Biblical Allusions In Fahrenheit 451 Essay

The main theme throughout this novel is, society and survival. The society has a law against reading books and Montag knows of this law before he ever starts taking books for himself. “‘That's against the law!”’(5). Later on is the novel Montag is given a flame thrower and forced to burn his own home. This makes him very angry and things get out of hand.

When Montag is on a mission and burning books, those books start falling into his hands. Montag's journey toward a new beginning is marked by a turning point when he catches a book on a mission. His, “hand closed like a mouth, crushed the book with wild devotion. with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief” (Bradbury 34). This was just the start of Montag’s journey.

Despite the firemen’s efforts to force books into irrelevancy, the opposite effect happened; books became even more valuable, to the point of risking oneself’s life to not save the books, but to die with them. Bradbury’s use of books represent two contradictory significances: damnation and salvation. On Montag’s first mission in the novel, he confronts a woman that continues to confuse Montag even further than he already was about to truth of a roles of the firemen, and the value of books: “She was only standing, weaving from side to side, her eyes fixed upon a nothingness in the wall, as if they had struck her a terrible blow upon the head” (cite). It is heavily implied in the novel that Montag has never felt the emotion of passion. Witnessing a scene such as this, Montag is in disbelief at the thought of a person sacrificing their life for worthless and blasphemous things such as a books. This is essentially the turning point in Montag’s mentality, for it is also implied that the old woman’s death is the first that Montag ever witnessed in his ten years of being a fireman. For his entire life, Montag had been taught to be turned away from books, and that the possession of books leads to death. This sacrificial act towards books is Montag’s first exposure to the fiery passion of martyrdom, and it confuses him. During his conversation with Millie, he tells her that “[people] need to be really bothered once in

One day, on the job, he witnesses a woman who sets her herself and house on fire to die with her beliefs in books. Montag, shaken up by this, says, “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. You don’t stay for nothing” (48). He becomes sick at the thought of what he does for a living, seeing that is caused a woman to commit suicide. Montag decides to meet with an old man about information on books, whose number he had been saving for years.

Cameron Ghaferi Mr. Spencer English II 21 May 2024 Literary Devices in Fahrenheit 451 and Their Contribution to Theme In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses vivid imagery, metaphor, and allusion to convey that without strong roots in reality, society is destined to fail. In the beginning of the novel, Guy Montag is introduced as a fireman of the future who enjoys his role of burning illegal books. However, after coming across young, self-declared crazy Clarisse McClellan, he begins to question his supposed happiness. He is forced to watch a woman burn herself alive with her books, and suddenly he feels that there must be something to read if someone will die for it. Montag steals a book from the woman’s house, and later reveals a large stash of books in his own

If someone is caught with books, the firemen come and burn down their house along with the books inside. One day, Montag steals a bible from a house before burning it, and after reading it, Montag starts to feel that there is something missing from his life. Books give people insight into truths about humanity, and censorship in books allows people to be easily manipulated and

Montag's desire to acquire knowledge through books is dealt with by the rulers is that Montag’s boss, Beatty, says it was normal for a fireman to go through these phases of fascination of what books have to offer. Beatty tells Montag,” What traitors books can be! You think they’re backing you up, and then they turn on you. Others can use them, too, and there you are, lost in the middle of the moor, in a great welter of nouns and verbs and adjectives.” But, Beatty is missing the point on how valuable books can be. So Beatty tells Montag to read through all of the books Montag has stashed to see if the books contain anything worthwhile, then the next day turn them in to be burned.

Montag is now at the point where his views are being tested and new beliefs of life are being created. “Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand, with a brain of its own, with a conscience and a curiosity in each trembling finger, had turned thief” (35). Here Montag sees a plethora of books inside of Mrs. Blake’s house and seemingly of its own accord Montag’s hand takes a book. He has now broken a rule that everyone in Montag’s society knows, never to take or read books. Mrs. Blakes, instead of coming with the firemen out of the house decides to burn with the books. This confuses Montag and piques his curiosity to figure out what inside the book could drive someone to die with

One of the most significant heroic actions taken in this novel is when Montag begins saving books. In Montag’s society, books are banned for all people for all purposes. The firemen believe that books provide ideas and promote knowledge which serves as a threat to the government. Ultimately, the goal of the firemen is to destroy the books to create a society without conflict. Montag stores the books inside his home without his wife, Mildred, knowing. With Professor Faber’s influence, he begins to read and discover the truth about many things. Although reading is dangerous, Montag chooses to defy the government regardless of all consequences he might face. The books expose the truth which later differentiate Montag from the rest of society. Montag becomes a more intellectual thinker that realizes he cannot continue agreeing with what he knows is wrong.

