?Fahrenheit 451? By Ray Bradbury Essay, Research Paper

“Fahrenheit 451”

The book that I read is called “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. This book tells a story about a futuristic world in the middle of a nuclear war. The government of this future won’t let its people from reading or taking a part in individual thinking. During this time, the law against reading is new and the government is taken on a task of destroying all of the books. This is where we meet the main character named Guy Montag. He is a fireman. Him and his crew go around and burn books in libraries, and homes. I think the theme of the story is that there are many parts to a personality than what you first see. The book is narrated in third person. At the beginning of the book we see Guy Montag as a ruthless man who enjoys his job very much. Later on he discovers that he does not enjoy his life, it is merely a fake mask. He slowly discovers this in himself when he meets a teenage girl named Clarisse who is his new neighbor. She awakens a love and desire in Montag to enjoy the simple things in life. He also realizes that his happiness is fake when he discovers that he does not love his tranquilizer-addicted wife who cares more about her television relatives than real life.

Guy slowly becomes unhappy with his life when he learns of Clarisse’s death in an automobile accident. Not to mention when he had to burn an old lady alive in her house because she refused to let them burn her books. When we discover that Montag is unhappy with his life, we start to respect that he is trying to change. When Montag goes to talk to his wife about the disadvantages about being a fireman, she offers no sympathy and tells him to stay away from her because all she knows is that books are unlawful. After awhile, Captain Beatty has a talk with Montag because he is suspicious of Montag’s behavior. He tells Montag that the ideas in books are not real and they cause a dispute in people’s minds. He says that ridding the world of controversy puts an end to dispute and allows people to live happy. Later on, Montag confesses that he had not just stolen one book but yet a small library. As the book progresses, Montag becomes fascinated by books and becomes an advocate for the saving of books. He is thrown out of his job and home. Montag joins a commune who wants to save books. Each of them has to memorize a book, then burn it so that the authorities can’t find it. Later on the commune is forced to move south, away from the city that is going to be attacked in a war. After the war, Montag becomes a hero and one of the last few remaining with literature in their mind.