Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451

1. At the beginning of the story, how does Montag feel abou this job? Give specific examples to support your response.

Why does Beatty quote Montag from books that he has burned? Why would a well-educated, well-read man despise knowledge? (See p. 169-172 of Bradbury’s Afterword for more insight on this)

It’s a double edged sword. Beatty’s message about books is primarily, “The Devil is real, and he’s not some little red man with horns and a tail. He can be beautiful because he’s a fallen angel, and he used to be God’s favorite.” Books are like a nightmare dressed like a daydream and in the end, all they do is fail you. Although Montag panics, he knows deep down inside what the truth about books is.

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.

When an author produces a work of literature, they are greatly influenced by the world around them. Inspired by life in society, authors are able to create work that speaks to their observations and views on society and its functions. In the book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury incorporated the corruption of the society in which he lived in into the dystopian society created in his book. Fahrenheit 451, a fictional book about a protagonist’s attempt to overcome a dystopian society’s corruption, was written by Ray Bradbury while living in 1950’s America. The book focuses on themes of censorship, and illustrates the effects of when a society is controlled and limited. The correlation between the story and the time it was written is

The contemporary movement was a form of modern art, that represented a certain time period that was post world war. The contemporary movement focused on fiction that focused around government. Thus, the theme of the power that a government established within a certain time. For example, in Farenhight 451, the book is based upon a utopia society where they are strictly under a strict, dictating government. Within this society books are band and the government controls the knowledge that humans of there society can reach.

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.

Montag reads it for the first time and gains the knowledge of literature and realizes that he must stop the books from getting burned. Montag shows the power of both innovative ideas and

Montag knew this as Beatty taunts him at the fire department with quotes of literature, but Montag couldn’t say anything because it would be like a confession. Montag basically had to censor the information he retained from the books he read, as some of them changed his views on the world. People are also willing to stand up for what they believe is right. The quote “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing” (Bradbury 48) shows how the women thought books had more potential than anyone else thought.

“Fire is dangerous,” is what my mother always told me. Growing up with a mother that harped about playing with fire turned that very thing into my biggest fear. When I was younger, I had a repeating nightmare that my house would burn down in the middle of the night, and sometimes I would get stuck inside; other times I would escape and be purely mesmerized by both the danger and the beauty that the blaze held. This mesmerizing impression is brought to life in Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury employs many different human associations and responses to fire throughout the novel. In fact, the image of fire is the most dominant image used in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury presents fire in many different ways in the novel, such as, a destroyer, things of beauty, and a restorer.

Montag grows consistently dissatisfied with his life and work the more he talks with Clarisse. He starts to ponder if perhaps books aren’t so bad, and even snatches one from one of his book burning missions. Meanwhile Clarisse disappears, which I assumed she was dead and his boss, Captain Beatty, is growing suspicious. He lectures Montag on the potential hazards of books and explains the origin and history of their profession. Far from rejuvenated, Montag feels blazing anger and becomes more dangerously rebellious than ever. He spends one afternoon with his wife reading his secret stash of books he’s been storing behind his ventilator grill and decides he needs a teacher. He takes a Christian Bible and tries to memorize some of it on his trip.

He knew that Montag had doubts so he didn’t want Montag to start going against the law. Montag did debate if he should actually keep the book because he did not understand them and he did not want to lose his job. Montag knew that either choice he went with would be difficult, but either could be the right decision. Montag was still not sure what to do after talking to Beatty, so afterward he went to go talk to an old acquaintance, Faber, who had experience with books. Faber taught Montag to understand that “The things [he was]looking for are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine percent of them is in a book” (Bradbury 86).

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.

Mankind has been utilizing fire for millennia; it has been used to make food safe, to provide warmth, to illuminate the dark and unknown, and to protect from savage beasts. It is also practical for torturing, killing, intimidating, and destroying. It only takes one glance for someone to see how fire -- as it dances, spearing the sky for but a moment before it is gone, only to be replaced by another flame -- is far too chaotic to be controlled. In the world of Fahrenheit 451, it seems, superficially, that man has conquered fire at last; the home, man’s refuge from everything undesirable in the world, is fireproof. Why, then, are things still burning in this gilded utopia? In this futuristic society where there is no such thing as an uncontrolled fire, fire has been reduced to a mere tool to be wielded by mankind. As such, fire, in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, is a reflection of the true nature of each character in the novel. In the hands of the society and especially the fireman, fire is a tool wielded for fractious and destructive intent. For Clarisse, who is compared to a candle, fire is friendly and inspiring of thought. And for Montag and the other literates hiding outside of the city, fire is a warm gathering place that fosters kinship and the proper ideals to feed a revolution.

The professor showed Montag that books have details, significance, and are valuable. Through Montag’s encounters with Clarisse, the old woman and Faber, he realizes that the time he had spent burning books was wrong. This persuaded him to change his life.