Theme Of Knowledge In Fahrenheit 451

Can you think of a situation in your life where you have had a strong opinion on a certain topic, but over time as you gained new knowledge, your opinion changed? This type of event happens often in our world, and is a strong theme seen in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the story the main character, Montag, gains a lot of new knowledge and learns many new things. As his personal knowledge grows, his views on the way things are in society begin to shift and alter from that of most people. This can also apply to our society in many ways, whether it be government control or media or social issues. Through this essay you will come to see how historical and modern situations such as Nazi Germany and the media in our world mimic

One example of this is when Montag is running from the cops. While he is on the run, confused, lost, and questioning everything, it is nighttime, thus it is dark. This represents his confusion and not entirely understanding everything, as he has not processed it. But later, on page 145, Bradbury writes, “Half an hour later, cold, and moving carefully on the tracks, fully aware of his entire body, his face, his mouth, his eyes stuffed with blackness, his ears stuffed with sound, his legs prickled with burrs and nettles, he saw the fire ahead.” Around the fire he finds some men, the same ones mentioned in the previous paragraph, who teach him more about his society and how they go about memorizing books so they won’t be lost. The fire and light comes into the story when Montag is learning and gaining new knowledge. This motif also occurs at other points in the story, like when he finds the book at the woman’s house on page 37. Light brings vision and knowledge brings

It also applies to our society in many ways. One example of this is Nazi Germany during World War 2. The Germans often weren’t aware of what the Nazis did to the Jews when they were taken to concentration camps. Near the end of the war, though, when they learned what was really happening, their opinions of what the Nazis were doing changed. They no longer thought they were doing good for their country. They realized how truly evil the people running their country were. Another example that is more modern is the media. In our society what we hear from the media we consider the truth. As we hear different things and learn more about an issue, the opinions of the general public change. We first hear one or two stories outlining the big event, and we form opinions based on those stories with varying points of view and conflicting facts. Then as more stories get out and begin circulating, people learn more about the issue and the background behind it and they start to understand the issue more. With their new knowledge, they create more informed opinions with solid evidence to back them up. Views on the issue may even shift entirely as more important information comes to light about the topic, very much like in Fahrenheit 451, where Montag’s views shift from agreeing entirely with the ways of society to hating the ways of society and challenging