Essay about Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

A 30 year-old firefighter, Guy Montag, burns houses instead of saving them. “ He knew that when he returned to the firehouse, he might wink at himself, a minstrel man, burnt-cooked, in the mirror” (2). Montag is a rebellious character that thinks highly of himself. His neighbor is named Clarisse McClellan. She is a charming and intelligent girl. “ Bet I know something you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning” (7). Clarisse absorbs nature and knows more than Montag. Mildred is Montag's wife. She is addicted to pills and she’s stuck in media. “ Two pale moonstones buried in a creek of clear water over which the life of the world ran… her face was like a snow-covered island upon which rain might fall, but it felt no rain… her not caring whether it came or went” (11). When she overdoses it seems that she is careless, thoughtless, and completely empty minded. Mildred isn't unhappy with her life because she attempts things that cause

Mildred is Guy’s wife which loves to watch TV and hates to express herself. She tried to commit suicide and can't even acknowledge it. Montag says, “‘You took all the pills in your bottle last night.’ Mildred responds quickly “Oh I wouldn't do that’”(19). Masking your pain will get you far away from happiness. You need to acknowledge and change for the better. Since Mildred never wanted to talk about her relationship with Guy. This makes Guy angry and can not clear his mind about something they do not talk about as well as Mildred, senselessly that is a part of her pain. It will not go away till she confronts it. Guy says, “No one listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I just need someone to hear what I have to say, it’ll make sense. I just want to learn how to read”(14). This goes to show that he has been distracted by the fact that she is obviously miserable and is crying out for help with her attempt of suicide. Montag is realising that the books might make him closer to his happiness.

He read a dozen pages here and there. . . Mildred sat across the hall from him. ‘What does it mean? It doesn’t mean anything! The Captain was right!’ ‘Here now,’ said Montag. ‘We’ll start over again, at the beginning.’ “ (65). Montag’s captain, Beatty, has just left his house. Because Montag’s wife, Mildred, has discovered the book Montag stole, he reveals to her, and to the reader, that he has been stockpiling many books for a while now. Montag saw how insistent Beatty was on how books were confusing garbage compared to the fast and instant entertainment of the TV walls. However, having met Clarisse, he begins to wonder if the books actually contain anything worthwhile, and if they contain actual value. Thus, because Mildred has found the book, he makes her read them with him. Mildred reacts the way she does because she has been spoonfed thoughtless entertainment, and thus cannot think critically about what she reads. Montag, on the other hand, is willing to accept this and try and understand what he reads. Mildred shows how well the government has controlled the citizens. She is unwilling to think and understand, only watch. Also, because Mildred sees that Montag has books, she may disclose his secret to the very firemen he works with, as she has been told almost all of her life that books are bad, and should be reported to the nearest fire station. This may cause their relationship to become very strained in the

Clarisse makes Guy Montag open his mind up to new things. Clarisse asks Guy Montag a question that is very simple yet very deep. The question she asks him is simply “Are you happy?” This question inspires Guy to think about his life and how he can change it. Once Montag gets home he finds his wife Mildred looking lifeless, his wife had tried to commit suicide. It made him think more about Clarisse’s question of “Are you happy?” The next morning when Montag and Mildred had awoke, Mildred did not remember her attempted suicide. His wife’s attempted suicide made him think more about his life and the events of his life so far. Montag tries to understand why Clarisse questions the ways of their society and acts the way she does. Montag does not understand why Clarisse asks herself why. Montag begins to question the society he lives in because of Clarisse’s question. Montag ask a coworker about what firemen use to do in their job in the past. His fireman coworkers tell him to remember the rule book and that they were given the job they do now for a reason. The firehouse gets a call to go burn down another house that contains books, it is Mrs. Black’s house. When they arrive the light of the fire had already started from the burning of her house and books. Mrs. Black decided to stay in her house with her burning books and die. Montag wonders why

Ban books or burn them? Ray Bradbury wrote his famous novel Fahrenheit 451 in 1953 fantasizing about a world in which books were banned, and when a book was found it was burnt and destroyed. Little did he know that his thought of books being banned could actually happen and that it would be one of his own. Today Fahrenheit 451 is being banned and challenged in schools all across America. How ironic that a book about books being banned is now being banned around the country. A prize winning book by a prize winning author is now being questioned as to whether it is a good book to teach in an English class. Though Fahrenheit 451 may contain controversial elements such as language, discussion of

