Ignorance In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

My appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol when I read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The science fiction novel is about Guy Montag, a man who is a firefighter. In this time, the job of a firefighter is to burn and destroy all books because reading or having books is illegal. He does his job, day by day, burning books without giving it a thought. As the novel continues, Montag realizes that books are not bad and tries to save them. He remembers a time when fire was not a destructive force; fire was also a source of warmth and comfort. In this novel, fire represents two opposing forces, depending on how it is used. The firemen use it to destroy, but Montag learns that it gives a source of a warm and comforting affect when used correctly.

Montag's desire to acquire knowledge through books is dealt with by the rulers is that Montag’s boss, Beatty, says it was normal for a fireman to go through these phases of fascination of what books have to offer. Beatty tells Montag,” What traitors books can be! You think they’re backing you up, and then they turn on you. Others can use them, too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives.” But, Beatty is missing the point on how valuable books can be. So Beatty tells Montag to read through all of the books Montag has stashed to see if the books contain anything worthwhile, then the next day turn them in to be burned.

In this society that is gradually becoming increasingly dependent on technology, will literature slowly disappear from the minds of the population? This is the question that Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, attempts to answer. In this book, he describes a hypothetical world in which the population not only avoids reading, but has made owning books an unthinkable crime, with all books discovered burned, along with the houses of those who hoarded them. In this dystopian future created by Bradbury, the beauty that is literature has been replaced in society by television programs and radio stations. This reveals Bradbury’s obvious fear that modern technology would completely replace books- a legitimate concern to have. In 2015, the value of books differ between groups of people. The disadvantage of this is that books provide the readers opportunity to allow their imaginations to run wild, something that television and radio never could. Fahrenheit 451 addresses the problem and fear of overwhelming technology through its fictional world, which shows what would happen should people render literature completely useless through the use of television and radios.

Montag begins to question every aspect of his life, “I don’t know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing I knew was gone was the books I’d burned in 10 or 12 years. So I thought books might help.” (Pg.82) Censorship puts Montag in the dark; a place he no longer wants to be. Montag wants to be passionate about something worth fighting for. That passion leads him on a hunt for knowledge, guides him to books, and sets him free.

Montag soon begins to enter the bonfire stage. Clarisse, is an observant, curious, open-minded and unique 17 year old girl. Montag, after meeting a couple times with Clarisse, is when his eyes truly open that his society is full of fake realities. He becomes observant and starts asking questions about his society. While being with Clarisse, Montag would smell the leaves and notice the small details; therefore, he was having a shift from being a prisoner to going up to the bonfire. On page #48 it says, “ You’re not sick,” said Mildred. Montag fell back in bed. He reached under the pillow. The hidden book was still there. “Mildred, how would it be if, well, maybe I quit my job awhile?” “You want to give up everything? After all these years of working, because, one night, some woman and her books-” “You should have seen her, Millie!”…. “You weren’t there, you didn’t see ,” he said. “ There must be something in the 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.” This is the event that changed Montags viewpoint on books

Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!

Firstly, Montag faces the conflict of having to burn down a house with a woman in it, which led him to thinking that something important may be hidden within the books that could be different from what he has learning in this new version of society; Montag becomes more curious through this event and starts to wonder. Eventually, the protagonist is so deeply engrossed in his curiosity that “his hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion, with an insanity of mindlessness to his chest” (Bradbury 34). This quote illustrates

Therefore, through books, Montag becomes conscious of the monotony of his previous life, and now rebels against the very foundations of his society. Due to this intellectual illumination, Montag begins to acknowledge the details of the world around him, details he had once ignored: ‘”Bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass this morning.”’As enlightenment dawns on Montag, he finally begins to realise the power within books (i.e. they hold the key to power through knowledge) and this is his ‘crime’ against society: ‘There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house...’ Despite his newfound interest, Montag is still struggling to understand the concept of literature. Once again however, Montag is pushed in the right direction by Professor Faber. Under Faber’s guidance, Montag recognises that ‘There is nothing magical about [books] at all. The magic is only with what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment.’ This quote exemplifies the fact that although books are the combination of mere ink and paper, it is the beliefs and the knowledge within a book that are so incredibly powerful.

