Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury: Literary Analysis

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, takes places in a dystopian city during the futuristic 21st century. Although this book takes place in the 21st century, Bradbury wrote the story during the 1950s, the Cold War and after World War Two. During this time, technology was developing and becoming accessible to the average citizen. Also, the government became more controlling over Americans lives, which was definitely demonstrated in the novel as books and even mirrors were banned by the government. This novel illustrates the conflicts which emerge with the decline of books and rise of technology. Professor Faber explains how important writing and literature is to the world and its people. Captain Beatty, the chief fireman, often describes the consequences

Captain Beatty’s insight into the world’s decline defines the root problem as the lack of literature and books in their world.. He uses his experience to aid the reader and Montag. In his speech he explains the people’s thoughts and opinion as they change over time. He says technology and censoring of books greatly influenced people's ability to think independently. He says, “All the minor, minor minorities with their navels kept clean…Books, the damned critics said, were dishwater” (55). By using dishwater to compare the society to, Beatty displays how over time the government and people began to censor the contents of books and people began to lose focus of individuality. Books were banned

He argues how books help open minds to new ideas and help with innovation. He explains, “The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us”(78). Faber gives the protagonist and the reader a new perspective on the world using personification.He says books help us “stitch together the pieces of life and give reason and meaning to people's lives. They give meaningful knowledge and wisdom to ignorant people and help people fit the pieces of their lives together. His speech continues to give wisdom on the issues of the 21st century . He stresses the point, “The books are to remind us….what fools we are” (82). During the time the book took place, people are incredibly ignorant and find value in standing up for themselves. They let the government take basic human rights from them such as creativity. Faber suggests that with books, the world would be less ignorant and might actually realize what fools they are. On the other side, reading books help us understand and cope with our flaws, making us better people. The citizens would be capable of independent thought and rising up against oppression. Faber’s opinion reinforces the importance of valuing books and literature because of their worth to the