‘Fahrenheit 451 ‘ , by Ray Bradbury, is a novel which invokes much thought about the manner we live in society today. Through the supporter, Guy Montag, Bradbury makes a broad point about the dangers that a divided society can show. In the novel, Bradbury creates a society in which all books and free idea are forbidden. It is clear to us that books are seen to be the beginning of all unhappiness and should hence be prohibited. As a fireman, it is Montag ‘s occupation, non to set out fires, as is the instance in today ‘s society but alternatively to make fires in order to dispose of all unwanted books. This creates an thought of dystopia by the authorities seeking to delight everyone by utilizing censoring to restrict people ‘s independency and free thought. As the fresh progresses we see Montag move through a series of critical alterations, seeing him transform from a mindless drone, happy to make whatever anyone tells him to, into a latitudinarian member of society, organizing a opposition against a authorities set to destruct all free idea. In order to find the effectivity of Bradbury ‘s portraiture of the alterations in Montag, it is necessary to analyze the points in the novel which are, in my sentiment, the most important in Montag ‘s transmutation.
At the start of the novel, we are introduced to the supporter, Guy Montag, who is characterised by Bradbury as a Fireman with no intent in life. Montag is one of the destructive forces in society who destroys books and besides independency. Montag seems to take felicity in what he does and he seems to hold no intent in life apart from firing books. Montag seems wholly content with his place in life, with no privation to change himself as a individual and happy with what he does for society. Throughout the novel, Bradbury describes the fire as beautiful.
‘His custodies were the custodies of some great music director playing all the symphonic musics of blaze and combustion ‘
Bradbury is utilizing the motive of Montag ‘s custodies to demo us that Montag sees fire, his creative activity, to be a thing of great beauty, in the same sense that a music director sees the music as a work of art. Montag sees himself as an creative person making a thing of pure impressiveness in the fire. Bradbury farther emphasiss Montag ‘s sentiment of fire by utilizing a cardinal metaphor.
‘He strode in a drove of fire beetles ‘
In utilizing this metaphor, Bradbury creates the image of the fragments of past books being fire beetles. Fireflies are animals that conveying visible radiation to darkness. This acts as an effectual nexus to Montag ‘s position of fire as a thing of beauty. Fireflies besides possess a certain aura of thaumaturgy and enigma making an about calm beauty. To Montag, things that are ablaze become beautiful and so the flicker of the fire are seen as beautiful. This helps to underscore the satisfaction Montag takes in his work.
The undermentioned phases of the fresh reveal an unusual feeling. At this point we are introduced to Clarisse, an guiltless teenage miss with a unbounded wonder who does non follow the tendency and who acts as a accelerator, rushing up Montag ‘s alteration. The universe that she lives in has non ruined her and hence she seems to possess a sense of pureness. She seems to be at the opposite terminal of the spectrum to Montag. The universe Montag lives in has transformed him into an incurious human being with no impression to inquiry anything. His deficiency of independency merely seems to add to this word picture by Bradbury. Clarisse plays an indispensable portion in Montag ‘s alteration. She workss a seed of realization in Montag ‘s head, rushing up what would merely hold been a really gradual procedure. She asks him inquiries that are meant to do him believe on a deeper degree, something that he is unaccustomed to.
“ Are you happy ”
Montag is taken-aback by this inquiry and reacts by stating ‘Yeah Sure ‘ . However, as I mentioned earlier, this inquiry was meant to do him believe on a deeper, more personal degree. What Clarisse is in existent fact inquiring Montag is whether his life is fulfilled and has a intent or a significance. The events that follow this conversation between the two reveal to us that Montag is non in fact happy.
The self-destruction of a book lover is used by Bradbury to convey to light Montag ‘s wonder environing the universe of books. The book lover refuses to be separated from her manner of life and her civilization. She feels that she would instead decease than go forth her civilization buttocks.
“ We shall this twenty-four hours light a taper as I trust shall ne’er be put out ”
This statement is intended to advance a revolution. By following the function of a sufferer, the book lover deceasing for that which she believes in, finally in the hope that others will follow and a revolution shall be sparked.
Bradbury is touching to the sixteenth century enchantress tests at this point in the novel. This allusion is relevant as those thought to hold been enchantresss were burnt. They died in integrity with their love of their trades. Those who burnt them did so in an effort to deter farther Acts of the Apostless. This is relevant to the book lover as she was burnt for her love of reading, something that they were seeking really hard to deter.
The ownership of books has been made illegal by the authorities in this novel as has free believing behavior. Bradbury ‘s allusion to the enchantress tests at this phase reflects back to a period in our history in which we excessively criminalised people who, in our eyes, seemed different. His reference of such a hideous illustration of unfairness simply makes stronger the thought of the sheer graduated table of the persecution that this book lover and many others face. As Montag is firing the books which he has been sent to destruct, the reader is given an penetration into the nature of his act.
“ A book alighted, about yieldingly, like a white pigeon, in his custodies, wings fliting ”
Bradbury ‘s usage of the thought of Montag ‘s custodies moving for themselves charts the different phases in Montag ‘s transmutation. At first, his custodies are used to make things of beauty, whereas at this phase they seem to possess a life of their ain, apparently making out for books sub-consciously. This clearly reveals his wonder for books that his outer ego does n’t wish him to read.
