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Time Vs. Themes In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

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Ronaldo Mendoza Mr. Weber Honor 10B 17 February 2023 Today’s Time vs Themes in Fahrenheit 451 It can be said that in the ever advancing world, people are relying more and more on technology. This is especially true with the younger generations, as with endless masses of media designed to keep them stimulated and easily accessible with a swipe of their finger, it is becoming something they cannot live without. In fact, some people even rely on the media to be their sole source of news and will believe and go along with whatever they say. These modern times are extraordinarily similar to the novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. The book, which takes place around the year 2022, is set in a dystopian-like society where people …show more content…

In fact, the main protagonist, Guy Montag, works as a fireman, whose job is to burn any books found. They have been told that the reason they burn books is because books cause people to feel bad and cause conflict. They claim that firemen have been burning books since the United States of America was founded, as they state that Ben Franklin was the first fireman (Bradbury 31). This shows how people just do as they are told, without question. They do not know why exactly books turn people bad and cause conflict, but because that is what they have been told and it is what everyone else believes, they too believe it. This is also true in the modern world, where people will conform to fit into society. This is especially seen in online media, where people will follow an idea simply because it is popular. A great example of this are clothing trends. People will willingly spend hundreds of dollars on name-brand clothing, simply because someone influential told them to buy it. They do not know why the clothing is so superior to others, but they still buy it and some seek the pleasure of owning such high-status clothing. This is something that is also represented in Fahrenheit 451, where the firemen enjoy burning the books, despite having no reason to enjoy doing so. They state, “It was a pleasure to burn … Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame” (Bradbury 1-2). …show more content…

In the book when Montag is on the run from the police, they turn the entire police chase into a show, designed to keep the viewers watching. It was even turned into an immersive experience by having the audience help look out for Montag. And when Montag is able to escape, in order to give their audience a satisfying conclusion, they kill an innocent man as a scapegoat in place of Montag (Bradbury 121-132). This act of televising is a common occurrence is Fahrenheit 451, as they simply move on afterwards, and it is not all that rarer in the real world. The most famous example of this was the Johnny Depp Amber Heard court case in 2022. Despite it being a very serious case of domestic abuse, it was recorded and put up on the internet. People were treating it like a courtroom drama and even started to make mashups and complications as if it were a television show. This treatment of serious issues in the media is very common, and can take away the seriousness from these

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The plot of the book revolves around the idea of fireman burning books. When Montag goes against this rule, it creates a controversial story. Books

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In the beginning of the novel, the author, Ray Bradbury, introduced us to a world where books were forbidden. Guy Montag, a fireman, did not help save burning homes instead he burnt them. In this futuristic way of thinking, everyday life revolved around television and people thought books brought unhappiness therefore they sent firemen out to burn homes that contain books. Montag thoroughly enjoyed watching the seemingly meaningless books turn to ashes.

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Analysis here shows that guy Montag and the other fireman are brain washed to think that burning books is the solution to their problems because the government has order them to. Secondly the citizens in the book are afraid-afraid of themselves. They fear the thought of knowing forcing them to depend on and listen to the government. “I saw the way things were going a long time back. I said nothing, I’m one of the innocents who could have spoken up and out when no one would listen to the guilty, but I did not speak out and become guilty myself” (Bradbury 82).

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A key to understanding Fahrenheit 451 is the history behind book burnings. The firemen in the book are fire starters instead of (like today) fire extinguishers. This is the only purpose they have; they are trying to destroy all literature of the past. Although this book is set in a dystopian society, these sorts of mass book burnings are not a myth created by Ray Bradbury. He was influenced by the actual burnings happening around the world and those that have happened in the past.

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Are We Turning Into Fahrenheit 451? Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian fantasy, meaning that the book describes an imaginary world where people lead dehumanizing and often fearful lives. The author, Ray Bradbury, wrote the book describing how he believes the world will be in the future. I believe that modern society is similar to how he predicted it to be.

