Fahrenheit 451 Response Essay

Fahrenheit 451 Response to Literature

“Well,” said Beatty, “now you did it. Old Montag wanted to fly near the sun and now that he’s burnt his damn wings, he wonders why. Didn’t I hint enough when I sent the Hound around your place?”(Bradbury opening page of Part three) Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. It tells the story of Guy Montag, a fireman who burns books, and houses that keep books in them. One day, Montag moves against the law, and steals a book from a house he and his fellow firemen are about to burn. This is found out by his fire captain, Captain Beatty, and Montag runs away. With the help of a friend, Montag escapes all pursuit. He joins old scholars and professors on deserted railroad tracks.

Beatty and the other firemen start going towards Montag’s house, when Mildred comes out, ignores all of them, and simply leaves. Beatty tells Montag that he must burn his own house. “ I want you to do this job all by your lonesome, Montag. Not with kerosene and a match, but piece work, with a flame thrower. Your house, your clean up.” (Bradbury pg 116) Montag burns the house, but miraculously spares a few books he hid in the yard. After doing so, Beatty proceeds to provoke and infuriate Montag. Montag snaps, and kills Beatty. Montag compares Beatty with his own thoughts of fire. “You always said, don’t face a problem, burn it. Well now I’ve done both. Good-bye, Captain.” (Bradbury pg 121) The Mechanical Hound goes after him, but he destroys and burns that too. He makes a run for it after saving the last of his books. As Montag plants books in the houses of the other firemen, the government sends another Hound, and a search team to pursue him on camera. When Montag reaches Faber’s house, he learns of the chase, and they try to get a small plan to help Montag escape. Montag keeps running along until he sees a light. There is a small fire, but it is not destructive. It is comforting, and warm. “That small motion, the white and red color, a strange fire because it meant a different thing to him. It was not burning. It was warming.” (Bradbury pg 145)This is where Montag meets Granger and the other scholars. Finally, Granger says “Phoenix. There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up. But every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again. And it looks like we’re doing the same thing, over and over, but we’ve got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silly thing we just did. We know all the damn silly