Some citizens are so passionate about their novels they would burn with their books as the firemen set the books on fire. Firemen in this crooked society will do anything to disallow people from books, even if it means burning them with the books, Captain Beatty tells Montag “...these fanatics always try suicide; the pattern’s familiar.” (Bradbury 39) Citizens who protect their books and die with their books as they burn, proves how important books are to people who have discovered there “powers” and how great they are for relaxing and such. The world is so ignorant about how much you can benefit from books, but throughout everyone’s life all they learn about is how books should be hated by all. People who do not take the time to explore book’s greatness believe (like the rest) that books are evil and should be burnt, so they think everyone who reads them is better than those who do not read, Montag is to be believed to be one of these “book loving freaks” when Beatty says “You think you can walk on water with your books. Well, the world can get by just fine without them.” (118) People in general no matter what society, dystopic or not, believe anything the government throws in their face. By burning books, the government is making citizens believe reading is terrible, expanding your mind with literature is disgustingly bad, and create people who read

Imagine a world without books, without the pieces of literature and knowledge that throughout history have helped shape great minds and influenced the education system. Picture the extent of the effects of a world so insipid, one where socializing is no longer a norm and abstract thought is rare and frowned upon. That is exactly what Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 depicts through the perspective of its protagonist, Guy Montag. Through his eyes, we experience life with the consequences of the extinction of books. History itself has proven the devastating event that is book burning; Nazi Germany’s book burning in the 1940s is exemplary of this. Technology has slowly aided in the plummeting of reading with so much media and trivial information that fills our minds with ideas that lead us astray from anything of intellectual value. Through media political parties have the power to influence society like never before; because of this destructive power ignorant people are prevailing with their trifling thoughts and petty commentary. Although the improvement of technology has facilitated the spread of such things as fashion and gossip, there is evidence that rich culture and heritage is having a harder time surmounting inessential information for example, Kylie Jenner’s lip fad, languages have faded, great authors are of less importance and art is underappreciated. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 shows us the standpoint of a man battling to save a derailing society that practices book

Fahrenheit 451 was written by Ray Bradbury, and it's a complex book. Not just because of the story line but more so how real these characters could feel, dealing with their lives that they have to live. Like when Clarisse asks Montag if he’s happy he replied fast with a yes as if that was a dumb question. But the more and more he thought about it he was faced with fact that he wasn't happy at all. Montag’s life is different from ares and is not an easy one. He thinks he is happy, burning books and goes home to his wife. Seems like an nice easy life and coming home to a wife, sounds like a bonus. But in the book you don’t just burn people books you burn every thing they have and

and it confuses him because "’There must be something in books… to make a woman stay in a burning house” for “you don't stay for nothing" (Bradbury 48). The fact that someone would die for their books baffles Montag, and this urges his curiosity to want an explanation for why. His “freedom” has always been to burn the books and never to read them, but if these people were free, they should be able to think. These people should be allowed to interpret things rather than be misguided by that fact that books hold nothing

On page fortyseven of Fahrenheit 451 Montag, describes to Millie, his wife about a traumatizing experience he had that night on a firecall, “We burned a thousand books, we burned a woman.” This is the first experience that has really opened Montag's eyes. A woman took her life for her sacred pieces of literature. This makes Montag intrigued to find out what was hiding inside those books and why people would risk their lives for it . He wanted more than ever to read, but he knew it was against the law. He was willing to take a chance and grabbed a book from the fire to take home and read for himself. As Montag questions his society's way of burning books and houses, he realizes that it is a reason to rebel: ‘I've tried to imagine,’ said Montag, ‘just how it would feel. I mean, to have firemen burn our houses and our books.” Montag knows people

Another incident that stayed in Montag 's mind is the old women who set her self and her books on fire. However, Montag tried stopping her by telling her that the books were not worth her life. Before she burned herself, Montag took one of her books and kept it. At that time Montag did not think about what did the old lady burned herself with the books, he did not think about it might be the value and morals that books hold to teach is. The old lady knew the importance of these books and what do they have, so she preferred to burn herself with them, and not watch the firemen burn them, who do not even know the importance of books. But they do know that books are unreal and there is so importance of them, plus they are against the law!