Firearms In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 Theme. 2053 is the year and the government of the United States outlaws books for the good of all people. Alarms in the firehouse now ring not because a house is ablazed due to the red, orange, and fierce sounding element known as fire, but yet ring for the joy of coating a house with kerosene and striking a match igniting the house conflagrant. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 opens up with the words “[i]t was a pleasure to burn” and “it” was books (Bradbury 1). People caught with books in their house would be jailed, and their house would be burned to a crisp due to the firefighters catching the house on fire. Mr. Montag, the main character, happens to be a firefighter, and Mr. Montag talks about his journey from ignorance to

Montag’s occupation is a firefighter, he has to respond to the alarm, slide down the pole, suit up, and jump into the salamander, the fire truck. Montag responds to houses, gathers all the books, and sets them ablaze. It is after one of these calls that he meets Clarisse McClellan, a young girl full of knowledge. Clarisse happens to be his neighbor and Clarisse teaches Montag about the little things in life. During their first conversation, Clarisse informs Montag that she “heard once that...houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames” (Bradbury 23). Montag laughs at this remark for no reason, because he knows the statement is not true. Montag also learns from the girl about the nonsense that happens in the community. Since the law states that there should not be any books in a house, the only information citizens learn is from the nightly news or from other people. Antisocial is how the other kids Clarisse’s age describe her since she does not go to school during the day. On another walk, the girl tells him that she is “afraid of children [her] age. They kill each other” (Bradbury 41). Her grandfather lived in the time when children did not kill each other because he tells her this information. She then goes on to tell Montag that her favorite thing to do is watch people. Clarisse informs Montag that “people don’t talk about anything” and all they “name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools” (Bradbury 41-42). People do not have

They slide down the pole, suit up, hop in the salamander, and race towards the house. Upon the arrival, they hop on the truck and storm the house in the search of the books. Finding books, they pile them on the front porch. Before they could ignite the flame, the woman “knelt among the books, touching the drenched leather and cardboard” and then she tells Montag “you can’t ever have my books” (Bradbury 47-48). Beatty forcefully tells Montag to ignite the house although the woman is still there since she refuses to move. Within seconds, the books and the woman burn to a crisp. When Montag gets home, he tells his wife, Mildred, the story. Montag come to the conclusion that “there must be something in books, things we can’t imagine” because “you don’t stay for nothing” (Bradbury 58). Montag also comes up with that a book consists of someones life story because books take years to write and perfect. Montag keeps a book from the fire without Beatty knowing. Beatty senses that he has a stock pile of books because Montag asks what would happen if a firefighter’s curiosity led them to take a book. The night after this fire, Beatty sends the mechanical hound to Montag’s house. Alarms ring again the next day, so the firefighters race to the house. The site of the burning was different. Montag, in disbelief, tells the captain, Beatty, that it is his house. Montag is shocked but Beatty says with a grin on his