Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451, Research Paper Example

The Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451 is written in parables about the world without books along with saving the Book of Ecclesiastes.” This futuristic novel has a bit of mystery written by Ray Bradbury using Fahrenheit 51 as a backdrop into the ills of society. Fahrenheit 451 is set in a gray futuristic society about how the people rule the world with censorship, violence, socialdisorder, and prejudice. According to The American Library Association (2014), a middle school in California banned the novel “Fahrenheit 451” because it attacked religious and moral beliefs while teaching the children about foul language, alcohol, and questioning God. There are critics that believe the novel is an intimate look into the morality of Ray Bradbury and dark humor on display about current and future events in the worlds. The dominance of the radio and television, the censorship of books, the interest groups controlling legislation and the minorities being the prejudice barometer of the people. The novel “Fahrenheit 451” provides a pessimistic view of the world while displaying the worst in humanity that hunts down illegal transcripts. (Rotten Tomatoes 1). Fahrenheit 451′, by Ray Bradbury, is a novel which summons much thought about the way we live in comparison to this futuristic plot. Through the hero, Guy Montag, Bradbury makes a more extensive point about the dangers that a society controlled by prejudice groups. “The protagonist, Guy Montag, is a fireman who becomes drawn into the world of clandestine book-readers by a woman he meets. Eventually, he joins a group of outcasts trying to preserve literature” (Enotes 1). The journey that is embarked by Guy is a reflection of society when knowledge is controlled and the populations are not allowed to become freethinkers. The extraordinary novel has many hidden messages about the power of people, groups, and minorities.

In the novel, Bradbury creates a society where the government did not censor the population, but special interest groups oppress the masses. As the novel advances, we see Montag travel through an arrangement of fundamental progressions, seeing him change from an inconsiderate fireman to the leader ready to take on the responsibility of reserving Gods words. His new goal is to bring back freethinking as a part of society freedom of choice.

Ray Bradbury’s is one the most widespread globally recognized novels called Fahrenheit 451, which a brilliant piece of literary writing set in an apocalypse of twentieth-century futuristic society. “Published in 1953 during the Cold War and McCarthy Eras, the novel reflects Bradbury’s concerns about censorship and conformity during a period when free expression of ideas could lead to social and economic ostracization”(Telgen 138).Guy Montag is an protagonist and hero struggling with the burning of books and the control of interest groups that are destroying the world. This futuristic novel has a bit of mystery written by Ray Bradbury using Fahrenheit 51 as a backdrop into the ills of society. However, this novel has been misinterpreted because critics and novel community indicated this story was about government censorship. “The novel’s point of view is clearly against censorship. It depicts the general population as living in darkness, with huge television screens dominating their homes and radios constantly blaring in their ears. The authoritarian government has decreed that all writing is subversive” (Enotes 1).The characters quickly dispel the government overture such as Captain Beatty showing his support of censorship because he believe books to be contradictory, without facts to support assumptions and the world is better off without reading books. The character Faber clearly explains that it was the minorities and support groups that lead the charge to burn and censor books. Once again, reflecting that it was not the government that suppressed the people.

The story surrounds reflecting how the prejudices of an interest group can control what they see and what they hear.The author Ray Bradbury is telling story about the demise of the world not by the government. The world was being destroyed by controlling interest groups, television, and minorities that censored anything offensive to those groups. Ray Bradbury believes that television makes a habit of taking society licenses to slant the truth leaving out important parts of novel or TV series. The television industry is in the business of misconceptions, half-truths, and confusion (Johnson 2). The author sets a setting in the narrative as a storyteller commentary of society problems with an audience listening to every word. The special interest groups and the minorities have taken over the duties as suppressors because they now control what the world reads. The story has multiple meanings written into this fascinating futuristic plot. The firefighter Guy Montag daily duties do not include the brave and honorable duties of preventing and terminating fires. The new occupation is foreign to a firefighter that official job was the fireman’s responding to fires, however, in this futuristic world Guy Montag is fireman turned enforcer seeking to burn all books found in the citizens homes (Cliffnotes 1). The firefighter has been transformed from a firefighter to a fire starter burning all books they can find.