Montag spends the rest of the rainy afternoon uneasily reading through books while Millie sits idly. As he reads, Montag is often reminded of Clarisse. Meanwhile, the already edgy couple is alarmed by a scratching at the door. Millie dismisses it as "just a dog", but Montag knows it is the Mechanical Hound. Luckily, the Hound leaves without causing a disturbance. Millie whines that there is no reason to read books and that that their house will be burned down if anyone finds out. Montag responds with a passionate rant, asserting that they really have no concept of what is going on in the world and that those who seek to learn are quickly quieted, just like Clarisse and the old woman. He talks of the ongoing wars and how people all over the

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Modern World The futuristic world that Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, so vividly describes is frighteningly close to our own. It might not seem so at first glance, but if you take a closer look, you'll find that Bradbury wasn't far off the mark with his idea of what our lives would be like in 50 years. As he envisioned, technology would be extremely sophisticated, families would start becoming distant, and entertainment would take a more significant role in our lives. The problems at the present might not be as extreme as Bradbury's, however, if left unchecked, they could grow to be just as monstrous as he predicted.

In the book Fahrenheit 451 the theme is a society/world that revolves around being basically brain washed or programmed because of the lack of people not thinking for themselves concerning the loss of knowledge, and imagination from books that don't exist to them. In such stories as the Kurt Vonnegut's "You have insulted me letter" also involving censorship to better society from vulgarity and from certain aspects of life that could be seen as disruptive to day to day society which leads to censorship of language and books. Both stories deal with censorship and by that society is destructed in a certain way by the loss of knowledge from books.

“Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings” is a famous quote said by Heinrich Heine, which relates to the concept of book burning, seen in the novel Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury uses his unique literary style to write the novel Fahrenheit 451; where he brings his readers to a future American Society which consists of censorship, book burning, and completely oblivious families. The novel’s protagonist, Guy Montag, is one of the many firemen who takes pride in starting fires rather than putting them out, until he encounters a seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to notice what Clarisse’s values are in the novel, how her innocence and

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.

Imagine living in a world where you are not in control of your own thoughts. Imagine living in a world in which all the great thinkers of the past have been blurred from existence. Imagine living in a world where life no longer involves beauty, but instead a controlled system that the government is capable of manipulating. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, such a world is brought to the awareness of the reader through a description of the impacts of censorship and forced conformity on people living in a futuristic society. In this society, all works of literature have become a symbol of unnecessary controversy and are outlawed. Individuality and thought is outlawed. The human mind is

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, irony is used to convey information and it contributes to the overall theme of the novel. Written during the era of McCarthyism, Fahrenheit 451 is about a society where books are illegal. This society believes that being intellectual is bad and that a lot of things that are easily accessible today should be censored. The overall message of the book is that censorship is not beneficial to society, and that it could cause great harm to one’s intelligence and social abilities. An analysis of irony in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury shows that this literary technique is effective in contributing to the overall theme of the novel because it gives more than one perspective on how censorship can negatively affect

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a display of how humans are relying more and more on technology for entertainment at the price of their ability for intellectual development. It is a novel about technological dystopia, often compared to other novels such as, George Orwell’s 1984 and Asimov Ender’s Game. Although today’s technology has not quite caught up with Bradbury’s expectations, the threat of having his vision of a dystrophic society is very realistic. He sees a futuristic society in which this submission of thought is highly valued. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury displays a futuristic utopian society where "the people did not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations" (Mogen, Pg. 111).

Montag’s wife, Mildred, becomes so involved in her Parlor Walls that she accidentally ingests a whole bottle of pills causing her to overdose. After this event, Montag realizes the moronic influence of popular culture.

This novel is Fahrenheit 451 it is stated in the book that is the temperature which paper burns. The author is Ray Bradbury. This novel took place in Los Angeles in 2053 although it was wrote in the year 1953. Bradbury doesn’t specifically say where at in Los Angeles this is for the reader to use their imagination when reading. This novel starts with a dark and very gloomy mood.