in the society in this novel, the people had to choose between conformity and individuality. The life of people in their society was all about self-pleasure. Although that way of life sounds very pleasant, the society does not support self-expression. Entertainment is the only thing people focus on. So as long as the people stick to watching television and racing their cars, activities that require little thought, they are left alone. However, when people begin to question things in nature such as life, and begin searching for answers in books they become threats. The rising of questions such as why things are the way they