Farenheit 451

Summary:

In a violent and hedonistic*(pleasure-seeking) future America, ……………………isbanned, and firefightersburn……………..instead of fighting……………. One dayfireman Guy Montagmeets Clarisse McClellan, an exuberant teenager whospurshim to ………………..the life heleads and the contents of the books heburns. He beginsreading—to the consternation of his…………….., Mildred, whose life isentirelygiven over to poppingpills and watchingwall-screen…….. Montag's boss, Captain Beatty, iswellversed in literature but uses itonly to argue hissociety'sviewpoint: Reading is………..,he claims, becausemaking people ……………..makesthemunhappy.

Increasinglydissatisfiedwithhis ……………………, Montag conspires withProfessorFaber, a fellowreaderhe met in the park. Whentheir plot isdiscovered and Faber's life jeopardized, Montag ……………. Beatty and ……………………. the city. In the foresthe joins a group of refugeeswho ……………………… books by memorizingthem. Afternuclearwar ……………………. the city, Montag and the "Book People" head backthere to help rebuild a ……………….society.

The characters: Draw an arrow to connect the characters and theirpersonnality

Mildred Montag / The main protagonist, a thirdgenerationfiremanwhoissearching for himself. Whenhe breaks the law by keeping a book, hebegins to question the values of his society.
Clarisse McClellan / Guy'swife. Shepreviouslytried to commit suicide and isobsessedwith 'reality TV' and the media. Instead of engaging in meaningful conversations withherhusband, sheshutshim out.
CaptainBeaty / Twofriends of Mildred who are the epitome of what society has become. Both have alean and dark look, withlittle to no personality. Throughthem, the readercansee how terrible society has become.
ProfessorFaber / Guy'sfirechief. He memorizedmany verses of literature and at one time, would have been consideredwell-read. However, henow looks down on thosewhoread and isoftenharsh and judgmental of others' thoughts and ideas.
Guy Montag / A retired English professorwho regrets not standing up to society yearsagowhen books werebeginning to beburned. Montag met him ayearbefore the book opens. He alsohelpssparkMontag'scuriosity.
Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles / Represents the beauty of the world. Sheis a 17-year-old girl whoenjoys nature, and isseen as odd for that. Sheis the one who opens Montag'seyes to the world aroundhim, seeingherhappinessfrom the simple pleasures of life makeshim question his existence.

Whosayswhatin the play?

O god, Mildred. Yesterday, weburned an oldwomanwithher books.

Weburned a thousand books. Weburned a woman. Weburned. WeburnedDante. Weburned Kafka. Weburned… Shakespeare …………………………………………..

We are bornwith bodies, Mr Montag - for pleasure. Please tell me – doesour culture providethispleasure? I thinkitdoes. Come on, youdon’twant to see a book about how badfiremen are, how theycan’t love their wives? Burnitthen. Burninequality. Burnunhappiness. Call the fireman! We are the flame in the heart of everyone. Whenweburneverythingelseis quiet. ……………………………………

Books are’ntalive. They’redeadwords. I likepictures... o, and the Comedy Killer Clowns are on tonight! I want to watch the Comedy Killer Clowns... I’dforgotten!! Marjory Phelps iscoming over!!! I forgot to tell you –She’scoming over to see the Comedy Killer Clown show –you know the one wheretheykeepcutting off bits of eachother -like legs –and armsjustchopped off and – you are not listening to me – it’s FUN! …………………………………………..

OK One more thing. I heardsomethingelse. The people in those camps are books.There’s no paperthere, no ink –but the people there, they are the books. They’velearnedthem, memorizedthem and theycanrecitethemany time. It’sjustsomething I heard, but... maybeit’s the future. ……………………..

I'm “anti-social”. But it all depends on whatyoumean by “social”, doesn’tit?

I don'tthinkit's social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, force them to watch TV and sports and baseball... and neverask questions.That's not social! ……………………………..

