Duality in Fahrenheit 451

456 Words1 Page

Duality in Fahrenheit 451 Dualities are the most elementary of comparisons, and are the easiest for the mind to comprehend in that total opposites are brought to attention. These opposites subconsciously provide one with a deeper insight of the material and consciously entertain. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, many dualisms are included both within Montag and in the outside world that provide 180 degree flip-side views, giving the book further depth and inner meaning. Within the many layers of Montag lay several opposite sides. For example, Montag is a fireman who burns books for a living but at home, spends time reading novels, poetry, and other written material. Although Montag could be called a hypocrite, he does not enjoy both the reading and the burning at the same time; he goes through a change that causes him to love books. Humans have the power to change and grow from one extreme to another, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. In addition, when Mildred is with Montag, Montag does not have feelings for her but thinks of her as she is killed by the bombs. He possesses both the knowledge that Mildred does not love him and the heart that truly cares, but he knows not how to deal with this. His feelings are oppressed; it takes a major event (the bomb) to jolt them from hibernation. There are many dualisms in the outside world of Fahrenheit 451. For example, Montag receives contrasting lectures from Faber and Beatty on what to do with the books and how to be. Beatty and Faber are like black and white: total opposites no matter how you look at it. This "flip-side of a coin" clearly compares the book burner to the book reader, the hatred to the love, and it also gives the reader the opportunity to "choose" their side. In addition, the fire is used to burn houses and books, to destroy possessions; it also is used by the outcast men to cook their meal, warm themselves, and provide light for them. The fire has, in itself, two conflicting sides which includes destruction and preservation. The fire gives Montag as well as the reader the understanding that one thing can have both good qualities and bad qualities at the same time, and that many powers can be spoiled if used for negative intentions.

Show More
Related

  • Montag’s Gradual Change in the Book Farenheit 451

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book , Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, there are a lot of symbols present. But, the most omnipresent symbol is the fire symbol. The plot of this book depends solely on this symbol. The reason for this symbol’s importance is that Montag’s changing attitudes reflect the differing meanings of the fire symbol. If one examines the way Bradbury uses the fire symbol to reveal Montag’s attitude towards life and his society, one recognizes that everything has good and bad qualities. It is in also in one’s best interest to take only the good.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Duality In Fahrenheit 451

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Duality is an instance of opposition or contrast between two concepts or two aspects of something. Throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag experiences duality throughout his daily routine. There are two extremes expressed in this novel that lie on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding society. This novel was written in the past to imagine what the future might be like. Bradbury describes a society that has forgotten or misinterpreted normal social interactions. Montag, the protagonist faces an internal conflict on deciding whether to rebel against the laws and rules of the society or obey them. Not only does Montag have this internal conflict but his surrounding are a major impact on his potential outcome. Mildred and Clarisse are both important factors towards his decision.

    Read More

  • Curiosity In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    Furthermore, Montag’s identity changes with the burning of the old woman which shook him to the core causing him to steal the Bible. However, Montag relays his curiosity, he has found with books to his wife, Mildred, “You weren't there, you didn't see," he said. "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. You don't stay for nothing” (Bradbury 48). In fact, this was the first instance Montag realizes that the burning of books such as Whitman, Faulkner and Millay is wrong, but also showcases how curiosity has killed the liking of his job. Curiosity has killed Montag’s relationship with himself. Although, Montag changes as a person, one of the most drastic relationship changes came from Montag and Beatty. In previous sections, Beatty is described to have been curious about the books when he was younger just like Montag now. Furthermore, these two seem to form a bound right away, however; this bond is broken when Beatty betrays Montag by bringing Montag back to his home to light it on fire. Instead, Montag kills Beatty with the

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montag tells Mildred about reading the books, but Mildred did not want to read the books because she thinks that if Captain Beatty find the books, he will burn the house and the “family” down (pg 73). Montag starts to read the books himself and he realizes that every book he reads, the words are somehow co...

