Independence In Fahrenheit 451

Independence in Words Without the presence of words and books, one loses the ability to be independent, like most characters in Fahrenheit 451. The main character, Guy Montag, does not wish to be like everyone else; he wants to have the ability to consider things for himself. With all of the brand-new technology and the disappearance of books, he believes this is no longer possible. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, the presence of technology in society are used to prove the importance of reading, independence, and thinking for oneself.

In reference to Fahrenheit 451, Neil Gaiman explains to the readers the way Bradbury has used his words. Gaiman says “. . .it is about the words chosen and the way those words are deployed. . .” (Gaiman xii). In the 1950s, one could tell who was home by seeing if their lights were on. In contrast, now Bradbury could tell people were home by seeing if their lights were off so they could see the black and white television. Fahrenheit 451 began with Bradbury’s thought: “ ‘If this goes on nobody will read books anymore’ ” (Gaiman xiii).

The main character, Guy Montag, is

Her brain does not even think anymore; sometimes she looks at the television walls and not even be listening to what is going on. She spends all day with her ‘family’ in the walls and cannot even spend a little time with her husband (Bradbury 46). When Mildred’s friends come to join her and watch the walls, Montag tries to have a conversation with them and ends up getting angry. Montag is angry because Mildred and her friend’s thoughts and conversations have no depth. They say they are voting for President Noble because he is more attractive than his opponent and they talk about their children as if they do not matter to them (Bradbury 93). This makes Montag think of them as monsters and he wants to read books to them so they are no longer like this (Bradbury