When Montag meets Faber, farther alteration begins to happen. Faber is an old adult male whose passion for books has been extinguished. In his sentiment, it is those who did non talk up against the motion of book combustion who are to fault for the current state of affairs. If he had acted when the alteration was happening, he believes that, as earlier, others would hold followed his act up by making the same. Faber encourages Montag ‘s individualism and reveals to him the fact that he must larn to believe for himself and non allow himself be ruled by anyone else. It is his purpose to demo Montag that the reply is non ever obvious and that he must ever be moving on his ain thoughts.
“ Remember Caesar, thou art person ”
Bradbury makes this intertextual mention to Julius Caesar to exemplify Faber ‘s warning against Montag ‘s certitude. Caesar was a Roman emperor and autocrat who put himself above his state in the same manner as the authorities does in this novel. This comparing between the authorities and Caesar strongly shows how Bradbury feels about the authorities ‘s actions. In this novel, the thought of censoring is used to convey how through limitation of free-thought, whole societies can go off. At this point in the novel, Montag seems non to be to the full changed and hence he begins to take on Faber ‘s personality every bit good as his ain.
“ Say ‘Yes ‘ ”
His oral cavity moved like Faber ‘s
‘Yes ”
Bradbury clearly reveals that Montag is non capable of to the full moving for himself. Montag finds himself at a moral hamlets ; following Faber or following Beatty ( his captain ) . By following Beatty, he would go on to prosecute the ‘ignorance is bliss ‘ attack. It would be an easy life to follow Beatty but his life would ne’er be decently fulfilled and he would hold no sense of individualism or intent. If he chooses to unify with Faber and prosecute a common end, the dream of a fulfilled life, so he would go one of a likewise directed minority, contending against the bulk for what they believe in.
After taking to unify with Faber, Montag burns his ain house while Beatty tickers. By making this, he seems to be firing off a portion of his life that he wants to bury. In his position, the house represents this period of his life that he does non desire to be portion of any more. By firing it all, it is made clear to the reader that he has moved on with his life. The sheer fierceness with which he acts illustrates that he wants to fire everything, right down to the minutest thing that reminds him of his old ego. Bradbury ‘s linguistic communication in this phase in the novel is similar to that at the start of the novel. However, here Bradbury is exemplifying that Montag has changed. His pleasance is now drawn from firing those points that he hates the most.
“ Once once more it was a pleasance to fire ”
Here, Bradbury is stating us that Montag is once more fetching pleasance from firing things but, instead than being the mindless drone that he was at the start of the novel, he takes this pleasance as is he realises that firing the things that he hates the most, he can fire away his life preceeding this and get down a new life.
Bradbury ‘s usage of symbolism to stand for the river simply emphasises Montag ‘s alteration. As Montag base on ballss through the H2O we are led to believe that he is being baptised, being reborn and separated from his past life. Montag has a sudden realization that clip is ever go throughing and that the Sun will ever lift and put. This brings him to the decision that life is limited and that if he burns things, this combines with the Sun ‘s combustion to destruct everything good in life go forthing merely a shell behind.
“ He was non empty. There was more than plenty here to make full him. There would ever be more than adequate ”
At this point Montag ‘s alteration is illustrated. He was antecedently empty and yet now his wonder of the universe around him and the universe of books has filled him with a changeless flow of idea, adequate to make full him for an infinity. Upon go forthing the river he realises the promise of a fulfilled life. This commits Montag to happening that which makes him genuinely ‘happy ‘ . He meets Grainger, a fellow castaway, who is portion of a group of work forces who memorise books in order to read infusions to the others in clip of demand.
“ You are the book of Ecclesiastes ”
Montag has memorised the ‘Book of Ecclesiastes ‘ before it is burned and hence becomes the book, ready to be called upon whenever he is needed. This gives his life a significance and aim demoing that he has eventually found his ain ego.
In the shutting phases of Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury compares society to the Phoenix, a bird that can be reborn from its ain ashes. Montag is besides similar to the Phoenix in this manner as he has risen from the deepnesss of his ain devastation. Society does similarly as it creates wars which destroy things, but out of the ashes it rebuilds itself. Human society can be superior to the Phoenix as it can larn from its errors and avoid devastation. In this novel, society seems to be so severely damaged that ironically the lone manner that it can reconstruct itself is to be destroyed. By making this Bradbury tells us that if we learn from our errors before it is excessively late, there need be no more devastation.
To reason, Montag is successfully portrayed by Bradbury through his clever usage of imagination, symbolism and characterisaton. Bradbury refers to fire to convey Montag ‘s initial feelings toward it in the gap phases of the novel. This shows Montag ‘s deficiency of alteration. However, following his meeting with Clarisse, Montag begins to oppugn his ain life and kick-start his ain alteration through Bradbury ‘s word pick. After the self-destruction of a book lover, Bradbury ‘s mentions to earlier periods illustrate the importance of books in today ‘s society. Within the metempsychosis phase, the river is used as a symbol to convey Montag ‘s entire alteration. This merely has the consequence of underscoring the fact that the society in the novel is a useful 1. He follows to state how bringing felicity to the greatest figure of people does non ever mean that they have the right thought. In this novel, Bradbury acts as the voice of the minority. He tells us that our individualism sets us apart from anyone else and that our differences should be acted upon and non suppressed.
