Fahrenheit 451 Society Essay

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Olivia Ventura, Mr. Archambault Accelerated American Literature 1 April 2024 Lifting the Veil People build barriers as a coping mechanism to mask true beliefs and feelings. Ray Bradbury, in his book Fahrenheit 451, depicts his dystopian society as artificial, without individuality, knowledge, or communication. The public lives on superficial interactions and satisfaction. As a result, the people within this society often lead miserable and meaningless lives. Firemen burn books and all other forms of literature to limit knowledge to the greater public. A fireman and the book’s protagonist, Guy Montag’s attitude shifts due to meeting a girl named Clarrise McClellan, her individualistic nature makes Montag enlightened to the realities of his society. …show more content…

The city life within Ray Bradbury’s world leads the public to live blindly in ignorance, as their lives lack personal connection, knowledge, and individuality. As a result, Montag has grown accustomed to this environment. Like the majority of people, he masks his true feelings with what society tells him is the proper way to feel and live. The joy he feels as he burns countless books is something he was taught. He was raised with the idea that burning books was a pleasurable experience. “While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning. Montag grinned, the fierce grin of all men, singed and driven back by flame” (Bradbury 4). Montag's grin is not his own, but the grin of those before him. Montag plays the role of the fireman, with all of the firefighters having singed and soot-covered faces. These men wear the mask of the firemen, they blindly burn and destroy without realizing the reality of their

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