Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 the theme, man verse society is demonstrated by Bradbury’s character, Guy Montag by comparing the two different outlooks of society in the world he lives in. In this novel of a fireman, Montag faces society and must deal with it on his own. â€Å"Nobody listens anymore†(pg.82). The society does not listen to people only the television that controls society. The television turned into a brainwashing machine rather than leisure entertainment. â€Å" I just want someone to listen to what I have to say† (pg.82). Montag must deal against everyone because everyone thinks the same as one another. He has no one to turn to because no one will listen to him or agree with him besides the very few that are out there. Montag explains to Professor Faber how he has to deal with society. Nobody listens any more. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I can’t talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it’ll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read. (Pg.82) The whole society that Montag lives in is brainwashed by the television. The television has the control over the entire society, over everything and everyone. Montag starts to understand the world more than behind a screen when he meets a girl named, Clarisse. Since everyone is brainwashed and gullible to whatever is thrown at them Montag feels he is alone. Montag dealt with his problems and did everything he could including leaving his past behind. Montag must also deal with himself, which creates the theme, man verse self. â€Å"About what?, Me,? My house? (pg.135). This is when the police where after Montag because they know he knows how everything really is. Montag had to deal with secret information within him. â€Å" But I did not speak, and thus became guilty myself†(pg.82). He couldn’t deal with the things he knew and felt like some... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 Imagine a world where houses are fire proof, highways are ten lanes across, and firemen are called to begin fires not to put an end to them. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, all of these are a reality in everyday life. Each house in the novel is fireproof, bringing about drastic changes in the roles of firefighters. Firefighters now begin fires, rather than extinguish them as they do today. On a number of occasions throughout the novel, the mechanical hound appears. This is a robotic dog at the firehouse which takes the place of the common firehouse Dalmatian that today’s society is familiar with. In the world in this novel, if people were reported to have books in their possession, the books as well as the home in which they were being hidden would be destroyed by the firefighters. The views of society towards literature are the opposite of today’s society. Changes in technology, attitudes of people in society, partnered with many other events in the st ory contribute greatly to the science fiction theme in Fahrenheit 451. In the novel the role of firefighters has changed drastically. Firefighters are called to burn books, as well as the houses that the books are being stored in, instead of extinguishing fires. â€Å"And so when houses were finally fire-proofed completely, all over the world, there was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes.† Captain Beatty explaining to Guy Montag why the roles of firemen have changed. (58). On the wall of the firehouse is posted a set of rules of how firemen are now supposed to go about their jobs. â€Å"Answer the alarm, start fire, burn everything, return to firehouse, stand alert for other alarms.† (35). â€Å"Kerosene.† â€Å"They pumped the cold fluid from the numbered 451 tanks strapped to their shoulders, they coated each book, they pumped rooms full of it.† (38). After responding to an alarm, the men are drenching the house of an old woman with kerosene because the hou... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 FAHRENHEIT 451 Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 reflects Bradbury’s views on both censorship and conformity besides many other things. His opposition to both censorship and book burning is demonstrated through the characters feelings and thoughts. Originally written in 1951 as the Fireman (Beachams), Fahrenheit 451(symbolically named because that is the temperature at which paper burns) quickly became one of Bradbury’s best known and most acclaimed novels. In the novel the future is a lot different from the society we have come accustomed to and know well, books aren't read; they're burned. That's the premise of FAHRENHEIT 451(brookingbook). Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books (and the houses they're found in), loves his job - until he meets a young woman who causes him to start reading the books he once regarded as kindling. Full of surprises and brilliant insights on the importance of literacy, Bradbury's classic just might frighten you into reading more. His unique styles and artistic development keep the reader entertained and uncertain throughout the novel. The futuristic firemen seek out and burn books. It is a crime, in this society, to own or read books. Trivial information, in this culture, is good, and knowledge is evil. People receive all of their culture through television walls that are built right into their houses. Guy Montag is a fireman who loves his work. He likes nothing better than to spray kerosene on a pile of books and watch the pages curl and turn into flakes of black ash that flutter through the air. This is shown when the Montag said, â€Å" It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed†. (Bradbury 14) This statement shows how Guy was so sure of his feeling, until the day he meets Clarisse, a young girl who has been told about a world of books, thoughts, and ideas. Their conversations precipitate a crisis of faith in Guy, and he begins to s... