Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis

294 Words1 Page

Recommended: Themes of fahrenheit 451 essay

The following quote is important to the book’s theme of a utopian society. Bradbury uses this quote to explain why firefighters had books burned. The problem with books is they cause an unbalance inequality, allowing one person to be smarter than another. The government fears that with books people will be able to rebel against them and gain large amounts of knowledge. If the people were to rebel, the government’s idea of a perfect society would be destroyed. The government's plan of action was to take away knowledge from people deemed unworthy to the government. Montag is like the outcasts because he read books and gained knowledge above that of a fireman, so the government had to remove his presence in their community to prevent any unbalance.

Theme Of Freedom Of Speech In Fahrenheit 451
386 Words | 1 Pages
In Fahrenheit 451 The government does not tolerate any violations of its rules, especially reading. When Montag is caught reading he is forced into a cruel and unusual punishment by Beatty,”Not with kerosene and a match, but piecework, with a flamethrower. Your house, your clean-up.”(Bradbury 109). This retaliation of going against the government is very harsh by making Montag burn down his whole house with everything in it because he chose to read.
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis
1059 Words | 3 Pages
What do you believe? Would you sacrifice everything you’ve ever had to just read a book? Montag, the main character of Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451, learns to realize that there is more to living then staring at a screen. Guy Montag is initially a fireman who is tasked with burning books. However, he becomes disenchanted with the idea that books should be destroyed, flees his society, and joins a movement to preserve the content of books. Montag changes over a course of events, while finding his true self and helping others.
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 Ignorance Quotes Analysis
550 Words | 2 Pages
Because everyone in Fahrenheit 451 is conditioned to fear knowledge and view it as hurtful, people believe that this the correct mindset, and live their lives without questioning why the government is forcing people to remain in a state of ignorance. Montag is a fireman, meaning that he burns books for a living, destroying the knowledge that is so valued in our society today. Montag is much like other firemen, doing what he was told without
Read More
Individual Vs. Society In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451
1144 Words | 3 Pages
Once Montag witnesses the unethical extent that the firemen would go through to destroy the existence of books, he realizes how corrupt and unjust the societal rules were. “He looked with dismay at the floor. ‘We burned an old woman with her books” (47).
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
936 Words | 2 Pages
First of all, Bradbury shows that when man represses intellectual endeavor, progress cannot be made. In this society, people are not allowed to be creative or make improvements as well as not being allowed to read. This is described by the protagonist Montag when he confronts the chief and explains how easy someone could change the programming of the hound. The chief tells Montag that he’s not being realistic because no one has enough knowledge to do so (Bradbury 27). This explains that people are viewed as normal or plain because no one believes that a person could think like that. Also, this is evident when Montag’s wife is watching television. Montag asks his wife “Why don’t you watch something useful for a change instead of these soaps? Because I don’t need to be useful” (Bradbury 51). This shows how most of the people rely on the government rather themselves. In addition, when the fire chief Beatty visits Montag they begin to talk about books. Beatty tells Montag “What do people see in books? They’re just paper and ink” (Bradbury 30). This shows Beatty’s view on books and how they are of no importance to anyone. Therefore, when man represses intellectual endeavor, progress cannot be made.
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 5 Paragraph Essay
572 Words | 2 Pages
You take advantage of your life every day. Have you ever wondered why? You never really think about how much independence you have and how some of us treat books like they’re useless. What you don’t realize is that both of those things are the reason that we live in such a free society. If we didn’t have books and independence, we would treat death and many other important things as if it were no big deal. That is the whole point of Ray Bradbury writing this book.
Read More
Equality in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and Anthem by Ayn Rand
808 Words | 2 Pages
Inside Fahrenheit, the book builds its base on a perfect society. This idea is quickly squashed as Montag realizes he isn’t happy. At one point in the book, he is forced to burn a house with a person inside. Montag thinks, “How inconvenient! Always before it had been like snuffing a candle. The police went first and adhesive-taped the victim's mouth and bandaged him off into their glittering beetle cars, so when you arrived you found an empty house. You weren't hurting anyone, you were hurting only things! And since things really couldn't be hurt, since things felt nothing, and things don't scream or whimper, as this woman might begin to scream and cry out, there was nothing to tease your conscience later. You were simply cleaning up. Janitorial work, essentially. Everything to its proper place. Quick with the kerosene! Who's got a match?”(Bradbury, 1953, Pg. 36) This shows how Montag believed that burning a person’s things was perfectly fine. He was blinded by how the society had thought it to be better and more equal without books; to the point where people were hurt by them. The idea of equality and multiple other factors are contributed to a type of moral fog; Everyone thinks that they are happy, and that nothing is wrong. This fake equality doesn’t come without a price. The government has deemed that to make everyone equal, they have to get rid of multiple tools that people today use. Books, being the main target, are illegal to own and distr...
Read More
Montag's Journey To Enlightenment In Fahrenheit 451
791 Words | 2 Pages
Montag witnesses a woman burn along with the books in her house at the hands of him and his co-workers. The next day, he is too traumatized to go to work and stays at home instead. Beatty, Montag’s boss, pays him an unexpected visit and attempts to console his troubled mind. In an effort to comfort Montag, Beatty explains that “ ‘[w]e must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. [....] Breach man’s mind. [T]here was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes. [...] [A]s custodians of our peace of mind, [...] [t]hat’s you, Montag, and that’s me” (Bradbury 55-56). As shown by his statement that everyone is not “born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but [...] made equal’ ” so that there is nothing “ ‘to judge themselves against,’ ” Beatty is explaining the reasoning behind their society’s mindset. He justifies the death of the woman by implying that those who are different are also catalysts for conflict. Bradbury’s simile identifies the corruption of their government as they strip people of their rights in order to effectively control the mass population. Meanwhile, Montag absorbs this new perspective, no longer left in his state of unawareness. In addition, his own purpose in life is being defined in terms of society when Beatty claims that “there was no longer need of firemen for the old purposes. [...] [A]s custodians of our peace of mind, [...] [t]hat’s you, Montag, and that’s me.” Provided with this reasoning, Montag is finally able to begin forming an understanding of how the world operates through society’s perception. Similar to Montag, the prisoner begins his ascension