The theme of knowledge and ignorance was shown multiple times throughout this book. In this rising action there was plenty of examples of this them, all of them involved montag or some other character expressing their feelings toward books. In the rising action montag and the firemen went to some lady's house because they recieved an alarm when they got there the lady had a library and they told her to move but she didn't so she was burnt with her house and with her books. Montag then went home later and told this to his wife and he thought there must be something in books to make a lady want to die with her books.The quote from this event is ”We burned a thousand books.We burned a woman” This

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is a prime example of social criticism. The story sets in the 24th century where people race jet cars; the author’s idea of the future. It shows a flawed social structure, controlled by the media and government with banning and burning of books, and suppressing society’s minds from history. Their logical thought was that it would keep society from thinking too much, which in turn would prevent bad thoughts, and to keep them “happy all the time”. The book tells a story of Guy Montag, the protagonist, and his life as a book burner. He was an “instrument” of the government, a firefighter that was used to suppress information from people by burning all books. The characters live in a world where the past is hidden from them. The government has brain washed society and they are forced to contemplate on what is true and what is not. Montag plays a round character that undergoes change throughout the story. He starts as a narrow-minded character that does what he is told, no questions asked. He has lived his life thinking he was happy. As a reader, you will begin to sense a character change in Montag as this paper will analyze certain events that occur in his life representing an individual fighting against conformity. It begins with control of the masses by censorship as society is censored from history by book burning and oppressive technology. The rise of Montag’s character development starts to socially rebel from societies norms causing him

In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury states the negative effects of technology. Bradbury illustrates a society where books are banned and people entertain themselves with parlor walls, which is a TV. One of the characters Mildred, who is the wife of Montag, a fireman who is paid to burn books. Mildred is always attached to technology and can’t get away from it. She is usually watching the parlor or listening to her seashell earbuds. Bradbury uses the literary element of indirect characterization on Mildred to suggest how she is selfish and thoughtless, examining the negative effects of technology when one constantly uses it and relies on it which causes obsession and over-reliance towards technology leading one to not think critically

Throughout the novel, Montag evolves as a character, he slowly comes to grips with reality. He begins the story as a happy, content, and everyday member of society, and after a few choice interactions, begins to feel progressively unhappy. In search of a solution to this confusing and growing unhappiness, Montag becomes rebellious towards the value of the commonly accepted facts of his society. This is most clearly demonstrated by Montag’s opinion of books. As he slowly eases into reading books, Montag comes to the realization that despite him not knowing the meanings of the books he reads, they do have a profound and deep impact. Once

    In Fahrenheit 451, Montag believed in something everyone in the city did not believe in and he was judged and treated badly by others around him because of his own beliefs and opinions. Throughout the beginning of the book, Montag had always followed the code and conduct of the firemen by burning books because I was apparently a crime to read or have any books in the house. After he talked to a girl named Clarisse, she completing change his opinion of books and encourages him to start reading it. Mildred his wife, starts to treat him badly and starts to lose her love for him because of his views and beliefs toward books after someone helped him understand how books could give you knowledge and wisdom. When Montag got caught for reading books, he was hunted, chased by the

Montag is now at the point where his views are being tested and new beliefs of life are being created. “Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief” (35). Here Montag sees a plethora of books inside of Mrs. Blake’s house and seemingly of its own accord Montag’s hand takes a book. He has now broken a rule that everyone in Montag’s society knows, never to take or read books. Mrs. Blakes, instead of coming with the firemen out of the house decides to burn with the books. This confuses Montag and piques his curiosity to figure out what inside the book could drive someone to die with

In Fahrenheit 451’s dystopian society, the possession of books is considered criminal. A once proud fireman who regularly burned books turned a new leaf and began to understand and value the importance of literature. Multiple characters in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 impact the ex-firemans, Montag, life in a way that changed him forever. Throughout the novel Montag discovers a different outlook and perspective on the society in which he lives and how he perceives books. From a fireman to an outlaw, a few specific characters greatly impact Montag. Montag meets a young woman who perceives the world in a different way which affects Montag’s outlook on society. Also, a retired English professor gave Montag confidence and the comprehension of books. A character close to Montag, his wife, shows him how the loss of importance of books would affect his life . When Montag goes outside, he comes across a young woman who does not seem like the others in the city. Montag begins to talk to her and his life changes in a major way.