Analysis Of Ray Bradbury's The Hearth And The Salamander

Ray Bradbury’s famous novel, Fahrenheit 451, is the story of oppression and society that has related to our world for decades. This is the story of a futuristic world where firemen start fires and burn books, because books are dangerous. However, when one fireman, Guy Montag, begins to have second thoughts about his line of work, the results are both catastrophic and uplifting. After reading the first part of this novel, “The Hearth and the Salamander,” I am very enthusiastic about reading the rest of the novel because of Bradbury’s well-developed characters, his original setting, and his well-written language and diction.

This novel appeals to readers because of Bradbury’s complex, interesting characters. The main character is fireman Guy

In this setting, family and relationships mean very little. Most people are desensitized to death and suffering, and even when tragedy strikes, people are too numb to react. Clarisse mentions, “I’m afraid of children my own page. They kill each other.” (Bradbury 30). An operator says, “We get these [suicide] cases nine or ten a night. Got so many, starting a few years ago, we had the special machines built.” (Bradbury 15). It’s shocking to readers how different this society is to ours, which also makes the novel more interesting. Everyone in Fahrenheit 451 is also constantly bored and starved for entertainment, and society is a whir of mindless information and shows. “I sometimes think drivers don’t know what grass is, or flowers, because they never see them slowly,” Clarisse explains. “If you showed a driver a green blur, Oh yes! he’d say, that’s grass!” (Bradbury 9). The setting is one of the most unusual and compelling part of the novel, causing readers to want to continue reading to see how it affects the rest of the plot and

On page 11, to describe Montag’s wife, Mildred, he writes: “His wife stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb...” These words convey a sense of coldness and detachment, with words like “cold” and “tomb” that show that there is obviously no love between them. This is especially interesting to readers, leading them to wonder why that is and causing them to want to continue reading to find out. Bradbury also puts rhythm in his writing, such as when Clarisse’s uncle says, “...wad them, flush them away, reach for another, blow, wad, flush.” (Bradbury 17). This shows a quickening of pace and thoughts, and the commas force readers to read the entire sentence very fast without time to stop. This not only is aesthetically pleasing to a reader’s ear, but the rhythm of the uncle’s words reflects the society he is talking about. Bradbury’s writing style causes readers to finish the rest of the novel.

Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury’s prediction for the world in the next few centuries. It is a timeless novel forcing readers to think about censorship, individual thought, and freedom. Even half a century after it was first written, it still applies to our world and society today. Bradbury’s complex, thought