Fahrenheit 451 Text Response Essay

Thesis: In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury conveys the message that there are many extreme changes and consequences in society once literature is abandoned; instead of gaining knowledge, other elements of media and technology are mindlessly absorbed, resulting in weak relationships, loss of intellectuality in society, and the absence of emotional challenges amongst people.

In Guy’s society, relationships are distant and meaningless as a result of extreme media use. After Guy and Mildred realize they do not remember where they met, Guy makes a realization about their relationship: “He remembered thinking that if she died, he was certain he wouldn’t cry” (Bradbury 41). As a result of abandoning literature, people dedicate almost all of their

As Guy explains the burning of the woman in her own house’s fire to a confused Mildred, he realizes, “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing” (Bradbury 48). Books have been banned, meaning no one is able to gain knowledge from them, and any remaining books must be burned. Guy realizes that books must hold significant importance if the woman was willing to give her life in protest of the burning of her books. Montag describes the idea of the content of the books as “something we can’t imagine,” showing that he and other people in his society are so out of touch with literature that they cannot fathom what it expresses. They are missing out on all of this knowledge that Montag is discovering is important to have. Guy realizes that there must be “something” in books, but he has not been able to read; therefore, he is not exactly sure what, specifically, society is missing out on. The ban on literature results in a loss of learning in Montag’s society, in fact, most are not familiar with even the idea of books. Society is missing out on what is in books, resulting in no learning and loss of intellectuality as a