Ignorance In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

It’s the future, and books are outlawed, burned, and forbidden. Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that was published in 1953. The book presents a future where books are outlawed and firemen instead of putting out fires, burn the books and the whole house. The author made the title Fahrenheit 451 to be where that temperature (451 degrees) is where paper burns. Ray Bradbury shows this through the theme of technology and modernization in the book Fahrenheit 451 through the abuse of government control and the distraction of citizens and the punishment.

Knowledge and Ignorance in Fahrenheit 451 Imagine a society where all books are banned from the public and if any are found they are burned into ashes. This is a reality in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which delves deep into problems a society becoming more and more dependant on technology may face. In Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury shows many problems which range from technology to violence, one important topic that is discussed is knowledge and the theme that a society cannot function without knowledge You can clearly see this idea starting to form within the first few pages of the novel, when the protagonist Guy Montag has an interaction with a girl named Clarisse. As they are talking Guy Montag says “You think too many things”(pg 9).

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a uniquely shocking and provocative novel about a dystopian society set in a future where reading is outlawed, thinking is considered a sin, technology is at its prime, and human interaction is scarce. Through his main protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury brings attention to the dangers of a controlled society, and the problems that can arise from censorship. As a fireman, it is Guy's job to destroy books, and start fires rather than put them out. After meeting a series of unusual characters, a spark is ignited in Montag and he develops a desire for knowledge and a want to protect the books. Bradbury's novel teaches its readers how too much censorship and control can lead to further damage and the repetition of history’s mistakes through the use of symbolism, imagery, and motif.

In this world technology has taken over the society and sometimes even destroyed humanity on its own. In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury reveals how humanity and technology have taken over its time. In the book he proclaims how everyone turns against one another. He describes life at that time, which is based in the future as in black and white. In the passage if they don’t agree with a person or their beliefs and lifestyle they automatically plan to get rid of them with numerous pieces of technology.

Thomas Gray once said that ignorance is bliss. In this case is not true. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 deals with the protagonists struggle with knowledge versus ignorance. It is a futuristic novel that deals with the struggle of an alienated society.

As much as some of us may fail to realize it, fahrenheit 451 relates to current and future times and ideas more than it should. The science fiction of fahrenheit 451 becomes less and less of a fiction every day. The blood, war, and revolution also strike as too close for comfort. The author, Ray Bradberry, also took the time to show some of his transcendentalist views throughout the end of the book.

Technology plays such a big role in today’s society. Imagine having technology doing everything for you. Having a mechanical dog or a machine that butters your toast for you. This is what the characters in Fahrenheit 451 all have. My goal for this paper is to clearly represent the overall theme for Fahrenheit 451 which is the over dependence on technology on how it can disconnect people from reality.

As technology advances exponentially, America and the world need to learn how to use this technology without abusing it. Ray Bradbury writes about a dystopian America with huge problems ignored by the public in his novel, Fahrenheit 451. Today, America already faces many problems that might cause disastrous effects in the future. Bradbury uses his novel to warn against certain aspects of modern society through a story about a society that became too dependent on television. Although the novel describes a fictional America set in the future, Fahrenheit 451 presents serious warnings about the dangers of conformity and technology in modern society that apply to America today.

Set in a world of both ignorance and enlightenment, Fahrenheit 451 consumes the reader’s interest by projecting the life of a character who dares to escape the tight chains of censorship and intellectual repression. Ray Bradbury focuses in on fireman Guy Montag and his self conflicts as a result of a sterile world around him. Bradbury uses the findings of Guy Montag to present to the reader that knowledge is much more extensive than just power, and by involving different characters, he displays knowledge as happiness, fulfillment, and contentedness. Knowledge can be looked at in two different ways. The first idea of knowledge is that it’s facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or

The world of Fahrenheit 451 is a world devoid of books. In this world the protagonist Montag is a fireman, but in this world he burn houses insteads of putting them out, he goes against his government and occupation to steal a book from a burning house. To most effectively convey his message, Bradbury uses symbolism and irony to shape the theme that Knowledge can both be joyful and painful. The symbolism helps to shape the theme is Fahrenheit 451.