Themes In Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'

1630 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Theogony

Fahrenheit 451 is a book with a variety of themes including mass media, censorship, conformity vs. individuality, distraction vs. happiness, action vs. inaction, and knowledge vs. ignorance. These themes are expressed through events, quotes, and characters in Fahrenheit. The themes are also expressed in the real world in many things. The first theme that is in Fahrenheit is mass media. The first example is when Montag is trying to memorize the bible on the subway but is interrupted. “ “Denhams Dental Detergent” “ shut up, shut up, shut up!” it was a plea, a cry so terrible that Montag found himself on his feet…” . This describes mass media because it shows how products are just thrown in the citizens faces for them to buy the products and …show more content…

ignorance. The first example of knowledge vs. ignorance in the novel is when Clarisse explains the school system in the society, “It’s alot of funnels, and a lot of water poured down the spout and out at the bottom, and then telling us it’s wine when it’s not”. This quote from Clarisse shows how the citizens are taught nothing and they truly are ignorant to want to learn thus why books are banned. The second example of knowledge vs. ignorance in Fahrenheit is when Mildred realized how books are man 's creation and that emotion and thought are put into them, “And i thought about books. And for the first time i realized that a man was behind each one of the books”. Mildred expressed her no longer being ignorant toward books and acknowledging just a portion of what books do to people and what they possess. Finally the third example of knowledge vs. ignorance in Fahrenheit is when it is explained that there are people out there that wanna fight for knowledge, “We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought”. This shows that people will fight for the greater good which is literature and that and that they will end the government 's control over books and let people end the knowledge vs. ignorance in the

Show More
Related

  • Fahrenheit 451 Literary Analysis

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a book that takes place in the future. In a society that has been modernized to a lack of knowledge, there is one key factor that plays a role in ,not only the book, but to the reason these people are so oblivious to life. The reason is simply that their knowledge, and all information of history and reality was cut off at the source.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Individuality In Fahrenheit 451

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a novel that was written based on a dystopian society. It begins to explain how society copes with the government through conformity. Most of the characters in this story, for example: Mildred, Beatty, and the rest, start to conform to the government because it is the culture they had grown up in. Individuality is not something in this society because it adds unneeded conflict between the characters. The government tries to rid of the individuality it may have. Individuality was shown in the beginning quite well by using Clarisse McClellan and Montag. Clarisse McClellan shows her individuality quite clearly, more towards Montag. After Montag has been living off conformity, he decided to start questioning the world and ends

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book Fahrenheit 451 the theme is a society/world that revolves around being basically brain washed or programmed because of the lack of people not thinking for themselves concerning the loss of knowledge, and imagination from books that don't exist to them. In such stories as the Kurt Vonnegut's "You have insulted me letter" also involving censorship to better society from vulgarity and from certain aspects of life that could be seen as disruptive to day to day society which leads to censorship of language and books. Both stories deal with censorship and by that society is destructed in a certain way by the loss of knowledge from books.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fire, fire, and more fire. Throughout the entire novel Bradbury places a reference on fire, which is a major symbol. Even the title “Fahrenheit 451” that is “the temperature at which book-paper catches fire and burns.” (Bradbury 1) Guy Montag is the protagonist of this novel and he is a fireman in the town he lives in. His job as a fireman is not the usual fireman. He is to find out of

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian novel about Guy Montag, whose job is to burn books in the futuristic American city. In this world, fireman burns books instead of putting out fires. People in the society do not read books, do not socialize with each others and do not relish their life in the world. People’s life to the society are worthless and hurting people are the most normal and everyday things. Ray Bradbury wrote the novel Fahrenheit 451, to convey the ideas that if human in the future relies on technology and the banishment of books and stop living. Then eventually it will take control their lives and bring devastation upon them. He uses three symbolisms throughout the novel to convey his thoughts.

    Read More

  • Censorship in Fahrenheit 451

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    The theme of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 can be seen from several different viewpoints. Bradbury's novel primarily gives an anti-censorship message. Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural projection of an extremely tolerant society. The society envisioned by Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 is often compared to Huxley's Brave New World, according to the researchers at novelguide.com. Though both works certainly have an anti-government theme, that is not the core idea of Bradbury's novel.

