Fahrenheit 451: An Analysis

According to Ray Bradbury, four hundred fifty-one degrees is the temperature at which books burn, thus giving the inspiration for his novel’s title, Fahrenheit 451. In it, fireman Guy Montag, a fireman, wrestles with social norms and his own developing beliefs to uncover truth, emotion, and purpose. Through his endeavor, Montag must face robotic animals, ruthless coworkers, and treachery from his own wife, all with a considerably smaller team on his side. As the journey progresses, readers see new sides to Montag, unveil connections between two supporting characters, and must predict the outcomes of further years.

The novel begins and ends with Guy Montag, but he proves to experience vast changes throughout the pages. At first glance, Montag

appears as a carbon copy of other firemen, both in appearance and personal characteristics. Because of constant exposure to the conflagrations he and his coworkers start, his face is constantly covered in blue markings, resembling a five o’clock shadow. As for personality, he, nor nearly a single other soul, does not take the time to observe what surrounds him. He goes to work, comes home, and repeats the cycle, all without taking notice of his environment: “’And if you look’ – she nodded at the sky – ‘there’s a man in the moon.’ He hadn’t looked for a long time” (Bradbury 7). This changes with Clarice. Upon meetings with her, Montag becomes conscious of his surroundings, questioning how and why what typically occurs. After meeting Faber and being exposed to books, Montag makes the ultimate change, even taking extremist measures to break the cycle and expose everyone to real life instead of parlor walls. Consequently, he no longer takes his surroundings at face value, and he questions and reevaluates his own morals and where they would bring him with time. This self-awareness demonstrates his switch to a more intellectual and human persona.
Promoting and hampering this switch, Dr. Faber and Captain Beatty have conflicting roles in Montag’s transition. Captain Beatty as a longtime fireman chief and boss of Montag tries to quell the feelings that Montag has over book distribution and the value of their knowledge. He speaks of how they always ended up offending one minority, then another, and another, and the ensuing censorship to eliminate these offenses made books obsolete. Having read copious amounts of books himself, despite their evil nature, Beatty uses that information to exemplify the conflicting and damaging nature that all books inherently hold. Opposite him and persuading Montag to defend books is Dr. Faber. He is an old English professor, a lover of books, and a dedicated figure in the restructuring of society. Using inventions he created, Faber remotely assists Montag in staying with the cause and not giving into temptation from the rest of the world. He also sets plans for Montag and lets him know when he has crossed a line: “’Montag, go through with this and I’ll cut off, I’ll leave.’ The beetle jabbed his ear. ‘What good is this, what’ll you prove’” (Bradbury 95). Even though Faber and Beatty never meet, they signify the competing sides of Montag’s conflict, providing both confusion for his motives and clarity for what he knows is just.
Lastly, predictions abound in the final scenes of Bradbury’s novel.

With the city decimated and Montag in a troupe of ten or so educated men, the company has multiple choices ahead of them. One prediction would be that the men go back to the city after the bomb goes off in an attempt to restore life to how they envision it. Various articles of evidence reinforce this. First of all, any threat to the intellectuals experienced obliteration due to the nuclear weapon dropped on the city. Because of this, Montag and his men can rebuild society as they see fit, promoting books and knowledge. Without those that are blind, they realize the mistakes made by people in the past: “’We know all the damn silly things we’ve done for a thousand years and… some day we’ll stop making the goddam funeral pyres and jumping in the middle of them’” (Bradbury 156). Moreover, they would have difficulty going anywhere else. They do not know if other cities have been bombed with the war, and even if they were not, then they would not be welcome as book lovers. Gates would turn them around, or worse, imprison them. Their only options are to wander in the wilderness or to migrate back to the catastrophic city. However, this demonstrates one example of an infinite number of possible predictions concerning the outcome of the

men.
Montag’s journey to reform himself, and to a greater extent society, reveals a transformation in himself, the contending forces pushing and pulling at him, and predictions on what may happen to him in the future. With these energies, he breaks free from mundane societal norms and enlightens himself. He discovers more to life than just work, and carries on by embracing these changes. Overall, Montag sheds the destructive forces of four hundred fifty-one and discovers the nurturing ways that it possesses.