The novel Fahrenheit 451 is a great example of assimilation. It shows the country being forced to adapt to another culture of not reading or owning any sort of book. From only the first page or two, you get a glimpse into the town that Guy Montag, the main character, lives in. The way that Montag describes his town portrays it to be more gloomy and dark; and lacking any sort of joy or happiness. As the story continues, and a few other characters are introduced, you begin to see how powerful the government is in persuading society into thinking what citizens should believe and take part in. The firehouse and its firefighters are structured to believe that books are evil and have no meaning whatsoever. Mildred, Guy’s wife, is a prime example
In the story, fireman are no longer required to put out fires, instead they start them. Books are no longer allowed in Guy’s society and fireman are called to houses, where books are found, and directed to burn them down. In one chapter the alarm sounds at the firehouse and all the men end up at a house of an old lady; they had found books in her attic and were called to dispose of them. They get right to work coating the books in kerosene and trying to get the woman out of her house. Beatty, one of the other firemen starts to light a fire to destroy all the books.
Since books are illegal, Mildred felt unsafe. She didn’t want to be guilty for keeping books, but she knew the burning of her house was inevitable. One day while Montag was working, Mildred rang the alarm in their house, which called the firemen. Montag, along with the other firemen, came rushing to the house, not knowing it was Montag’s. Montag was forced to set his life of work and persistence ablaze, piece by piece, with a flamethrower.
By then, he had the urge to read so bad, he would steal books and hide them from his wife who he became disgusted with. He began to read and after reading all night and not finding anything,he was already tired of it, he asked his wife for help but she blew him off, of course. One day he came home to his wife and her friends who were sitting around gossiping and doing societies deeds. He started to read a poem aloud to them. One of Mildred’s friends became disturbed by Guys’ actions, crying and were a bit shaken up that a fireman of all people turned against society and read books.
In the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Montag, who at first conforms to societal standards without question or concern, transforms into a character who deviates from their standards to rebel and question; he discerns that when one diverges from the norm, they can question and rebel. Montags originally conforms completely without doubt or question. He learns from the books and begins to doubt and question the ideals he once upheld. Upon his choice to rebel against the dystopia, Montag escalates the impact and size of his personal rebellions. The realization that he is a mirror image of the ideologies imposed upon himself and the citizens prompts a vindictive mutiny against the oppressive government.
It's impossible for a government to create a utopia in a free society. For a perfect utopian society, we need everything to be perfect and not to upset the citizens. The Novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a story about. In my opinion, Ray Bradbury wrote this book to predict how the future will become, the lead character Guy Montag depicts how some individuals act. Ray Bradbury's novel, Fahrenheit 451 illustrates a dystopian world through the characteristics of dehumanization and rules and restrictions.
Enlightenment brings a greater emphasis and celebration of true values rather than blissful ignorance through the perseverance of thought-provoking questions and the search for a higher calling. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag becomes self-inflicted when his entire identity is uprooted by questions from strange characters that are socially marginalized. In pursuit of the true meaning of life instead of what society deems as valuable, Montag is forced to go on the run, but maintained “a grip on the books, and forced himself not to freeze” as “the roar from the beetle's engines whined higher as it put on speed” (Bradbury 120). Though Montag has been persecuted to a vast extent, he remains conscious of his original goal of maintaining the
In Fahrenheit 451 distraction and ignorance are hallmarks of the culture in which Montag lives. Montag’s culture encourages conformity and everyone acting in the same mindless ways. Self-expression is frowned deeply upon, and anyone who thinks for themselves is thought of as “weird” and “odd.” Mindless entertainment and thoughtless lifestyles are considered normal, and anyone who dares to think for themselves or question the status quo is deemed a threat to society, as they may cause others to face the difficult questions their society is protecting them from. Montag’s society is organized to snuff out personal thought and opinion, exactly the things Montag searches for to find answers to the very questions his society condemns.
The first point that needs to be addressed is the fact that the book makes people think. In the book firemen are the government censors and they burn any and all books. This makes the people in the story fear both books and opposing the government. As a result,
Books are an essential way to gain knowledge whether they are controversial or not. Thousands of books have been banned from public libraries and schools due to being deemed ‘inappropriate’ by parents, administrators, or religious leaders. Whether Americans should ban books in public libraries and schools is an often debated topic. This censorship of books is dangerous, as it restricts the American people's’ ability to access information, leaving Americans ignorant. Historically, banning books is not a new practice.
The fact that firemen used to put out fires is censored through manipulating the fact that this group was established in 1790, and houses have always been fireproofed-ensures their role ‘today’ as they won’t think about the role of firemen before the houses were fireproofed; is significant as firemen are the enforcers of censorship law. Knowing that firemen once used to put out fires may portray the government as evil and may give birth to rebellion within the censorship enforcers. The author is trying to stress the importance of history, and is exposing the dangers that young adults these days can be prone to taken advantage of, as we don’t show much interest in history. Another convention used in this novel is; limited freedom. The government depicted in this novel, limits the freedom by burning books which holds wisdom and makes us think.
Fahrenheit 451 follows Guy Montag, who lives in a futuristic American city that is ruled by suffering. Instead of enjoying nature, reading, and thinking independently, the people in this world are expected to depart from their individuality and spend their spare time watching television and listening to the radio. Books are even outlawed because they promote thinking Guys works as a fireman, but instead of putting out fires, he sets them. The fireman in this society burns illegally owned books and the owners house. However, his whole life is changed when his free-thinking next-door-neighbor, Clarisse, asks him some thought-provoking questions.
Imagine a world where books are illegal and firemen start fires instead of putting them out. A fireman named Montag lives in this world. Montag originally agreed with the laws against books but eventually broke them himself. Mildred eventually becomes sick of having the books in her house and breaking the law so she turns in an alarm against him. Montag then runs away and find the “book people” and live with them in the free community.
The definition of what it means to be human has been constantly changed and revised over the years. But, the one thing that has stayed constant is that members of the human race have the power of free thought, understand the meaning of life, have a sense of mortality, and an understanding of time, which in essence makes them human. These individual freedoms cannot last in a society that promotes conformity and mindlessness. In a civilization, when all of the people act exactly the same way, have the same thoughts, and all of the thoughts that they have are about trivial matters, the population is living as dehumanized beings. In the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a major theme is that conformity leads to dehumanization.
Mindless entertainment and biased media could eventually lead to a conformist world rid of complex thought. Fahrenheit 451 is an accurate depiction of a future where intricate thinking and having different world views is discouraged. Conformity is enforced, books are burned, and almost everyone is ignorant about societal issues. Guy Montag, a fireman, starts to notice this after meeting a strange girl, and then tries to seek justice by committing various acts of treason throughout the book. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury shows how the lack of intellectual content and individuality can falter society into a place rid of complex thought and multiple idealisms.
Can books and people change a person’s way of thinking? Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is about Guy Montag who is a fireman who burns books and houses. Throughout the book he realizes he’s not happy so he has to transform his mindset by using books and people. Guy Montag changes in the story through his increasing problems in his relationship and his perceptions in books.