Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Montag changed his view of fire from entertainment and destruction into cleansing and renewal when an alarm, called by his wife and her friends, brings the firemen to his own home. Montag wanted to burn his house because “He wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here…” (Bradbury 110). He wanted to get rid of his old life and all memories of it. Montag had even said “If there was no solution, well then there was no problem, either. Fire was best for everything” (Bradbury 110). In this aspect, fire is used for cleansing, just burn anything that is a problem. Ironically, Beatty is one Montag’s problem, so Montag follows his advice and burns Beatty alive. With the use of fire, Montag successfully gets rid of his previous life and Beatty.

In the beginning of the book Ray Bradbury shows how Montog reacts to fire when he is ignorant. Montag did not think about what he was doing while he burned books because he had not began reading books himself. “Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame. He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt corked, in the mirror.(4)” This quote shows Montag's outlook on fire before he began reading books himself. Montag was a complex character in Fahrenheit 451. His views constantly change as the story progresses. In the end of the book, Bradbury showed him and his reactions to fire where, after his ignorance had been lifted. He had realized that it could do more than cause destruction and take away pieces of art away, but that it could help bring people together. Bradbury shows this when montag finds people come together around fire rather than be pulled apart because of it: “It was not only the fire that was different. It was the silence that was concerned with all of the world.(146)” Montag looked at the fire at the end of the book and felt happy and at peace with the world. He did not feel anger or a resistance to the fire, but he was one with it and was no longer ignorant to how special books

In the start of Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s thoughts are that fire is good for society. He burns books for a living, and never thought twice about doing his job. That is until he meets characters such as Clarisse, Beatty, and the academics. Montag’s understanding of the nature of fire changes as he becomes enlightened through his relationships.

“Fahrenheit 451,” written by Ray Bradbury, is a futuristic, dystopian novel based upon a society secluded by technology and ignorance. In this future society, books are outlawed and firemen are presented with the task of burning books that are found in people’s homes. Montag, a fireman, finds himself intrigued with the books, and begins to take them home and read them. As the story progresses, Montag learns the truth behind why books are outlawed and flees his city to join the last remnants of age-old scholars. To progress the story and help the reader easily understand the events, Bradbury uses certain steps to write his book. The novel “Fahrenheit 451” possesses all of the steps of narrative structure, which includes the exposition,

“"I’m hungry" "Last night" he began. "Didn’t sleep well. Feel terrible" she said. "God I’m hungry I can’t figure it" "Last night" he said again. She watched his lips casually. "What about last night" "Don’t you remember"”. Mildred doesn’t really listens to Montag He always tries to tell her something but she seems careless about it. He feels like he’s not getting the attention he wants from her. ““When did we meet? Where?”… “It doesn’t matter.” She was up, in the bathroom now, and he heard the water running, and the swallowing sound she made. “No, I guess not,” he said. This demonstrates that all this years of marriage meant nothing to Mildred. By her not remembering how they meet tells that Mildred doesn’t really care about their marriage.

In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury highlights the strong impact literature has on people through a society that views books as threats, therefore, banning them. The citizens aren 't able to see through the forms of control that the government utilizes to prevent questioning and promote uniformity, although some do have their own views of the world which can be shown through the characters actions, as well as songs. Both Montag, Mildred, the theme of technological control, and the event of Montag meeting Granger of Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451 are portrayed through “All Eyes” by imagine dragons, “Open Your Eyes” by snow patrol, “Robot” by Miley Cyrus, and “What I’ve been looking for” by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel because their identities

We can tell that he wanted to burn his house because “He wanted to change everything, the chairs, the tables, and in the dining room the silverware and plastic dishes, everything that showed that he had lived here…” (Bradbury 116). He wanted to get rid of his old life and all memories of it. Beatty had said “Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean” (Bradbury 60). Beatty told Montag that fire can be used for cleasing – just burn anything that is a problem. Ironically, Beatty is Montag’s problem, so he follows his advice and burns him. With the use of fire, Montag successfully gets rid of his previous life and Beatty, the person who controlled him before. He is having a rebirth in life.

Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451, expresses his perspective on life in an interview. His interview contains a common theme: "Do what you love, and love what you do" (Bradbury). Bradbury sends a message in his interview that people should love life, and live to the fullest because he believes life is a beautiful thing. Although Bradbury no longer can demonstrate his love for life his message still lives in the pages of Fahrenheit 451. The Government of the society in the novel has told their citizens that thinking is as useless as a broken power tool. The citizens are told that books are meaningless, and have no value to anything except those who want to create chaos. The Government replaced all the meaningful things in society with seashells that can play music and television sets fit to fill a wall. For some, the TV 's have become so important that they replace family interaction. The Government has corrupted society. The protagonist, Guy Montag 's profession is to burn books, but he does not know that the government requires him to do this in order for them to restrict knowledge. Clarisse, Montag 's neighbor, lives in a home where socializing and thinking are essential. On the contrary, these elements are highly unusual in society. Montag has always been curious, but Clarisse sets Montag on a journey that involves being rebellious, curious, and persistent by asking him a strange question. These characteristics set Montag apart from society. Montag has been

Albert Einstein once said, "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." Back then there was very little technology that was controlling humanity. Today, phones are captivating societies around the world. Based on this, what will happen in the future? Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, portrays a world where technology goes too far. Throughout the novel, Bradbury proposes the idea of mindlessness of mass culture. It is a warning to societies everywhere because one day that could be the reality. The definition of happiness changes along with interest and care. They no longer care about anything. The definition of knowledge is also changed. They no longer read. This book was written when T.V First came out, and now seeing how technology is driving society today, this book is a cautionary novel. Their happiness, knowledge and mindlessness is all changed due to technology. This may be a society someday.Bradbury proposes warnings about the mindlessness of mass culture

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the author uses allegory (often misinterpreted by readers) to show the dangers of mass media consumption and the decline of reading traditional media. Many readers draw incorrect conclusions (lessons learned) from the book due to how generally the book applies its theme. Government censorship, though an important topic, is not the intended focus of the novel Fahrenheit 451. Finally, Bradbury’s original message of the book shows the beauty of traditional media and the dangers of consuming primarily packaged mass media (such as television and radio). In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury used events that were pertinent to the time to try and convey the message he originally intended. While this message has been lost to many, that does not lessen the work’s value as a piece of literature. Going forward this paper will explore the conclusions normally reached by readers, as well as exploring the authors own original intentions for the work. The primary theme taken from the book is from the author’s chosen setting, being of an authoritarian regime in which books are illegal. While this theme is very easy to grasp (as the reader is figuratively bludgeoned over the head with it), it isn’t the only one people have taken away from the book, nor was it the authors intended focus. Another theme that many readers (normally graduate readers from my research) have identified with are the Christian symbols in the book. While these are used, in some cases

In the novel Fahrenheit 451 by author Ray Bradbury we are taken into a place of the future where books have become outlawed, technology is at its prime, life is fast, and human interaction is scarce. The novel is seen through the eyes of middle aged man Guy Montag. A firefighter, Ray Bradbury portrays the common firefighter as a personal who creates the fire rather than extinguishing them in order to accomplish the complete annihilation of books. Throughout the book we get to understand that Montag is a fire hungry man that takes pleasure in the destruction of books. It’s not until interacting with three individuals that open Montag’s eyes helping him realize the errors of his ways. Leading Montag to change his opinion about books, and

“People need quality information, the leisure to digest it, and the freedom to act on what has been learned.”(Bradbury 85) When these aspects are removed from a society, human beings lose every right to freedom and individualism. In the novel Fahrenheit 451 and the short story Harrison Bergeron, this proves to be more than true. These pieces of literature each display similar values of society, technological advancements, rebellious acts, and a human desire for fulfillment of equality.

After living in a repressive society where self reflection and genuine feeling are discouraged discovering his unhappiness with life poses too much for his mind to process. In order to mirror this state in Montag’s growth Bradbury uses fire to symbolize an overwhelming and destructive force. To Montag, fire had once been source of a shallow sense of power but now he likens it to thoughts he has no control of. Fire takes on a new negative meaning, something that represents a destructive and more importantly untamed force. Furthermore, Montag becomes more enlightened later in the plot, even escaping the city and his hollow life to pursue his mission of preserving books and knowledge.

He claims, “If there was no solution, well then now there was no problem either. Fire was best for everything” (Bradbury 116). Montag again perceives burning as a gratifying and effective mechanism to deal with issues. His character has become dismissive, convincing himself that, “there was no problem,” when he clearly found flaws in society that had yet to be resolved. Montag also sees this superiority in himself which is most clearly exhibityed when he compares his views to the views of others in his society. He says,“They don’t know that this is all one huge big blazing meteor that makes a pretty fire in space, but that someday it’ll have to hit” (Bradbury 103). By creating a distinction between himself and the other people in his world, Montag exhibits his selfish belief that his knowledge makes him superior to all others. He feels all-knowing and therefore invincible, like

At the very beginning of the book, the narrator uses the bold statement of how he feels so satisfied with himself while burning a book. The fire burns into Montag’s eyes and he thinks to himself, “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (3). Ray Bradbury uses this quote about fire to show the reader how destroying knowledge also destroys education. The people living in this technology-based world believe education through books is uncalled for and a waste of time. One’s ability to think for themselves becomes impossible when you constantly destroy sources of knowledge through books. By destroying sources of knowledge through books, it destroys