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 (1.) Fahrenheit 451†¦The Temperature at Which Books Burn By: Ray Bradbury Copyright 1953 by Ray Bradbury 179 pages Fahrenheit 451 portrays censorship in the future through the fictional story of one man, Guy Montag, who undergoes an â€Å"awakening† by realizing the significance of his actions and the need to express the ideas that were bring oppressed by the future government. (2.) Guy Montag is a fireman who appears to be heartily supportive and contributive to the burning of books, which is normal because firemen in the conformist future burn books for a living. He meets Clarisse McClellan, a sixteen year old idealist with strong convictions against the social structure that oppresses individual thinking and demands conformity. Clarisse opens his mind to new concepts and from then on he begins to perceive the world differently. One day, Guy and the other firemen have to burn down the book-infested house of an elderly lady who refuses to leave her house and her books, s o she burns! to the ground with her books making Guy realize that â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there.† (p.51) Guy sneaks two books from the lady’s home and as the time goes by, he secretly reads many books until his wife discovers his secret and turns him in. After that, Guy burns his firehouse and the men in it to evade being caught and as a result becomes the most wanted fugitive in his country. Guy escapes successfully and works with a small group of revolutionaries to restore the respect and circulation of books. (3.) The title of the book, Fahrenheit 451†¦The Temperature at Which Books Burn, is significant because it is a metaphor for real life and it is used as a prominent symbol in the book. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books are burn. The firemen know this because they work with burning books everyday. The â€Å"Book People† dread this temper at... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction novel, but not all of its elements and messages are fictional. Some of them are very much at large in today’s world. The biggest example would be media’s control and influence over every society. Throughout history, and in every existent society, media has always played a key role in determining the norm of any given society. Among these similarities are the ways the media is able to censor what we see, the way media portrays and leads people into believing what the media wants them to believe, and the way the media is slowly turning society into mindless zombies. Fahrenheit 451 was written during a time when there was a widespread fear of communism, more commonly known as the Red Scare. During this time, anything that was thought to be a communist idea, or rather anything that was anti-capitalist was banned or confiscated. The same thing happened in Germany. Any book, any song, anything that was created by a Jew was banned. Only books that were supporting the ideas of Hitler were allowed, and in fact, it was a law to own the book, Mein Kamph, which was written by Hitler himself. To censor is to remove or ban anything regarded as harmful or of an offending nature. However, it is solely up to the authorities to decide what should be censored and what should not. This censorship is portrayed in the novel by the burning of books. At first it seems that the books are being burnt simply because they believe that knowledge is a bad thing, and the knowledge leads to conflicts and thus unhappiness. Even though this is part of the reason of the burning of books, it is not all of it. Captain Beatty explains that every book, in one way or another put down or insulted one of the many minorities, and the more power each minority gained, the more difficult it was for the author to please everybody: â€Å"Don’t step on the toes of the dog lovers, the cat lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormo... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 The book entitled â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† was written by Ray Bradbury in 1953, to reincarnate the idea of fire men burning books in a futuristic society populated by non-readers and non-thinkers that he originally came up with in his previous work â€Å"The Fire Man.† Set in the 24th century, â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† tells the story of a man named Guy Montag who, at the beginning of the story, is content with his job as a â€Å"fire man.