Examples Of Interpretation In Fahrenheit 451

Battle of Intention versus Interpretation

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a powerful novel that has transcended time. The novel was published in 1953. Bradbury’s piece continues to resonant with readers. Fahrenheit 451 is a futuristic piece that tells a story of a society in which books are banned, firefighters are not used for putting out fires but rather starting them when banned books are found, and anyone who talks about the time when books were not shunned is considered an outcast. The novel’s protagonist, Montag, is a fireman who discovers the lies and develops an interest in the books he has been ordered to burn. Ray Bradbury’s intent for the novel, might have been to express his concerns

In one of his articles the first line is that Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 “…encapsulates Nazi Cultural politics in one single image: book burnings” (Carroll page 1). Book burnings during the era of the Third Reich was to maintain a “purity” of literary works. Writing was still a profession but writers were not encouraged to write about any random topic or to publish indiscriminately. What Carroll reads from the book, Fahrenheit 451, is again, in line with the argument that the book is about censorship. Literary figures around the Nazi party, wanted the world, or Germany mainly, to only read what they saw fit for the masses. They were not willing to divulge just any piece of information or story. In Fahrenheit 451, there is also the use of flat characters like Montag’s wife, Mildred, who are depicted watching shows but the shows they are watching are the same programs that all of her friends are watching. This particular decision to put all the flat characters together watching the same material, further lends to the idea of censorship. In a world where censorship would not be an issue, then the use of multiple television programs would have been used instead; not just one or two that are controlled by government. One of the few programs that the society was allowed to view was the White Clown mentioned by Mildred as her friends were planning to visit to watch