Themes, Motifs and Symbols

………………..: In the novel, fire and firemen are a paradox. Instead of fightingfires, firemenstartthem. Fireisoftenused to symbolize destruction, but also passion, or enlightenment. For Montag, firerepresents the destructive nature of hiswork: condemnation and censorship. However, italso signifies the enlightenment(awareness/ culture) that books laterbring to his life.

…………………..: Clarisse, the youngwoman, isdescribed as a mirror, and one of Montag’seventualfriends in the countryside claims the new world needs a mirrorfactory. Mirrorsrepresentinquiry* (questionnning / interrogation) and self-knowledge.

……………………………: Bradbury argues that the population censorsitself by ignoringtruths or positions thatmakeituncomfortable. Reading books, hesays, encourages beneficial self-examination, whileoverstimulationonlydeludes*(leurrer)people intobeingsuperficially happy. The government'scensorship and a ban on books isportrayed as being for the good of society. Without religion and books, ideascannotsparkdifferencesbetween people, leading to a more sedate*(calm) society.

………………..: Books and knowledgesymbolicallythreatenpeople'sbeliefs, beginrevolutions, or change a society. Historically, books have frequently been lookedatwith a watchfuleye, sometimesbeingbanned or censored.

……………………………….: Society has becomeobsessedwith the media, TV, and radio.Uniformity or individualityisexpressedthrough the media and especiallythrough the TV. Technology has becomesoadvancedthatgiantwall-sizedTV'scanbefound in every home and TV programs canincorporate the viewer'sname and preferences to getthem to interactwith the show.

……………………………………………: The government uses citizens to police eachother. Familymembers, friends, and neighbors are soafraidthattheywillturn on one another. This isevidentwhen Mildred reports Guy for having a book.

Conclusion

Farenheit 451 is a bleak satire of a world that’stoo content being content. By wiping out the writtenword, the world issupposedly free from dissent* (discontent / opposition) and upsetting information, but the onlythingthisbringsis more unhappiness. The suppression of books is the suppression of free thought, whichwillslowly destroy any society.

Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 at the height of McCarthyism(1) .Today, with the increasingproliferation of surveillance equipment in American cities, the spread of digital books and the decline of attention spans, Fahrenheit 451 remains a startlingly relevant work of fiction today.

However, Bradbury’sworkis not just about the burning of books but alsothedebasement* (dégaradation) of the media.

Ex: Mrs Montag and herneighboursdon’tneed poetry or philosophywhenthey have wall to wall soap operawhichactuallyinvolvesthem – a sort of Big Brother TV show in whicheveryonecanparticipate.

Media expands in our world and that of the novel as content diminishes: just as the quality of televisiondeclines as the number of channelsincreases. This is the world we live in, whereinformation swamps* (inonder / submerger)analysis, and triviafloods(= swamp) ourmemories.

Thedestruction of books has become the destruction of the imagination as play-stations replace playitself.

But FARENHEIT 451 is not just a grim warning itisalso a novel of conflictand hope. Montag and Clarisse rebel, the hobos in the woodsturnthemselvesinto living books, the warmongers destroy themselves in an orgy of militarismand intolerance. Whilethisendingisperhapssurprisingly positive, itdoesalert us to the power of the seeminglyweakindividual to take a stand and celebratethosethingsthattechnology, mass media and the forces of intolerancekeep back from us.

(1)McCarthyism, namegiven to the period of time in American historythatsaw Senator Joseph McCarthyproduceaseries of investigations and hearingsduring the 1950s to expose supposedcommunist infiltration of various areas of the U.S.government.

Famousexample: The Hollywood blacklist—as the broaderentertainmentindustryblacklistisgenerallyknown—was the practice of denyingemployment to screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other American entertainmentprofessionalsduring the mid-20th centurybecausetheywereaccused of havingCommunistties or sympathies.

More generally, the termMcCarthyismisapplied to the persecution of innocent people usingpowerful but unprovedallegations.