classics

A book revolving about the burning and destruction of books seems kind of ironic, right? But that is exactly what the plot of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is based on. Taking place in the not so distant future, Fahrenheit 451 revolves around one fireman, Guy Montag, whose job was to start fires instead of stop them. Living in a world where is was a crime to read books, punishable by getting your house burned down, and where the government controls all forms of entertaining media, Montag never questioned what he did for a living. All this changes one day when he meets a strange seventeen-year-old girl on the way home from work one day, and asks him a simple question; "Are you happy?" This triggers a chain reaction within Montag when he comes to the conclusion that he is, in fact, not happy with his life. Throughout the rest of book, we see how Montag struggles with this and how he quests to do something about it.
Bradbury breaks down Fahrenheit 451 into three parts. In the first, the reader is introduced to the protagonist, Guy Montag, and his life and background information up to this point. However, as mentioned earlier, when he meets the young girl, Clarisse McClellan, everything is turned upside down for him, making this the defining moment of this part. She asks him if he is happy which starts to make Montag really sit down and think, a rarity for the people in this particular setting.
"He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask and the girl had run off across the lawn with the mask and there was no way of going to knock on her door and ask for it back," (Bradbury 12)

Through the author's use of similes, it is easy to see that this is the beginning of the change within Montag after his encounter with Clarisse.

From there on, the reader experiences the inner conflict raging within Montag, and then later, outside him. With Bradbury's frequent use of symbolism and metaphors, the reader can get a clear picture of just what is going on in the protagonist's head, yet not so much that the reader would not have to think about it. The way Bradbury writes with these literary devices also helps him depict the imagery of each scene. An example being:
"With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins if history," (3).

Keeping with one of the themes of the book, Bradbury is also constantly comparing things to the aspects of fire, or fire to a blooming flower and he compares books to wings or birds of purity and peace. The unique style in which Bradbury combines these traits helps to distinguish Fahrenheit 451 into the classic novel that it is.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Fahrenheit 451. I found the plot intriguing and oddly believable for a futuristic sci-fi piece. It was written in a way easy to understand yet not so simple that it takes away from the novel. The characters were well developed and the protagonist was likable as well as easy to sympathize with. There was little to complain about except maybe the ending seemed a bit too abrupt. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good science fiction story.

In Ray Bradbury's Fahenheit 451, we get to look at a futuristic world where books are banned and reading is prohibited. The narrator is a firefighter named Montag and unlike the firefighters of out modern society the firefighters of Montag's world start fires to burn books as opposed to extingushing fires to help citizens. Through the novel, we see how the government controls society by watching the citizens everymove and controlling what they may see or hear by using their own propaganda. This can be seen through Montag's wife, who is a drug using zombie addicted to watching government TV twenty four hours a day. Montag eventually becomes a victim when becomes interested in the books he is hired to destroy, steals them and hides them in his home. Through Montag's experiences we get a close look at how individuals in his world have no control of their destiny. However, when it seems most bleak and Montag is close to being discovered, Bradbury introduces some savior like characters. Fleeing from the law, Montag finally discovers the Book People living in the forest. These people memorize books and then they repeat the book to others so that books will live on forever in their memory even though they are being destroyed by the government. Although Bradbury builds a complex plot, the message is simple, when a society tries to control peoples basic freedoms so that they can manipulate them with their own propaganda, its time to start heading for the woods.

I've heard so many people say they've been influenced by Bradbury (writers and others) and I can see why--this is simply a great novel. Bradbury is really a national treasure. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, don't miss him. His stories are priceless. (Especially the one about his anger at people telling him for years that he was crazy to believe man would set foot on the moon in his lifetime. He said he called up every person who laughed in his face the night Neil Armstrong did--and pretty much laughed in their faces!) There is a fantastic one-on-one interview with him in the Walt Disney Tomorrowland-Disney in Space and Beyond DVD (interviewer is Leonard Maltin). His friendship with Disney (a fellow futurist) was fascinating. But it's the sense of wonder and child-like curiosity and optimism (not childish or blind optimism as he clearly understands what can create a dystopia) that make you realize why he is a national treasure. He's inspired me to look to the future, to look up, to look forward, to always be wary and alert to what can go wrong, (and the dangers of closed or lazy minds) BUT not to let any of that stop you--that anything is possible in a world willing to believe, in a free world with open and curious minds.