Fahrenheit 451 Warning Analysis

The future is shrouded with multitude of mysteries which humanity is not able to precisely discern; however, predictions or depictions of this concealed future can be very effective in highlighting a problem which the future may hold. Author Ray Bradbury seemed to have had this in mind, writing Fahrenheit 451 in 1953 for the very purpose of cautioning the novel’s readers not to create a future resembling the one in the book: a dystopia set in the distant future in which books are censored and book owners’ possessions, burnt. Here, the society’s people are consumed by the new, futuristic (from the perspective of a man writing in the 1950s) technology which provided entertainment provoking little thought, such as television watching, thereby

In this review, Bradbury’s effectiveness in conveying his warning will be discussed and the quality of his writing, evaluated. Fahrenheit 451 centers upon protagonist Guy Montag, who is employed as a fireman: someone who, in this society, no longer puts out fires, but rather, starts them to burn the houses of those who possess books. In the beginning, Montag finds much enjoyment in and is extremely faithful to his occupation and is the ultimate conformist of his society—he is like the millions upon millions of other people in his society who are completely brainwashed by the government, oblivious to the autonomous democratic societies in which their ancestors lived. However, Montag’s character abruptly changes upon his acquaintance with Clarisse McClellan, a seventeen-year-old girl who knew of a past so shockingly different, causing Montag to truly question the current society and his own happiness. His dissatisfaction is instigated through a series of distressing events which follow his initial encounter with Clarisse, including witnessing his wife, Mildred Montag, attempt suicide, receiving news that Clarisse had died in a car accident and the impending war. He ultimately turns to seek relief