preview

Fahrenheit 451 Society Quotes

Satisfactory Essays

In the novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury provides thought about how society lives today. Bradbury uses the protagonist, Guy Montag, to make a point about the dangers of a divided society. In this novel, a society is created where all books and free thoughts are banned. Books are seen as the source of all unhappiness and thus, should be outlawed. Montag’s job, a fireman, is not to put out fires, but instead to create fires to dispose of unwanted books. Bradbury also uses the lenses such as social class, culture, and gender to make a point. One of the most important quotes in the book explains why this community burn books, which is the general core and basis of the book. It is also a good metaphor for an attempt at making a utopian society. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal...but everyone made equal. Every man the image of every other; then all are happy” (55). This is said when Beatty talks about how all must be equal. Beatty indirectly says that books cause everyone to be unequal. Because books contain outside knowledge, it can cause people to know more than others. This would cause a problem if people realized that they were being forced into a “perfect” society due to the new knowledge the books provided. The …show more content…

Bradbury wrote this novel in the 50s, when there was “equality” was a very sensitive topic. Beatty also says that books were being shortened so they could be available to all. Everyone felt a need to have access to read and talk about the classic novels. “‘The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that!... Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did’"(55). Here, Beatty argues that equality can be achieved by eliminating books. It took away the need humans have to compete over intelligence and it also served in deleting any offensive

Get Access