Fahrenheit 451 Themes

The theme of the novel Fahrenheit 451 is incredibly complex and completely entwined with almost every description and word choice the author chose to employ. On the surface, it appears to be simple commentary on the incompetence of those unwilling to cooperate with the system and the agitation they caused by their socially-aberrant behaviors, i.e. Clarisse McClellan’s love for talking about unconventional topics and a deep appreciation for nature. Yet, once one looks deeper into the metaphorical wording and progression in the novel’s character-arcs and shift in tones, you come to find it is instead exploiting the deeper, sicker behaviors of those in charge and the silencing effect they have on the public. An example is the burning of

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 there many allusion that demonstrate the themes in book. One of these allusions being the Book of Job which is a story about the perseverance of the humane spirit, a major theme in Fahrenheit 451. A second allusion is Confucius who shows the importance of literature and what is valued in life. A final allusion is Mahatma Gandhi who fought through censorship and oppression to change the ways of society. Montag throughout the book stays true to his goal and these same attributes are seen in the Book of Job.

The book Fahrenheit 451 is a book that promotes many themes and morals. There are more than just a few themes we can see in this story, some of them quite different to the others. Some of this has to do with violence, in the book we read about how young people go around killing others just like them or sometimes just because they are a bit different, which shouldn’t matter, another one about how the citizens are not satisfied with how they’re living their lives. What if many of them actually found appealing or amazing the art of writing but weren’t able to pursue that because in that society it wasn’t right to do that, it was more like a crime.

Bradbury uses allusions and metaphors through an analogy, Beatty’s dream, to strengthen his message regarding the importance and power of language and literature. In Fahrenheit 451, the fire captain Beatty tells the rebel firefighter Montag about his dream where they both argue what books teach and through this the importance of language and literature is exposed.

Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Pedestrian” is a dramatic illustration of the dangers of living in a world where contact with nature is deemed so abnormal that even walking alone at night is a crime. The dystopian story revolves around the tale of a man named Leonard Mead, living during a time period not so far away from our own, in 2053 CE. In the story, a robotic police car is so suspicious of Mead’s walking behavior during one pleasant night that he is taken away to a psychiatric hospital.

▪ Psychological or Psychoanalytical Criticism – a leading tradition in psychological criticism is the Freudian’s. According to its followers, the meaning of a work of literature depends on the psyche and even on the neuroses of the author. Ray Bradbury wrote this short story in a very old age. And the significance of this story is also view from the point of view of the old person’s being aware of all the new technologies of the world. People shouldn’t live in their shells; they should go ahead together with the progress. Ray Bradbury, being in his late years understood and took the progress in a right way and probably wanted to show that people shouldn’t stop in their development.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is set in a dystopian society. The government’s main belief is happiness is the result of everyone being equal. The government believes that certain books should be forbidden because those books bring false, individual ideas, which make people unhappy. Guy Montag is just like every other fireman: he does not read the books, just burns them. Then one day, he meets Clarisse, a young girl, that challenges his viewpoint of life. After several conversations with her, he begins to question the government’s ideals. He starts stealing and reading the forbidden books, and he begins to understand the purpose of those books. Montag then meets up with an old friend, and they make plans to start a revolution by

Fahrenheit 451’s underlying themes help strengthen the setting of the book. Ray Bradbury uses technology as a theme to show how it can change us into a society that is easily influenced. Society in Fahrenheit 451 is obsessed with technology that they have created a virtual reality with their TV parlors. These TV parlors are so real seeming that those watching can’t come to their own conclusions of what is being said. “The televisor is ‘real’. It is immediate, it has dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. it must be right. It seems so right.” (Bradbury, page 112). By the TV parlors blasting in what to, and what to think, the government had complete control over its’ citizens, and it’s no surprise that the people in Bradbury’s

In the book, Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse McClellan is a thought out, important motif. A motif is a recurring object, theme, or item in a literary text that contributes to the plot of the story. Clarisse makes for a good example of a well-written motif.

Displayed through the numerous delinquents entrapped in the distractions that the government has provided, Ray Bradbury develops a theme that can precisely relate to our world. This truth is that the many disturbances (such as technology) in a society can have ramifications. In the same token, Kurt Vonnegut from the "Harrison Bergeron" excerpt, forms a theme in which highlights the negative outcome when equality is considered more important than individuality. Despite the varying themes, both authors do a coherent job of incorporating their opinions of society throughout their writings and explaining the dreadful effects on our

Montag lives in a society where books aren’t allowed, but when he starts realizing things his feelings change about books and love. Clarisse a girl comes into Montag’s life and shows him a different view in love. Also, an old man, Fabor, Montag met at the park shows Montag a different view in books. Montag believed that reading books were useless and that he’s in love with mildred, but towards the end Montag learns from Clarisse and Fabor that books are more than words on paper and that he wasn’t really in love with Mildred.

Authors use literary as devices such irony, foreshadowing,or flashbacks to help develop the theme of a story. Novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, use these literary devices to elaborate on and support one common theme. Even short stories such as “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury use literary devices to make their stories and plots more interesting and to develop their themes. Literary devices are an important part of writing and an essential part of any plot, story, or theme.

Having spent one’s entire childhood through war and bombings can inspire many ideas, both positive and negative. From the fear of a nuclear bomb to the proud feeling of witnessing the first American man on the moon, Ray Bradbury took his experiences during World War II and the International Space Race and transformed them into literary pieces, such as “There Will Come Soft Rains”, “The Sound of Thunder”, and “The Pedestrian”. In these short stories, Bradbury includes elements of his own life into the plot, creating a message of caution to the readers through his riveting genre of dystopia. Some topics he stresses include time, technology, and its possible threats to human interaction. Through Bradbury’s unique style, he encapsulates the major issue of the rapid development in society and how it affects people in a social aspect. As new technology and science is innovated, there are many people who debate whether or not it can have harmful side effects to mankind. Among these three short stories, Bradbury uses the stylistic techniques of diction, imagery, and figurative language to convey that as society progresses through time, people lose their sense of humanity.

In Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, a futuristic society sends a message about censorship when Guy Montag and others of that time period are forbidden to read, which discourages them from thinking for themselves. Ray Bradbury wrote books and short stories that reveal powerful messages, including his popular novel Fahrenheit 451. Transformation and loneliness are common themes found in his novels and short stories, which are based on his own life, because he was introduced to books at a young age and always went to the public library with his brother. Since he was gifted in writing, he joined the Los Angeles Science Fiction League as age 15 (“Fahrenheit” ). In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury censors his characters by making up laws so they are not allowed to read, to send powerful messages when firemen burn books to get rid of society’s freedom.

“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches” (Wikiquote, “Ray Bradbury”). Author Ray Bradbury made this observation in 1979 and his thought has only become more true as time has gone on. Bradbury warns of the possibility of this happening in his novel, Fahrenheit 451. The message of Fahrenheit 451 is more important than ever because today’s book editors, movie critics, and plays have intentionally and unintentionally removed Bradbury’s original intent of the novel. This hasn’t only happened to Fahrenheit 451, but many other books have been dumbed down to meet the standards of today’s unsophisticated readers.