The Importance Of Power In Fahrenheit 451

Knowledge and Power go hand in hand. People cannot obtain power without being knowledgeable. A society’s way of gaining knowledge can vary from learning in school, to reading books and watching television, but when one of those vital things is taken away they quickly become reliant on only what the government shows to the public. A population easily becomes oblivious to the rest of the world’s problems given that their only source of knowledge is government controlled. Only a few minds venture out in to the unknown of books, those people out-casted and punished. When Guy Montag, a fire-starting fireman ventures out into the unknown he is faced with many difficulties. Does he stay with what he knows or fight against society for what he now believes to be right?

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury portrays the importance of knowledge and power by showing how a society suffers when being controlled and deprived of what are believed to be simple rights in modern day America.

1.

“Do you know why books such as this are so important? And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores.” (79)

Faber explains to Montag what he believes to be the real importance or meaning of books. This quote connects the text to the part two title “The Sieve in the Sand”. The sieve has pores as well as books. The real meaning of books or the overall moral message leaves one’s mind as soon as it enters it. This greatly impacts Guy Montag, who has never experienced “filling up” one’s mind with new knowledge from written literature. Not only Montag, but all of society becomes a sieve, not truly realizing the meaning of life around them.

2. “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and made equal like the constitution says, but everyone made equal. A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach the man’s mind.”

(58)
Ironically so, book educated Captain Beatty explains why society should not be able to have books or read them. He as well as the government believe it takes away equality of the population. Literature catalyzes free thinking. Without the presence of books in everyday society, populations are not educated, they are oblivious to truths being that their only true source of information is that of which government puts out there. Without this knowledge, it lessens the opportunities of revolt and gives way for the government desired conformity. This takes away the power of the people and giving more to the government.
3. “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” ( 3)
Montag does not realize the severity and symbolism of his actions. He in fact enjoys to burn, it makes him powerful, some could even say happy. He does not at all question what government or society tells him to do, he only takes it as it is. The mere power he feels from destroying books makes him so oblivious to what is happening in society he does not even take a moment to question what he is doing until many years later. Montag is not alone, most people do not take a second to think of their surroundings, and almost all of them never come to their aha-moment like Montag did.