Read More
Fahrenheit 451
689 Words | 2 Pages
...r, to judge themselves against."(Bradbury 58). The government is trying to create a society where all are equal and where everyone “seems” happy. Beatty is trying to tell Montag to be like everyone else, to remain as a “normal” fireman, to continue burning books, to continue being “happy” with his life. The severe government control is the final factor that leads to the dystopian government.
Read More
Examples Of Censorship In Fahrenheit 451
1219 Words | 3 Pages
Ray Bradbury says, “He wanted above all, like the old joke to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books dies on the porch and lawn of the house” (3). The author is describing how Montag use to act before he met Clarisse, who made him question existence along with her. This quotation supports rejection because it indicates the government’s opinion that firemen are portraying and throwing onto people by making them think they are happy but they are not. This quotation shows how rejection is a part of this society that is ruled by censorship, which is the opinion of the government, because the quote is telling us that the society has thrown books away, they find books and knowledge meaningless. People think books are evil and pointless, books are said to only cause problems. So the government decided to get rid of the books by making them illegal. For example when Montag was reading “Dover Beach” to Mildred and her friends. Mrs. Bowl’s called the book evil. “Silly
Read More
Use of Irony in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451
1188 Words | 3 Pages
Bradbury's quote is ironic because throughout Farenheit 451, firemen are starting fires as to burn books that are banned. it is ironic because in reality firemen put out fires instead of starting them. Clarice brings this up and Montag has to disregard so, because she's thinking too much. It goes against the morals of their society that firemen could be "helping people" by starting and killing others who are a threa...
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 Critical Analysis
735 Words | 2 Pages
The North Korean government is known as authoritarian socialist; one-man dictatorship. North Korea could be considered a start of a dystopia. Dystopia is a community or society where people are unhappy and usually not treated fairly. This relates how Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451 shows the readers how a lost of connections with people and think for themselves can lead to a corrupt and violent society known as a dystopia.
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 Essay
1147 Words | 3 Pages
Fahrenheit 451’s Relevance to Today Fahrenheit 451’s relevance to today can be very detailed and prophetic when we take a deep look into our American society. Although we are not living in a communist setting with extreme war waging on, we have gained technologies similar to the ones Bradbury spoke of in Fahrenheit 451 and a stubborn civilization that holds an absence of the little things we should enjoy. Bradbury sees the future of America as a dystopia, yet we still hold problematic issues without the title of disaster, as it is well hidden under our democracy today. Fahrenheit 451 is much like our world today, which includes television, the loss of free speech, and the loss of the education and use of books. Patai explains that Bradbury saw that people would soon be controlled by the television and saw it as the creators chance to “replace lived experience” (Patai 2).
Read More
Dystopian Society In Fahrenheit 451
1426 Words | 3 Pages
The propaganda in Fahrenheit 451, is to persuade citizens that books are useless and unnecessary, causing people to believe that literature is silly, and the government is rational for placing a ban on books. Because these sources of knowledge are banished, people are unaware of how life truly must be lived. Citizens are not aware of their own unhappiness; however, there is no secret that the people are miserable. Ray Bradbury wrote, “Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door to ask for it back.” (Bradbury 7). Montag is reevaluating how he feels in regards to everything in his life and Clarisse arouses Montag's curiosity and begins to help him discover that real happiness has been missing from his life for quite some time. At first, Montag believes he is happy. When he views himself in the firehouse mirror after a night of burning, he grins "the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame." He realizes how the government made him, along with everyone else in his world. Guy Montag admits, "It was a pleasure to burn." Montag, along with the other firemen, burn books, which are banned, to show conformity. When books and new ideas are available to people, conflict and
Read More
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
694 Words | 2 Pages
In the futuristic novel Fahrenheit 451, the author, Ray Bradbury, expresses several problems that influence the story. Many of these problems have to do with the behavior of the people in the twenty- fourth century society. One major problem is that firemen have been given the job of burning books in order to stop the spreading of ideas, and to cause all of society to reform and therefore be happy. Many people do not agree with this and they try hard to keep books alive, even though they may be killed for it. Guy Montag, who in the beginning of the story is a proud fireman, later doubts his job and joins those who preserve books. One person who teaches him about books is an old man named Faber who is a retired English professor. During a conversation between Montag and Faber, Montag states, “That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve nothing to lose, you run any risk you want”(pg.85). What he means by this is that he is willing to risk his life to help save books for others to read and enjoy. However, Montag’s wife, Mildred, does not care for books as much as Montag because she knows books are illegal and she fears for her life. Mildred tells Montag how afraid she is by saying, “They might come and burn the house and the family. Why should I read? What for?(pg.73)” Montag is upset when he hears this because he sees that there is a problem with burning books. Indeed there is a problem because books allow people to express themselves, learn, dream, and have fun. In a society such as the one found in Fahrenheit 451, people are not allowed to experience any of these things and they are less individual.
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis

Theme Of Freedom Of Speech In Fahrenheit 451