Fahrenheit 451 Research Paper

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Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a cautionary tale about the symbolism of fire and books. In 1933 book burning was common for Nazis to partake in: “The book burnings stood as a powerful symbol of Nazi intolerance”(Encyclopedia 1). The reason for them burning these books was because the books had meaning to the people, and would give them power. The fire was a way to maintain control of the truth. Just like in Fahrenheit 451, they used fire as a good and bad thing to keep people under control but also dangerous. They also referred to books as a weapon and can be used for good or bad. To put this into explanation in the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, they use fire as a thing of pleasure and joy for some. Just like when Montag said, “It …show more content…

It can range from sentimental value to value in the real world, but all is unpredictable. Fire can be many things, good and bad. But in Fahrenheit when a lady dies for a book it means something different to her: “There must be something in the books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something in there you don't stay for nothing”(Bradbury 48). In Fahrenheit 451 this lady stays in a burning building for the knowledge that is inside of a book and the contents inside of a book making everybody wonder what is inside the books that is so wonderful. To her the books have sentimental value and have content in there that means something different to the normal eye.. But in other words, in Fahrenheit 451 books are referred to as “a loaded gun”(Bradbury 56). The reason the book says that a book is a loaded gun is because a book possesses knowledge and the society they live in cannot indulge in further knowledge as it would ruin the utopian society. And if they were to indulge in books it would ruin everything for the government and everything they have on track if the people were exposed to further knowledge. Books around the globe and books in Fahrenheit 451 have the meaning of knowledge and power but also can be used against one

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