preview

Themes Of Society In Fahrenheit 451

Decent Essays

How would you picture your world without books? Would you want to become intelligent or would you rather go with the flow? In the novel fahrenheit 451 there was a man named Guy Montag, his occupation was a “Fireman”. Unlike firemen the world has grown up with, these firemen would start fires instead of putting them out, this would be just one of the few very peculiar situations in the story. In Montag’s world they despise books, they are viewed very negatively, making anyone who reads them a criminal. Montag would go through the story meeting many others that would entirely change his point of view and opinion of books. He would then go on trying to fix their world and bring books back. In the novel “Farenheit 451” author Ray Bradbury reveals two key problems that are wrong with society; Society doesn’t want people to be themselves, they want everyone to be a certain way and violence is resorted as the first option to many problems that could be fixed many better ways.

The first problem Bradbury presents in the novel is society doesn’t want people to be themselves, they want everyone to be a certain way. One key theme brought up many times throughout the story was censorship. Guy’s world was heavily censored to only propel the ideas given by society into citizens minds instead of them discovering thing on their own. An example of when this problem is shown is Clarisse talking to Montag, she's been very lonely throughout her whole life due to her being herself. A quote from the passage is "You're one of the few who put up with me. That's why I think it's so strange you're a fireman, it just doesn't seem right for you, somehow. He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding one upon the other.” (Page 22-23) Here readers learn very few people in Montag's world except Clarisse because of she shows her own personality and is unique. Bradbury reveals to the readers being outgoing and unique in this society makes you an antisocial person, society wants you to be a certain way which is dull and boring. As the story went on Montag became detached from the society believes and much more interested in books. He could

Get Access