The traditional duties not long resemble respectable duties of a man in yellow with a bright red or orange protective helmet.The firestation is different from the traditional fire station as a place of safety with worry of confrontation. The war has changed the station into the new world consequences of accusations. The fire station has a hound that often sniffs out books spends it time barking at Guy because he senses the presence of books. (Telgen 139).The war has changed that firefighter that works for the state or county into enforcer that is responsible for burning books. The new world’sorder consists of censorship, prejudice;atmosphere has been censored after the war because the reading of books is what caused the catastrophic events that lead to censorship and burning of books. The firefighterof the past had the praiseworthy duty of protecting the community and the residents.

The Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 51 is written in parables about the world without books along with saving the world by saving Book of Ecclesiastes.” Then write my research paper proving that the books is about censorship after the war, control of people, keeping people from freedom and without the word of God.Bradbury believes the younger generation does not understand his novel “Fahrenheit 51” because during a lecture at UCLA the students adamantly stated the novel was about the government censorship, which he disagreed then walk out of the lecture (Johnston 3).

In addition, the critics label the story line of the book about government control over people and what they see or hear. The dual character of Guy Montag as the protagonist, and rebel. In the real world, Guy is surrounded by television that is brain washing the worldincluding his wife Mildred. His wife and Guy are protagonist that are rebelling against the burning of book, censorship, literature is on the brink of extinction, and firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. He never question his wife’s destructive behavior however, his life is without meaning without books. Guy blames the interest groups, minorities, and television programming of mindless shows that do not help the human race think for themselves. “What I’ve never understood is the way in which so many people claim to love the anti-censorship message of the story, but fail to notice it’s we TV watchers who are the villains.Society, by turning from the printed word towards television, brought about the dystopian world of book burning firemen” (Flock 3).

The intriguing foresight of this book by Ray Bradbury provides a glimpse in the world we live today. Ray Bradbury is way ahead of his time writing about society, as it may exist today with big corporation’s controlling interest groups, leaders using minorities to gain votes for control of the masses. Today’s world, in contrast is controlled by the special interest groups that represent the corporation with the most dollars. Fahrenheit 451 presents a new society dominated by the wishes and control of the interest groups, the television media, and censorship destroying the world. The grim new world does not support any form of individualism nor any resemblance of intellectual knowledge through reading. The media outlet along with daily dosages of television aimed at destroying the family unit. “The idea that television, or the internet for that matter, will someday turn mankind into oblivious automatons is short sighted… There’s nothing to gain by willfully ignoring an avenue for gaining knowledge based on unfounded bias” (Flock 2).

The hearth and the salamander is an interesting play on the firefighters is believe in the fireplace in the home as the hearth and the salamander as the symbol of the fire truck. This is parable used by Ray Bradbury to represent protecting the home with the comfort of a warm fire. In contrast, Guy Montag is at home with his life in shambles with his wife constantly on the verge of suicide, like the flames of the fire. This is a literary parable concerning the overall meaning of the theme that destroying the fabric of the home, you can destroy the world. The symbolism is fire as a constant in the life of the firefighters at home and at work while salamander is reminder of firemen has lost integrity (Sparknotes 2). The fire flames in the home present how Guy’s marriage is flaming out because of his wife’s constant watching of the television. The fire in the station represents the honor of the fireman with symbols representing the crest and responsibility of the fireman. The fire represents the burning of books as an act against society that the end is coming because the people control the future. The fire represents the burning desire for Guy to change his way of life questioning the burning of books, which goes against his conscious.