    Read More

  • Freedom Of Speech In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Behind his mask of conformity, Montag gradually undergoes a change of values. Montag realized his life had been meaningless without books” (Liukkonen). In the beginning of the novel, Montag said, “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (Bradbury 3). For most of his life, Montag conformed just like the other members of society. He set things on fire because it was his job and did not question whether or not it was the right thing to do. Throughout the story, however, he grew to find and voice his own opinions and resisted the conformity that his society stressed. When Montag had to decide whether or not to burn Beatty to death, he proved himself by not giving in to what was expected. He killed the captain of the police department, which was an entirely defiant act (Bradbury

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Analytical Essay

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Part 1 and 2 showed how Montag’s doubts formed an emotional barrier between Montag and Mildred and part 3 was the cumulation of all those disagreements. This cumulation was Mildred turning in Montag into the firemen and reporting that he has books hidden in their house. The strain is further evident when, “She ran past with her body stiff, her face floured with powder, her mouth gone, without lipstick. ‘Mildred, you didn't put in the alarm!’ She shoved the valise in the waiting beetle, climbed in, and sat mumbling, ‘Poor family, poor family, oh everything gone, everything, everything gone now ...’” (108). Montag’s doubts and revelations lead to his family being torn apart, as Mildred is saying. Without those revelations, like him meeting the old lady and becoming curious about those books, and Faber and him and talking about society, he would have never stepped outside of the mold that Mildred wanted him to stay in. Those revelations caused him to change, or discover his real values. According to Peter Pearson, a psychologist who founded Couple’s Institute, “values are the most crucial parts of a relationship.” When Montag had those revelations in the novel he realized that, “Happiness is important. Fun is everything. And yet I kept sitting there saying to myself, I'm not happy, I'm not happy” (62). But Mildred never had those revelations, so

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Paradoxes Analysis

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like those in Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, people today are too busy watching life and not living or enjoying its moments. The characters in his book stand by and focus on the parlor walls rather than each other. Bradbury uses paradoxes to show that people should educate themselves, slow down, and most importantly, pay attention to life.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Fahrenheit 451

    1738 Words  | 4 Pages

    In particular, Montag exhibits an explosive amount of conflict with Beatty in the first part of Fahrenheit 451 as Donald Watt would agree (n.p). As Montag changes, he questions society’s authority, which leads him to conflict with Beatty in order to determine the origin of society’s views. In response, Beatty pressures Montag by testing his limits and telling him what he should and should not choose (McGiveron n.p). These pressures build leading to the climax in which Montag kills Beatty. Montag’s brutal actions present conflict but also Montag ponders, “Beatty wanted to die so much that he just stood there, joking, meddling, thought Montag, How strange to want to die so much that you let a man walk around armed and then instead of shutting up, you go on yelling at people and making fun of them until you get them mad” (Bradbury 122). Bradbury expresses the growth in conflict because Montag shows little sympathy but rather just questions Beatty’s motives. Mildred also leads to conflict for Montag because of the way society changes her. As Wayne Johnson examines Mildred is a feeling of the present through her drug addiction and technological dependence (64). Mildred is not the loving wife Montag once knew but rather a projection of society. Beatty and Mildred cause Montag to realize that his “happy” life no longer exists forcing him to

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Compare And Contrast Essay

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Revealing the truth is like lighting a match. It can bring light or it can set your world on fire” (Sydney Rogers). In other words revealing the truth hurts and it can either solve things or it can make them much worse. This quote relates to Fahrenheit 451 because Montag was hiding a huge book stash, and once he revealed it to his wife, Mildred everything went downhill. Our relationships are complete opposites. There are many differences between Fahrenheit 451 and our society, they just have a different way of seeing life.