    Read More

  • Indiviualism in Fahrenheit 451

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    You ask yourself what does all of this have to do with Fahrenheit 451. If you said that the theme is individualism then I would say that you are close but no cigar. The theme of the book is what the author Ray Bradbury says about individuality. Bradbury shows how he fells about this through the character Guy Montag. Fahrenheit 451 has many examples. One is when Guy is running away from the mechanical hounds the community all open their doors: “at the count of ten now! One! Two! He felt the city rise. Three! He felt the city turn to its thousands of doors. Faster leg up, leg down! Four! The people sleep walking in their hallways. Five! He felt their hands on the door knobs! The smell of the river was cool and like solid rain. His throat burnt rust and his eyes were wept dry with running. He yelled as if this yell would jet him on, fling him the last hundred yards.

    Read More

  • Society In Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1927 Words  | 4 Pages

    The start of the technological revolution was 1975. The first personal computer had just been made available to the public and about ten years later, cellular telephones started to become popular (?). A few people using a cell phone turned into a few dozen people who turned into a few hundred and by 2013, nearly seven billion cellular phones were in use around the world (?). Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury in the 1950s, depicted a future America where the world revolved around technology. Bradbury wrote of a society where intelligence was feared and hated, books were banned, and television controlled most everyone and anything. He was concerned that in the decades to come, the world would be changed by technology

    Read More

  • Theme Analysis of Fahrenheit 451

    432 Words  | 1 Pages

    The theme of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles.  First and foremost, Bradbury's novel gives an anti-censorship message.  Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society.  Once one group objects to something someone has written, that book is modified and censorship begins. Soon, another minority group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited until eventually the book is banned altogether.  In Bradbury's novel, society has evolved to such an extreme that all literature is illegal to possess.  No longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and even anarchy.  The intellectual thinking that arises from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government doesn't want to put up with this danger.  Yet this philosophy, according to Bradbury, completely ignores the benefits of knowledge.  Yes, knowledge can cause disharmony, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent man from making similar mistakes in the present and future.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Fahrenheit 451

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Fahrenheit 451, it can give a powerful message for readers since it connects to our world

    Read More

  • Dystopian Society In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ray Bradbury introduces in his novel, Fahrenheit 451 (1953), a dystopian society manipulated by the government through the use of censored television and the outlaw of books. During the opening paragraph, Bradbury presents protagonist Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to burn books, and the society he lives in; an indifferent population with a extreme dependence on technology. In Bradbury’s novel, the government has relied on their society’s ignorance to gain political control. Throughout the novel, Bradbury uses characters such as Mildred, Clarisse, and Captain Beatty to show the relationships Montag has, as well as, the types of people in the society he lives in. Through symbolism and imagery, the audience is able to see how utterly unhappy

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    1.Author: Ray Bradbury an American novelist and horror author wrote dozens of books like Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man, and The Martian Chronicles. He also wrote lot’s of short stories and he was a playwright. He was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. Ray Bradbury graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938.

    Read More

  • Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: A Cautionary Tale

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau, a famous American author, once said that “What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?” Essentially, Thoreau believed that even though most individual people are tolerable, society as a whole is not. Ray Bradbury reflects upon Thoreau’s ideas in his novel entitled Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, Guy Montag, the protagonist, realizes that his supposed utopia society is actually a dystopia. Montag finally realizes this when Clarisse, his young neighbor, asks him if he is happy. Although, Montag believes that he is happy, it becomes clear later in the novel that he is not. Montag finds countless faults in the society he lives in. Throughout the novel, Bradbury’s goal is to show the reader some faults in the world today, such as our education system and the effects of technology on lives.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Ignorance Vs Knowledge Essay

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fahrenheit 451 is a best-selling American novel written by Ray Bradbury. The novel is about firemen Guy Montag and his journey on discovering the importance of knowledge in an ignorant society. There are many important themes present throughout the novel. One of the most distinct and reoccurring themes is ignorance vs knowledge. Bradbury subtly reveals the advantage and disadvantages of knowledge and ignorance by the contrasting characters Montag and his wife Mildred. Montag symbolizes knowledge while Mildred on the other hand symbolizes ignorance.

    Read More

  • Social Commentary in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    Albert Einstein once said “…Imagination is more important than knowledge…” but what if people lived in a world that restrained them from obtaining both knowledge and imagination. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the main character, Montag, expresses his emotions by showing the importance of social values. Throughout the novel, the secretive ways of a powerful force are exploited, the book also shows the faults in a new technological world, and the author shows the naïve way an average citizen in a dystopian society thinks.

    Read More

More about Themes In Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'

Open Document