Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451

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.

In present day, technology has helped in the ways of distributing news, stories, and general entertainment. In the book Fahrenheit 451, technology is still used for these purposes, however, it has a much more drastic role in the status quo of society. With technology such as the television and small ear-piece sized

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury incorporates people and events to change Montag’s character through the course of the story. He uses characterization making Montag switch perspectives. Ray Bradbury uses this book to reveal how much Montag can change.

The characters in Fahrenheit 451 are addicted to the technology that is in their society. One character that exemplifies this technology addiction is Mildred. The technology that she is the most obsessive over is the parlor walls. The parlor walls can best be described as televisions covering all the walls of an entire room. While most parlor walls have four televisions, Montag’s and Mildred’s parlor walls only have three. Mildred questions Montag by saying, “How long do you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall –TV put in? It’s only two-thousand dollars” (20). Montag responds with “That’s one-third of my yearly pay” (20) and is astonished by how naive Mildred is. Mildred is so blindsided by her beloved parlor walls, that she doesn’t even recognize how lazy she is and how hard that Montag works to provide for her. She doesn’t see or understand the bigger picture, she only sees the parlor walls as most important. Mildred expects to get another parlor wall because she is addicted to them. In another statement, she says a rude comment in return to Montag asking, “Will you turn the parlor off?” (49). Mildred responds with, “That’s my family” (49) and doesn’t give it a second thought. Even though Montag and Mildred are married, Mildred says that the parlor walls are her family and implies that they are more of a

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

The word ‘family’ reveals how Mildred relies on technology like a real family instead of caring and being warm-hearted towards her husband, who is her actual family. In addition, it represents Mildred’s obsession towards the parlor. The word ‘sick’ shows that Montag needs care from someone and Mildred is not helping him, by not even decreasing the volume for a sick husband who is continually asking her to turn it off, indicates that Mildred has no care for her husband. Mildred’s subsequent reliance on technology makes her inseparable from it, trying to stay with technology all the time and not caring what happens to others hence making her selfish. Mildred’s egocentric behaviour is also illustrated when she puts the alarm when Montag brings the books to home and reads them in a society where they do not allow books. “She ran past with her body stiff, her face floured with powder, her mouth gone, without lipstick. ‘Mildred you didn’t put in the alarm!’ She shoved in the valise in the waiting beetle, climbed in and sat mumbling, ‘Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything gone, everything gone now…’”(114). Mildred turned in Montag to the firehouse for having books. Mildred knew the consequences of what will happen when she puts in the alarm. Everything in the house will be destroyed along with the parlors that she loves. Also, Montag is going to be arrested for possessing books but Mildred still decides to report Montag because she wants her

“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,

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.

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

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

Bradbury characterizes Mildred as technology-dependent to show that she needs technology to release stress and uses it to replace her own family. Montag comes home after a long day of burning books, which is very common in this dystopian society. . He feels sick because he has illegally taken a book, and he lays in bed, but is unable to rest because of the television

Each individual finds his unique place in the world by going through a journey of self-discovery. One who cannot surmount the tests and trials faces the possibility of not completing the cycle, and will be labeled a tragic hero. A hero rises as a master of two worlds when he utilizes the help of mentors and disregards the hindrances placed by other characters and the unknown world. The typical hero in literature is depicted as the one who conquers all, faces what no other dares to, and fights to make good triumph over evil. Ray Bradbury presents the fictional story, Fahrenheit 451, of such an individual, whose perspective opens up another world previously hidden from him. The story exhibits turning points in Guy Montag’s journey and gives

When the secondary characters of a book are written in a unique way than in most other novels, it can bring up challenging questions regarding their lives. This is most apparent in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, where everyone seems happy in a futuristic life without books and instead uses a vast array of technology to occupy their downtime. But when we look at how they live everyday, even though they seem happy, are they really? Most citizens in the novel do the same routine day in and day out, not really questioning why everything is the way it is. It is almost as if they have been brainwashed in a way to make them seem happy, but in actuality they wouldn’t really know compared to our day’s standards. Though they might be happy living in their lifestyles, the people of Fahrenheit 451 are not actually sure of what happiness is, and therefore cannot be happy when they do not know what brings happiness.

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

Today, teens are spending one third of their day using technology according to a new study released by Common Sense Media. That is a whole nine hours spent mindlessly surfing the web or watching cat videos. In the science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury writes a social commentary on what the future may look like if technology continues to be overused. In his dystopia, all books are banned and the government controls almost every aspect of people’s lives by brainwashing them with technology. Firemen burn down people’s houses who have books, Guy Montag being one of them. Slowly, Montag starts to question his society and steal books, to the dismay of his technology obsessed wife, Mildred. Bradbury uses Mildred as a symbol of societal corruption to highlight the dangers of excessively using technology.