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In a world of suppression of knowledge through the burning of books, Guy Montag in Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, seeks to further understand knowledge and the potential that books can have on a society as a whole as well as individuals themselves. Although this is after the transformation in Montag’s character as before he was no different than the other robotic individuals. He actively played a role in the suppression of knowledge by working as a fireman who starts fires with a goal of burning books as opposed to today’s firemen who prevent fires. Montag along with other firemen would find pleasure in the burning of books as described in the opening line, “It was a pleasure to burn.” It wouldn’t be until Guy Montag meets a 17 year old girl

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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is full of important morals and themes. The book is flooded with symbolism and meaning to both the real world and science fiction world that Bradbury has created. With so many themes in this book it is difficult to choose the ones that contain the most importance, but some of them can be picked out from all the rest, for example, you must have bad things to have good things, you have to earn your happiness and finally, your opinions are influenced by the people around you. These themes show up multiple times in the book and are expressed heavily in the story.

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“We read books to discover that we aren’t alone.” When reading, most people can find a character they relate to or are similar to. Books teach us regardless of what we are going through, there are other people who have gone through it or have felt the same way. Both books and characters can have themes whether they are major or minor themes in the book. Fahrenheit 451 is a great example of characters having themes.

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The restated thesis of our presentation is: We believe some of the positive elements in the plot of Fahrenheit 451 are an engrossing ending, balance of internal and external conflicts, and predicting our future, while some negative things were the absurdity, incohesive scenes, and lack of protagonists. The significance of Fahrenheit 451 is that it favors literature and critical thinking skills, and against censorship and blind conformity. This teaches us that we should think for ourselves and not let an external factor brainwash us and control us. The value of this book is super important, because it teaches us that the growing number of technology and the lessening of books is having a negative impact on us. We can even see that today, TVs and smart devices are taking the place of books, while the growing concept of AI is making people less creative.

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The book follows Guy Montag, a fireman who sets things on fire instead of put out fires. He enjoys his job until on one job an old woman decides to burn with her books rather than evacuate. Haunted by her death, Montag becomes confused on why books would mean so much to anyone. He then decides to find out for himself by reading books from a personal stash of stolen books. Montag has a personal revolution; he realizes the dangers of restricting information and intellectual thought.

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"I was not predicting the future, I was trying to prevent it" (Bradbury). The world illustrated in Fahrenheit 451 isn 't that far off from our own. Technology has become a very influential part of everyone 's lives, and has control over people’s actions and thoughts. Ray Bradbury uses the themes mass media, conformity vs. individuality, and censorship in his dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, to capture a futuristic world in which books are illegal and technology is consuming society. Mass media is a significant theme throughout the book, Fahrenheit 451.

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A prime example of how citizens appear to direct all their attention to the meaningless pleasures of life instead the disconcerting truths of the society they are living in. Citizens, too terrified to face their pent-up conflicts and struggles, have yet to realize that their avoidance of these feelings is the root cause of their despair. Although one might say“ignorance is bliss,” Bradbury makes it clear that such a method of achieving happiness, through the fleeting sensation of television, is simply pointless. This desperate plea to the future of humanity, Bradbury’s vision of such a corrupt society puts forth an array of invaluable takeaways.

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“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry,“ - Cassandra Clare. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, the author, Ray Bradbury, constructs a futuristic American society in which books are no longer allowed. This creates an ignorant and conformist population, which displays the effects that come from lack of literature. The novel follows the life of Guy Montag who is a fireman. In the novel, the task carried out by firemen is to burn books, not put out fires.

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The main character Montag is excited whenever he is able to burn houses with books. “With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black.” (Bradbury 1) The manipulation of firemen through technology has led the government to be able to control the destruction of books. Montag, influenced by the government, finds pleasure in burning because he feels accomplished doing something supposedly “beneficial” to society.

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The first section is about the introduction of my speech. The specific purpose and central idea in my speech were clear. I would say I gained most of my audience’s attention in the introduction and that it was effective. My attention getter does orient the audience to my topic. I think it snagged most people’s attention and did motivate my audience to listen.

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