Fahrenheit 451 - The Temperature at Which Books Burn

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Fahrenheit 451 - The Temperature at Which Books Burn

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, portrays censorship in the future through the fictional story of one man, Guy Montag, who undergoes an "awakening" by realizing the significance of his actions and the need to express the ideas that were bring oppressed by the future government. Guy Montag is a fireman who appears to be heartily supportive and contributive to the burning of books, which is normal because firemen, in the conformist future, burn books for a living. He meets Clarisse McClellan, a sixteen year old idealist with strong convictions against the social structure that oppresses individual thinking and demands conformity. Clarisse opens his mind to new concepts and he begins to perceive the world differently.

Guy and the other firemen have to burn down the book-infested house of an elderly lady who refuses to leave her house and her books, so she burns to the ground with her books making Guy realize that "There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there." (p.51) Guy sneaks two books from the lady's home and as time goes by, he secretly reads many books until his wife discovers his secret and turns him in. After WHICH, Guy burns his firehouse and the men in it to evade being caught and as a result becomes the most wanted fugitive in his country. Guy escapes successfully and works with a small group of revolutionaries to restore the respect and circulation of books.

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...ly wonder and after that, he began to notice the personalities of others. By asking him questions, Clarisse installed a sense of curiosity in Guy which eventually led to him reading the very books he was supposed to burn. Guy became more observant and began to theorize on "why" and he really weighed out his decisions after that. If Guy had not met Clarisse, he would never have questioned the morality of burning books. He would have never questioned the logic. Clarisse lit the fire of passion in Guy that burned throughout his life and gave him the strength and courage to fight for what he believed in.

YOUR PAPER WAS EXCELLENT. YOU BEGAN VERY STRONG, BUT THE PAPER STARTED TO GET A LITTLE TOO OPINONATED TOWARDS THE END. YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A CLEARER CONCLUSION NEXT TIME. DO NOT USE CONTRACTIONS IN YOUR PAPERS. OVERALL GREAT!

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