† In actuality of course, he is one of the men who burns houses and the books that occupy them. Shortly thereafter, however, Guy begins to develop a friendship with his 16 year-old neighbor Clarisse McClellan. She has such an outlook on human life as it is, and is so inquisitive, that Guy begins to examine himself. He realizes that he is unhappy in his marriage to his wife, Millie. He begins to wonder why books have been banned. Later, while at the scene of a book collection he is to burn, Guy steals a book for his personal use. The next day, Guy is visited by his boss, Captain Beatty. Beatty hints that he, somehow, knows that Montag is in possession of a book and lectures Montag about the offensiveness of books. Unsure as to what to do next, Montag recalls meeting a retired professor, Faber, a year earlier and discussing with the old man the value of ideas. He decides to visit Faber, who is at first afraid to speak with him, fearing that he will be the firemen's next victim. However, as the two men grow to trust one another, Faber becomes a mentor to Montag, sharing insight with the fireman and conspiring with him to have copies of his books made. Quickly though, the fire men are called to an alarm. Montag is stunned to find that it is his home that is to be burned. Beatty and Montag engage in a scuffle and Beatty is killed via flame-thrower. At once the Mechanical Hound, a computerized attack dog that can track down any human being, pursues him. It stabs him in the leg with a needle, before he is able to anni... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 The book â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† talks about a man, who is a protagonist. His name is Guy Montag, and he is a 30-year-old firefighter, who makes a living by burning books. Books to be in a house in the future are illegal. He loves his job, but later on in the novel, he feels that his life is empty, without meaning. He feels that everything has no meaning, his life, wife, and job. He realizes this when he meets up with a neighbor, a 16 year old girl. Montag steals a book from a house he is burning down, and keeps it and begins to read it, everyone that knows of this is frightened for him. Montag becomes close friends with a former English Professor, and begins to read. Montag’s boss gives him a hard time, and Montag resorts to murder. His wife is Mildred Montag, she has no meaning in life too. She forgot the meaning of happiness, and all day she sits and watches television. Mildred later tries to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. She later leaves her house, and her husband because of the book Guy Montag had brought home. The neighbor is Clarisse McClellan, and she is the one that opens up Guy Montag’s eyes to the world. She questions him, showing him that there is more to his life. She is later killed in the novel. Captain Beatty is the head of the fire department, his job is to destroy all books in sight. Montag later murders him, and he does not fight back against it either. Professor Faber is a former English teacher. He gives Montag inspiration to keep doing what he believes in. Montag later inspires him because how of he is daring to stand up against society. Guy Montag is a man who burns books for a living. He soon begins to question himself about his work, and his wife. He is saddened about his wife, who does nothing but listens to the radio and watch television. He becomes good friends with a 16-year-old girl, who shows him the way. He later wonders what makes a book so dangerous and illegal. Montag later steals a book... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 Set in the 24th century, Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of the central character, Guy Montag, who at the start of the story takes pleasure in his profession as a fireman whose job is not to put out fires - houses are now fireproofed - but rather to set fires to burn books, which are contraband, and the houses in which they are kept illegally. Montag soon begins to question the value of his profession and, in turn, his life. As he develops a friendship with his teenaged neighbor, Clarisse McClellan, the girl's humanistic outlook and inquisitive nature prompts Montag to examine himself. He realizes that he is unhappy in his relationship with his wife, Millie, who is unwilling to deal with reality and instead chooses to immerse herself in an addiction to tranquilizers the virtual world provided her by television and radio. He is unfulfilled by his occupation as a book burner, and discontent with his society, which seems unconcerned with reports of an impending war, he begins to wonder what it is about books that make them such a danger. Driven by his increasing uneasiness, Montag steals a book from a collection that he has been sent to burn. Soon after, he is shaken when the owner of the books, an older woman, refuses to leave her home, which is to be burned to the ground. Instead, the woman sets fire to her house herself, and remains there as it - and she - is destroyed by flames. That a person could feel so strongly about books and the information contained therein makes Montag realize that perhaps the key to the happiness he lacks lies in the written word. He returns home sick to his stomach, made so by the scene he has witnessed and the thought that he has been an instrument of destruction rather than service during his ten-year career. When he learns that Clarisse had been killed, hit by a speeding car his condition worsens. The next day, Montag is visited by his boss, the abrasive and patronizing Captain Beatty. Beatty hints th... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 the theme, man verse society is demonstrated by Bradbury’s character, Guy Montag by comparing the two different outlooks of society in the world he lives in. In this novel of a fireman, Montag faces society and must deal with it on his own. â€Å"Nobody listens anymore†(pg.82). The society does not listen to people only the television that controls society. The television turned into a brainwashing machine rather than leisure entertainment. â€Å" I just want someone to listen to what I have to say† (pg.82). Montag must deal against everyone because everyone thinks the same as one another. He has no one to turn to because no one will listen to him or agree with him besides the very few that are out there. Montag explains to Professor Faber how he has to deal with society. Nobody listens any more. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I can’t talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it’ll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read. (Pg.82) The whole society that Montag lives in is brainwashed by the television. The television has the control over the entire society, over everything and everyone. Montag starts to understand the world more than behind a screen when he meets a girl named, Clarisse. Since everyone is brainwashed and gullible to whatever is thrown at them Montag feels he is alone. Montag dealt with his problems and did everything he could including leaving his past behind. Montag must also deal with himself, which creates the theme, man verse self. â€Å"About what?, Me,? My house? (pg.135). This is when the police where after Montag because they know he knows how everything really is. Montag had to deal with secret information within him. â€Å" But I did not speak, and thus became guilty myself†(pg.82). He couldn’t deal with the things he knew and felt like some... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 Nobody likes to be told what to do. Censorship is not right we have natural rights and they should be honored. We shouldn’t be told what to do and our natural rights shouldn’t be violated. If so you should have the right to at least start the process of impeachment of the president or person in which ever political position. We do listen to our government for laws and we do follow what they say to a certain extent as long as are natural rights aren’t effected. We have natural rights in which we are granted when were born. These are now represented in the bill of rights and constitution, in which we didn’t always have. Also not all countries have these, but as for in the United States we have documents (constitution and bill of rights), to keep are government from having to much control over us. Not only this but we have put systems into play like checks and balance. In the book â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† the government tries to tell people what to do and it backfires. Since they tried to control the lives of people by basically brainwashing them. The government put advertisements all over on billboards, huge billboards. They made people rely on â€Å"the family† instead of actually interacting with other people. The â€Å"family substitutes all natural thinking, people are basically just told what to think; and aren’t encouraged to think elsewhere. They also banned books from anyone to further extend the discontinuation of thinking. There’s always a couple people who are different though and still think. These people, some at least create pockets of people that feel the same way. Gathered together forming a rebellion almost. People will stand up for what they believe in so you cant control people for good. With these pockets of people against the government it creates much disturbance. Rather then have the people create there government and everyone would be for it. The rebelling people basically want to overthrow it rather then ... Free Essays on Fahrenheit 451 An Overview of Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is the epitome of censorship in America. Guy Montag, the protagonist, is a fireman whose sole job is to burn books and the homes of people who harbor them. Montag’s life is unfulfilled and dictated by ignorance until he meets Clarisse McClellan, whose character is a catalyst. Clarisse’s ability to see the beauty of life around her awakens a sense of curiosity in Montag as well his ability for intellectual thought. It is through Clarisse that Montag begins to understand that books represent awareness and knowledge. The introduction of Professor Faber is also significant in that his character is well educated and ultimately believes that burning books leaves people less enlightened. The professor has memorized literary works in the hopes that one day he will be called upon to recite them so that they may be re-written. Captain Beatty is another essential character. While Beatty’s character vehemently detests books and those who read them, paradoxically, he is well educated and often includes literary references in each of his conversations with Montag. While the supporting characters such as Millie, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels add dimension with their respective story lines, the exclusion of any of these characters would not detract from the story’s overall theme. These characters do not have the influence over the protagonist that Clarisse, Professor Faber and Captain Beatty have throughout the story....