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Why Is Books Important In Fahrenheit 451

543 Words3 Pages

In the society of Fahrenheit 451 people do not read books, enjoy nature, think independently or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive fast and watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size screens. The main problem is the lack of words and therefore lack of individuality. Books and literature play an important role in the novel, from society’s deprivation of access to books to Montag’s development from passive individual to intellectual thinker.

Captain Beatty, being in charge of the firefighter department is quite aware of the effect books can have on people. Towards the end of the novel Beatty confuses Montag by reciting multiple contradictory quotes from different books. “What traitors books can be! You think they’re backing you up, and then they turn on you.” (p.51) The reason books are valuable is because they are contradictory, conflicted, and confusing. It means that the readers have to think …show more content…

For example during the Rwandan genocide of 1994 the extreme Hutus nationalists called the Tutsis ‘cockroaches’, this suggests they are below them and determines how the people ultimately see them.
During the Cold war, US President Ronald Reagan used metaphors describing the Soviet Union as an ‘evil empire’ and communism as ‘cancer’. These words become more than a figure of speech; they become a tool to affect and influence each individual's thoughts that unconsciously stays in their head with that negative connotation.
At times, words also help people. When Max becomes very ill, Liesel reads to him regularly, as though “the words alone could nourish him” (p.328). When the whole neighborhood sits fearing a bomb, Liesel’s reading keeps everyone distracted enough to ease their fear. Most of all, Liesel’s words help and almost sustain Death itself; he carries her book with him and allows her story to distract him as he

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Over the course of Fahrenheit 451, the main character Guy Montag is characterized, but is shown to change. In part 1, the book establishes how he initially acts and how he starts to change. In part 2, the reader sees how his personal experience shapes him into taking drastic actions. In part 3, the reader sees the effects of his actions further his character until he reaches his full potential as a character. Readers recognize Montag’s development as a character throughout the novel by means of personal experience, important events, and influential characters.

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In a future totalitarian society, all books have been outlawed by the government, fearing an independent-thinking public. Fahrenheit 451 is a futuristic novel, telling the story of a time where books and independent thinking are outlawed. In a time so unenlightened, where those who want to better themselves by thinking, are outlawed and killed. Guy Montag is a senior firefighter who is much respected by his superiors and is in line for a promotion. He does not question what he does or why he does it until he meets Clarisse.

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“‘They took him screaming off to the asylum. ‘He wasn’t insane.’ Beatty arranged his card quietly. “ Any man is insane who thinks he can fool the government and us.’” (Bradbury,31) Guy Montag and Captain Beatty are both characters from the book, Fahrenheit 451.

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You must understand the importance of what books do, so you appreciate and experience what they offer. In Fahrenheit 451, people in the society can’t comprehend what books actual purpose is. When Montag first realizes the significance of books, he has to rethink everything: “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a women stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing”(Bradbury 48). Almost all the people in the society don’t even think twice about someone dying like that.

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Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without any type of books to read ? If so then reader I strongly believe that you should continue to read on. I want to tell you about a world where reading books is illegal and this very same world exists in a book titled Fahrenheit 451. In the following paragraphs I will tell you about Guy Montag, Mildred Montag, Firefighters, Firetrucks, Mechanical Hound, Library, the importance of books, the book people, and knowledge.

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The people in this society do not thinking independently. The government in this society uses distractions, such as technology, to replace the fact that the people's individuality is being taken from them. In Fahrenheit 451, books are outlawed and are replaced by technology. Guy Montag is one of the fireman who burns the books. As the story develops he discovers the issues with the government.

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Have you ever wanted to be done with reading and never look at a book again? Then you would love life in the city described in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In Montag’s city, books are seen as evil, the government has even changed up some jobs. Today firemen help save people and put out fires, but after the year 2020 they change up the job and start to only burn books. Books are burnt on the spot and inside the house which they are found in, taking the house and everything else with them.

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Begin your essay on this line. Reading is something we all need, even if some do not agree with it. Learning about diverse cultures is important and helps expand your cultural knowledge. A notable example of why society needs books is, in the novel Fahrenheit 451, it talks about how all books are banned and if you have one you could potentially get burned or put in jail. Banning books is not something that should happen for the sake of censorship, and it restricts our freedom and impedes children's education that is needed.

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Fahrenheit 451 shows how people’s rights to free speech and media are essential to a free thinking society. Guy Montag, the main character, is a firefighter, which in his futuristic society means he burns books for the government because they are illegal due to the potentially controversial ideas they contain. Montag meets a girl named Clarisse, who helps him realize he’s not really content in how he’s living his life and in his relationships, which begins to change his viewpoint on the society’s standards. His wife Mildred, as well as the rest of society, are highly materialistic and shallow in their daily activities and interactions. Montag eventually steals a book during the fireman’s raid on a house, which leads him to seek out a man named Faber, who is an educated man, and helps encourage Montag to take steps to action.

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In Ray Bradbury’s dystopian Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag experiences a paradigm shift as he transforms from a disoriented fireman to a learner who wants to gain knowledge through literature. Montag struggles with his newfound fascination with what was once trivial items because of his inability to ask questions under the bonds of conformity. However, the society prohibits people from reading for fear that they would express individuality and perhaps even rebel once they gain knowledge. Through the use of characterization and diction, the Bradbury demonstrates Montag’s desire for individuality and the society’s command of conformity in order to build a suspenseful mood, which keeps the reader’s interest. First, through the use of characterization,

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In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, reading books is against society's rules. Montag starts to wonder what it is about books that society roles them to be forbidden. The fire station goes and burns down houses with books and the chief of the fire station is Beatty. Although Montag killed Beatty, he thought he was doing the right thing. Montag is justified killing Beatty because montag was trying to protect himself, and was also trying to protect Faber, and Beatty made Montag burn his own house down.

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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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407 Words | 2 Pages

For every protagonist, there is an antagonist lurking around the corner. They are viewed as vicious, evil people or concepts going out of their way to sabotage the main character. This does not pertain to some antagonists, but in this case, the stereotype holds true. Montag does seem to star in the song I Am My Own Worst Enemy by Lit, but Captain Beatty’s wrongdoings overrule, showcasing him as the prominent bad guy. Captain Beatty is the main antagonist of Fahrenheit 451, because of his occupation, his chosen ignorance, and his representation of society.

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232 Words | 1 Pages

In the book, Fahrenheit 451, it talks about a world where firefighters burn down housescontaining books or books in general. To please the people, the government, burned books in thename of their happiness. This saying that the government took advantage of what the peoplewere thinking and they wanted people do be engaged in their world and not in books that canteach them otherwise. At the end of the tale, with the war looming on, nuclear bombs shake thecity and destroy it and Guy Montag, the protagonist, and his friends survive the shake. They toldhim about the legendary phoenix that when it died it burst into flames but was then reborn,meaning that the burning of the books, the books will come back to show the world again.

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Books are a significant part of human culture, society and adored by almost everyone. In Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”, it imagines a future without them. As technology progresses, the government has eliminated most of the ways of the past(including books and all literature) by creating lies through propaganda. Firemen burn books, instead of stopping fires.

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