Fahrenheit 45, By Ray Bradbury

In today’s society, it’s almost as if we are connected to our technology. It is hard to imagine going a full day without a cell phone or a computer. This attachment to technology can explain the need for dystopian literature. Out of all the dystopian novels, Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 45, is the most thought-provoking and shocking. The plot of Bradbury’s futuristic novel revolves around the protagonist, Guy Montag. In the beginning, Montag is content with his life as a fireman whose job is to burn illegally owned books and the homes of the owner. Montag later meets Clarisse McClellan who enlightens him about the world. Montag soon begins to struggle with his existence and shortly after escapes his censored and oppressive society. After

There are many prevalent themes in the novel; two of the many themes are relationships and ignorance/ knowledge. Healthy relationships are a huge part of living a complete life. Bradbury makes a point of adding unhealthy relationships in the novel to show how awful they can be. When Montag realizes that no one listens anymore, he proves to himself that he is not living in a healthy relationship: “Nobody listens anymore. I can’t talk to the walls because they’re yelling at me. I can’t talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say” (Bradbury 78). Mildred distancing herself from Montag shows what an unhealthy relationship looks like. Bradbury’s point by using the theme of relationships is to prove that healthy relationships are essential to living a happy lifestyle. Good communication and active participation in communication will lead to a sturdy relationship. Ignorance and knowledge are also key themes in the novel as well. This theme is seen throughout the novel within Montag and his desire for knowledge. Montag’s craving for knowledge is contradictory to what the rest of society believes. While Montag is running away from the hound he realizes everything he has done just to maintain the knowledge he has: “Good Christ, the things I’ve done in a single week! You did what you had to do. It was coming on for a long time” (Bradbury 125). Bradbury makes a point to show the length Montag will go to show how Montag feels about being knowledgeable. Bradbury hints at proving that being knowledgeable is better than being ignorant through use of describing Montag’s character. Through the use of character and culture, Bradbury is able to portray two important themes in the