The dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury introduces a local fireman named Guy Montag, but being a fireman isn’t the same occupation it is today. In this far away world books are illegal, just like drugs or treason. The job of getting rid of these binded pieces of literature lies in the hand of the firemen, burning every novel they can get their hands on. Montag has lived under the impression that this is normal, with his wife MIldred constantly hypnotized by a screen covered wall to which he can’t even break her trance. This is all Montag knows and lives by until Clarisse, Montag’s neighbor, pops into his life.
This is until the day he meets Clarisse, who looks at the world in a different way than anyone else. Then, shortly after, he has to burn down a house full of books and burn the woman inside also because she refuses to leave. This causes Montag to realize that books should not be burned and have great significance in the world. He then shows his wife the abundance of books that he has collected from his job, and his wife, Mildred, becomes concerned. This later causes her to make up lies to cover the fact that Montag is breaking the law of owning books.
It is evident that Beatty is in conflict with himself with his obvious hypocrisy over knowledge and books and his want to die, and this deeply affects the entire novel. The first sign of Beatty’s hypocrisy and internal conflict is when readers realize that although he dismisses books as useless and nonsense, he himself has read many books and is well educated in literature. When Beatty first visits Montag, guessing (correctly) that Montag is having doubts about his job, he tells Montag about how their society came to be and why the firemen exist, praising their role as necessary. He claims “the books say nothing! Nothing you can teach or believe.” (Bradbury 62).
Fahrenheit 451 shows how people’s rights to free speech and media are essential to a free thinking society. Guy Montag, the main character, is a firefighter, which in his futuristic society means he burns books for the government because they are illegal due to the potentially controversial ideas they contain. Montag meets a girl named Clarisse, who helps him realize he’s not really content in how he’s living his life and in his relationships, which begins to change his viewpoint on the society’s standards. His wife Mildred, as well as the rest of society, are highly materialistic and shallow in their daily activities and interactions. Montag eventually steals a book during the fireman’s raid on a house, which leads him to seek out a man named Faber, who is an educated man, and helps encourage Montag to take steps to action.
Many people of the modern day society are more distracted by technology. These distractions cause people to be oblivious to the those in their surroundings. In Ray Bradbury’s story, Fahrenheit 451 a firefighter named Guy Montag lives in a world where books are outlawed. Montag is a firefighter, but these are not your ordinary firefighters. In this corrupted society, firefighters are signaled when books are found in a home; they then burn the books and the houses.
The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in a dystopian society where books have become nearly obsolete because of the evocation of thought, at least free thought, is seen as a negatory result due to the fact that differing opinions presented in books can lead to offending people. Montag, the main character, is a firefighter, but firefighters in this society burn books and houses rather than putting the fires out. Montag meets a girl that is different from the rest of the society, and she changes his perspective of books, and therefore life. In a world where technology is taking over and interfering with human connection, Montag takes a journey to make books important again in hopes of reversing the negative effects of technology. The purpose of
The books he reads and knowledge he’s gotten has made him angry at other slaves with a lack of knowing what is going on. The life of slavery really just ruins your mind and thoughts, and makes you feel discouraged, but Frederick had the education piece in his life. In the text Frederick says, “I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed” (Douglass 54). With his newfound knowledge he starts to contemplate his existence. The hope of being free still pushes him, even if it may lead to death.
At times, he becomes very aggressive when it is time to transition from one task to another. In addition, he acts out aggressively towards his peers when he feels frustrated or has a disagreement with one of them. He will hit, shove, and throw items at them. Jason was told to put his reading book away so that he can get ready for lunch. He became angry and did not want to put the book away.
In his poem, Stafford depicts books as a symbol of ignorance and burns them in a verse about them burning and turning to ashes. However, he mostly judges people for not writing anymore and finds it disturbing to see “whole libraries that no one got around to writing,” (William Stafford) emphasizing the lack of knowledge-filled books of his time. The focus of this poem stands out as different from the previous examples because of the time during which Stafford writes it: 1987. During this time the Cold War occurs, a time of tension between the USA and Russia, who build nuclear weapons to intimidate one another. During this time, people show more interest in knowing the events on the news rather than spending time writing books.
His father allowed him one aesthetic subject and he’d chosen creative writing. But he’d barely get anything done. He was lacking inspiration, and writer’s block might just be the worst illness a person could ever get. The mall was crammed with erratic people running from store to store, making the whole scene look like a 20’s silent film. There was Christmas music blasting from the speakers and every note of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ made Draco want to barf.