    Read More

  • Identity in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first of all, Montag loses his control over his own mind. At the beginning of the story, he meets a beautiful girl called Clarisse. She is a peculiar girl who wonders about the society and how people live in there. She tells Montag the beauty of the nature, and also questions him about his job and life. Though he has been proud of being a fireman, Clarisse says, “I think it’s so strange you’re a fireman, it just doesn’t seem right for you, somehow” (21). Montag feels “his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding one upon the other” (21) by her words. Everything Clarisse says is something new to him and he gradually gets influenced a lot by this mysterious girl. Actually, the impact of the girl is too significant that his mind is taken over by her when he talks with Beatty, the captain of the firemen. “Suddenly it seemed a much younger voice was speaking for him. He opened his mouth and it was Clarisse McClellan saying, ‘Didn’t firemen prevent fires rather than stoke them up and get them going?’” (31). His mind is not controlled by himself in this part. He takes of Clarisse’s mind and it causes confusion within his mind. It can be said that this happening is an introduction of him losing his entire identity.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Symbolism Essay

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that was written by Ray Bradbury and was published in 1953. It is considered to be one of the best pieces Bradbury wrote and it received many awards. Bradbury uses a lot of the “symbolic dystopia” method to create images and characters (Reid). The novel portrays a futuristic society where people are not allowed to own or read books, and the fireman burn any book or novel they find. It also consists of a society where the people are forbidden to think for themselves and are also forbidden to be creative or have new ideas. Commonly people read Fahrenheit 451 and develop conclusions about the symbolism he uses. Ray Bradbury uses several items of symbolism throughout the book beginning with the title. Four hundred and fifty one degrees fahrenheit is the temperature that paper begins to burn and in the novel paper is burning each time a book is burned. That is an example of the more common symbolism in the book that most readers pick up on immediately. Several readers do not go into complete depth and they mainly focus on the common symbolism of the blood, “The Heart and the Salamander”, “The Sieve and the Sand”, “Burning Bright”, the Phoenix, and the mirror. Although these are great examples of symbolism, Bradbury also buried deeper symbolic ideas into this novel. Ray Bradbury’s use of symbolism in Fahrenheit 451 is significant in calling attention to the problems of the government and economies, discovering the problems of unity and conformity, and discussing futurism along with the enhancement of the technology of Bradbury’s current world.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Fahrenheit 451

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first role that fire plays in Fahrenheit 451 is apparent from the very beginning of Bradbury's novel. "IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN. It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed" (3). In these first two sentences, Bradbury creates a sense of curiosity and irony because in the story, change is something controlled and unwanted by the government and society, so it is very unlikely that anything in Guy Montag's society could be changed. The burning described at this point represents the constructive energy that later leads to catastrophe. A clear picture of firemen is first seen when the narrator says, "With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black" (3). Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books burn and is symbolically written on the firemen’s helmets, tanks, and in the firestation.

    Read More

  • Meaning of Fire in "Fahrenheit 451"

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is only once in a while a book comes along so great in its message, so frightening in its inferred meaning’s of fire as in Fahrenheit 451. Fire, which is used as a symbol of chaos, destruction, and death, can also lead to knowledge. Fire has 3 different meanings. Fire represents change, which is shown through Montag’s symbolic change from using fire to burn knowledge into using fire to help him find knowledge; fire can represent knowledge as demonstrated through Faber, and fire can represent rebirth of knowledge as shown through the phoenix. Fire represents change in the novel because fire allows Montag to undergo a symbolic change in which he stops using fire to burn knowledge but instead help him find it.

    Read More

  • essay

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a narrative of a forthcoming community where books are prohibited. Firefighters move from house to house, searching for black-market literary production to burn. As the novel goes, books are hazardous. These are the source opinions and beliefs. The books advance beliefs and opinions — and melancholy comes into philosophy. Despite the fact that books have illegal status, there is an underground community which craves them. Guy Montag, a 30-year-old fireman, comes to the decision to take a book home to find out about it.

    Read More

  • Situation Ethics

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    weak as it can be used to justify anything as it is forcing you to

    Read More

More about Duality in Fahrenheit 451

Open Document