The Fahrenheit 451 is not trying to solve a problem, which pulls the reader into the story. The narrator provides a commentary that neither suggests a reason nor identifies any reason the books are banned in the future. The banned books are a symbol that the world is heading towards the end of the world because our faith in humanity no longer exist whiles the interest groups and minorities have become the new government. The entire world has been condensed to several groups such as the followers accepting the banned of books, the non-readers. The non-readers just exist neither for nor against reading of books but they have accept the banned. The second group has accepted the banned books, however, they hostile advocates against society. This group thatantagonize anyone against the banned books. The third group are the people like Guy Montag, who has accept the banned of books, however, his jobs requires him to burn books. The fourth group is the population that is against book burning, who actively work to reserve books.

The Fahrenheit 451 reflects the importance of books in today’s and future societies. In addition, the transitional story of Guy, who finds new life and meaning symbolic of being reborn. Bradbury utilizes the symbolism to describe the changes such as the 451 emblem to signify firemen unity and the river flow reflects the changes with Guy. The novel challenges the theory of decisions of the democratic interest group may not bring happiness to everyone in that society. The voice in the background of the story about people must be allowed to be individual, which makes a society great. The same differences the interest groups and minorities are suppressing are the same differences that make all civilizations great.In this excellent narrated novel Fahrenheit 451 brings to life, the very things that we take for granted: freedomto choice.

The resemblance to the real world today is contrasted with the story line because we are immersed in television and radio to bring the news. The Internet and social networks bring us the news in real time. Not much difference than the futuristic world of Guy. The author Ray Bradbury writes about how society has gotten away from what makes civilizations prosper. The futuristic society is centered on immediate visual entertainment, self-gratification, and drifting through life with smelling a single rose. The busy day of life has become a trap because the citizens have become too busy to read a book. Instead, the television and radio is making them uninformed and robots waiting on someone else to give them the interpretation of life. Guy is a perfect example of being unaware, uninformed, and self-absorbed in burning books while relying what others say how to live and think.

The primary theme is the interest groups can control the people by controlling what they read. The society can not make changes or adjustments to humanity when oppressed. Bradbury cleverly used parables to explain that the government was not the oppressor it was the will of a few people or minorities. One of primary purposes of worldwide censorship of books is because the things we read invoke us to think outside of the box often leading to change or a revolution. Bradbury makes the point with Guy interest in saving the religious books to prevent the world from making the mistakes of previous civilizations. The knowledge must be passed on in order for the world to survive the futuristic wars.Bradbury sends a message throughout the novel exposing to the reader what happens when any group, government, or interest group controls what you read, view, and hear. The systematic burning of the books represents the destruction of the human race. In the end, Montag has grown to believe that the books not only save the world but it saves his own soul. Montag went from fireman to freethinker to advocate to hero saving the most precious gift to the world is the “Book of Ecclesiastes.” The goal is to preserve God in the lives of the new race.

Works Cited

American Library Association. (2014). Censorship of Fahrenheit 451: ALA’s Banned Books Resource Guide. Retrieved October 18, 2014 from http://faifebookclub.ala.org/?page_id=30

Cliffnotes. (2014).Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury. Retrieved October 18, 2014 from http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/fahrenheit-451/summary-and-analysis/part-1

Enotes. (2014).Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451. Retrieved October 18, 2014 from http://www.enotes.com/topics/fahrenheit-451

Flock, E. (2011). Fahrenheit 451,’ 50 Years Later, Still Sharply Divides Readers Over Ray Bradbury. Washington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2014 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/post/fahrenheit-451-50-years-later-still-sharply-divides-readers-over-ray-bradbury/2011/08/26/gIQAn596fJ_blog.html

Johnston, A.E. (2007, May).Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 Misinterpreted. Retrieve October 18, 2014 http://www.laweekly.com/2007-05-31/news/ray-bradbury-fahrenheit-451-misinterpreted/

Rotten Tomatoes. (2014). Fahrenheit 451. Retrieved October 18, 2014 from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007003-fahrenheit_451/

Sparknotes. (2014).Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/section1.rhtml

Telgen, D. (2007).Fahrenheit 451: Novels for Students: Character Overview, Critical Essay, Plot Summary.CenageLearning.Vol. 1,138-157