David+A+Fahrenheit+451

Fahrenheit 451...the temperature at which books burn.

By: David Ayers

The time is near in the future, and the place is in a futuristic American city. Other than that, the rest is left up to the imagination. We do know that people in this futuristic place no longer do activities outdoors; no longer think or do things as individuals; and most importantly, they no longer read books.

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This is where we meet the protagonist of the novel, Guy Montag. The first encounter with Guy is when he's recalling how good he feels when he is doing his job. He is a fireman whose job is, ironically, to start fires rather than put them out. His job is to burn books.

"It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. 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 of history" (Bradbury 3).

His job, and the gratification it brought him, fooled him into thinking he was happy. He only realized, and began to question his life and happiness after meeting a weird, young girl named Clarisse McClellan. Within the next few days, Guy experiences many life changing events in fast succession. The first is his wife overdosing on sleeping pills, the second is watching a woman being burned alive with her books, and the third is discovering that Clarisse had been killed by a speeding car. These events cause him such insanity that he turns to books for answers.

One morning, he gets sick thinking about everything that has happened lately. As if he had known that Guy would be sick, Captain Beatty showed up at his house. He then proceeds to tell Guy his "choppy" version on the history of firefighters, and how their job turned in to burning books. After his speech, Beatty asks Guy if he will come back to work that day, and Guy responds with a feeble "maybe," when in reality, he decided he would never go back to the fire station. From then on, he tries to read the books that he has stolen from houses, but to no avail. He then seeks out the help of an English professor he once met, named Faber.

With the help of Faber, Guy plans on bringing down the way society operates. They plan on reprinting books, along with lowering the credibility of current firefighters by placing books in their homes. Guy brings a book to the fire house, which he gives to Captain Beatty. Beatty then begins to start quoting literature in an attempt to make Guy think that it is confusing and useless. In the middle of this, the alarm in the fire house goes off. They respond to the alarm, only to find out they were called to Guy's house, and that Guy was turned in by his wife, Mildred. Captain Beatty then makes Guy burn his own house down before he arrests him. But as Beatty is yelling at Guy, he pulls the hose on the Captain, starting him on fire. Guy escapes, and is a fugitive from then on.

As he's running away, he goes to Faber's house. There, he and Faber come up with a plan to throw the police off of his trail. They decided that Guy should head for the river, and that he should switch into Faber's clothes to throw off the trail. It works, and Guy makes it to the river. He floats downstream until he gets out into the country. Once he is in the country, he follows a set of old railroad tracks, and eventually meets a group of educated outlaws, who call themselves "The Book People". Their leader's name is Granger, and they welcome Guy. Guy learns that they are part of a big chain of educated people who love books, and he is soon assigned the task of memorizing the Book of Ecclesiastes. When he is with the Book People, fighter jets sweep over the city and drop their bombs, destroying everything.

Seeing that everything he left behind is gone, Guy leads the group upstream, and on towards a new life.

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This novel was actually really good. I found myself not being able to stop reading, due to the fact that I wanted to see how the ending all came together. The development of the characters throughout the novel was absolutely fantastic. This is where I personally thought that Ray Bradbury excelled. When I was reading, I felt the same emotions as Guy was feeling.

The only thing that I thought really didn't work was the setting. I had no idea what timeframe this novel took place in, nor did I know where it took place. I think it would have helped my reading experience had I known those things.

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This novel was written in a way that makes us think in the direction our country is heading. Bradbury's vision of our future is that of mindless individuals who spend too much time watching TV, and no longer doing anything requiring intelect. This is an extremely disturbing thought, because where would our country be today without intellectual people? Bradbury is, in a way, forewarning us of a future that may occur if we stay on the same technological path we are on now. It made me rethink the way I look at technology, and how much literature has impacted our society.

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This novel is on the "Outstanding Books for the College Bound" list because of how it makes you contemplate just what our society could turn in to. When you compare the book, to life now-a-days, there are some frightening similarities. I would definitely recommend this book to others, as long as they are willing to take time as they read to think about what the book's underlying themes are, and how they relate to current life. Bradbury's predictions of our country's future makes for a great read.

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 * About Ray Bradbury**




 * Born : August 22nd, Waukegan, Illinois
 * He was the third son of Leonard and Esther Marie Bradbury
 * He's known as an author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, etc.
 * Has made over 500 short stories, essays, novels, plays, etc.

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Works Cited:


 * Bradbury, Ray. //Fahrenheit 451.// New York: Ballantine Books, 1953.
 * Fahrenheit 451 Photo. [Online Image] Available [|bookishpenguin.wordpress.com/.../]
 * Ray Bradbury Photo. [Online Image] Available [|goremasterfx.wordpress.com/.../]
 * "Fahrenheit 451: Movie Trailer" Youtube.com. 21 Jan 2009. []
 * "Ray Bradbury Online - Biography." //Ray Bradbury Online.// 21 Jan 2009. []