Fahrenheit 451 Dystopian Analysis

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“Fahrenheit 451” and Dystopian Characteristics In the novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury we are subjected to the life of Guy Montag. Montag is a Fireman who burns books, as the homes and other structures have been fireproofed to prevent a flame from licking up the sides. After an incident one night with an elderly woman who burned herself and her books Montag is shaken. Beatty, comes to his home to visit and their conversation is one sided. An analysis of Beatty’s Speech reveals that the people are under each other's control and surveillance, making the Firemen another level of surveillance and protection, and that the people are obsessed with flames. One theme of “Fahrenheit 451” is explained when Beatty states “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of each other; then all are happy, …show more content…

Montag mentioned earlier on in the novel that they only receive calls at night, “Never by day! Is it because fire is prettier by night?” (39) Beatty’s helmet has a Phoenix on it, a creature that periodically renews itself in flame. The goal of the Firemen’s flames are not to renew, but always to force the people to conform to the societal expectations. Our final characteristic of a dystopian society is worshipping the flames of the Firemen. Surveillance and control, surveillance and protection, and an obsession with flames are recurring themes in the novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. Montag’s life has been explained further by the speech, elaborating on the themes by breaking down the facade of a happy society. Through Beatty’s speech, Bradbury delivered the charred ember of society while discreetly fanning the