Fahrenheit 451 Important Quotes

Theme Essay (Draft #1) Mohamed Morsy, Period 6

“‘...You always dread the unfamiliar. Surely you remember the boy in your own school class who was exceptionally ‘bright,’ did most of the reciting and answering while the others sat like so many leaden idols, hating him. And wasn’t it this bright boy you selected for beatings and tortures after hours? Of course it was. We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal…then all are happy…’” Fahrenheit 451 starts with a fireman named Guy Montag, who lives in a world where firemen burn books with fire, rather than putting fire out. He becomes suspicious of what’s really going on after meeting a girl named Clarisse, and

Those who are ignorant can be beaten into hiding it, which is what Montag is afraid of and Faber is encouraging him not to be afraid of. The characterization shown here is through Faber’s description of how Montag is “...afraid of making mistakes.” This shows that Montag is, as Faber says, afraid of making mistakes as he’s still a little confused and worried. This also shows that Faber is very wise and is a good mentor. Now, the other novel, Prodigy, also shows how characterization can support the theme of the impact of ignorance versus knowledge as well. “I should be excited too. But somehow, still, the thought of the Republic crashing down sends a pulse of nausea through me. I don’t know if it’s brainwashing, years of Republic doctrine drilled into my brain. The feeling lingers, though, along with a flood of shame and self-hate. Everything I am familiar with is gone.” The theme of ignorance versus knowledge is shown here through the fact that June says she went through “brainwashing” by the years of being a part of the Republic. But now with the knowledge of what the Republic was really doing behind the scenes, the brainwashing has a much weaker effect. With the ignorance to what

The figurative language supports the theme as it indirectly represents the idea and concept of having knowledge of certain things or not knowing about certain things. The figurative language hints at the idea of doing something only after learning a certain thing, which supports the theme of the impact of ignorance versus knowledge, showing how actions change with new knowledge. “‘It was only the other night when everything was fine and the next thing I know I’m drowning. How many times can a man go down and still be alive? I can’t breathe. There’s Beatty dead, and he was my friend once,…and there’s Millie gone, I thought she was my wife, but now I don’t know. And the house all burnt. And my job gone and myself on the run, and I planted a book in a fireman’s house on the way. Good Christ, the things I’ve done in a single week!’ / ‘You did what you had to do…’” The figurative language here is shown through Montag saying that he doesn’t know if Mildred was really his wife anymore, even though he obviously does know that she was his wife. What he really means with this metaphorical thought is that he doesn’t feel as connected to his wife as he used to, and only now he is realizing just how figuratively distant he is from her. The theme of the impact of ignorance versus knowledge