Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 Themes and Concepts Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was written in the past, telling us about the future. Guy Montag, the main character and protagonist, is a fireman who burns books. “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury, 1). They burned books, censored them. The only reason they had was that the government wants a unified nation so everyone is equal, so nobody questions anything. Ray Bradbury uses this book and plot to show a theme of censorship, ignorance, and dystopia. Censorship is “the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts” (Merriam-Webster). It protects people from reality. In Fahrenheit 451, there is no explanation of why books are banned, but there are factors that

This quote is what the government told the community, and why they burned the books. The book’s plot revolves around this quote. It is also a metaphor, thinking burning books is the perfect idea of equality. There are other themes in Fahrenheit 451, such as ignorance and dystopia. Ignorance is mainly connected to censorship. The main reason for ignorance is people being censored to reality that is shown in books from experiences. Books are feared and hated because reading will create a “dystopia” in the government’s opinion. The government thinks that banning books will create a utopian community, where everything is perfect. In our minds, the place is already a “dystopia”, it is bad and unpleasant.

The setting in the book is in the 1990s, but actually written in the 1950s. Some of the other main characters are Mildred Montag, Montag’s wife who loves to watch television and small-minded. Captain Beatty is the fire department’s captain, who has read books himself, but hates books and people who read them. Faber was an English professor who still owns books and calls himself a coward because he did not do anything when the book burning started. Another female character is Clarisse McClellan, a seventeen year-old who introduces Montag to the world and Montag falls in love with her innocence and curiosity. She is very out-going and the reason for Montag starting to ask questions. The last main character

Another example of the benefits of books was used in the poem, “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie. “I loved those books, but I also knew that love only had one purpose. I was trying to save my life.” Knowledge is power. It is better to know than not to. Reading will lead you to intelligence, knowledge, and experiencing through reading. In the poem “Burning a Book” by William Stratford, there are major connections to Fahrenheit 451 and the Nazis. “...desolate towns, miles of unthought cities, and the terrorized countryside where wild dogs own anything that moves” (Stratford, 15). The terrorized dogs is the Mechanical Hound that chases Montag at the end, when he trying to save the books. They own anything that moves, so they have it under control and that they will not rebel against the government. The Nazis used to burn books and dogs were used to help