Alicia kim's blog

Introduction:
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, published in 1953. It follows the perspective of the main character, Guy Montag, in a future American world where books are illegal. The story was also made into a film in 2018, starring Michael B. Jordon. This is one of the most-read books by students.

Plot:
Guy Montag is a firefighter who burns books in a futuristic America. He lives in a society that doesn’t read or think for themselves. One day, Montag meets a young girl named Clarisse who opens his eyes to see how empty his life is. This leads Montag to start reading the books he’s supposed to burn. He tries to share his new knowledge with others, but his wife turns him to the authorities. Montag must decide whether to run or stay and fight for the right to read and think freely. Montag’s boss, Beatty, forces him to burn his own house. Montag fights back, killing Beatty with the flamethrower. He escapes the firemen and destroys the Mechanical Hound chasing him. Montag flees to Faber’s house and then escapes downstream. He joins a group of intellectuals who have memorized books, hoping to rebuild society after the city is bombed during a war. Montag and his new friends search for survivors.

Analysis:
The story happens in an oppressive society. Montag lives in a world where people are constantly entertained and distracted, leaving them disconnected and depressed.
Montag’s transformation from book-burner to book-lover represents humanity’s need for knowledge, complexity, and independent thought, rather than just mindless entertainment and happiness. The novel warns against the dangers of a society that suppresses free thinking. He also lives in an environment where there are no personal feelings included when living with others. We can observe when Montag’s wife, Mildred, turns him to the authorities, even though usually they would cover for each other in the world we live in. Another thought about Mildred turning her husband to the authorities is because she didn’t love him as much as to go far as breaking the rule and covering for him. However, Beatty and Faber have been so generous compared to Mildred, as they give him chances and shelter. One of the symbols in the book is Clarisse. She is a character like a fairy godmother as she changes the way Montag thinks and disappears from the book. She plays the role of support to the main character, Montag, but also she acts like a crystal orb as she is the only one who knows about the past and what happened to humans before them when no one knew about the past. Beatty is also a support role as he tries to change Montag’s thinking by giving him chances to burn all the books but ends up failing. However, he is also a bit like an antagonist because he supports the authorities’ decision. The book contains many plots that show betrayal and support. The theme may be betrayal and support. When Mildred, Montag’s wife, betrayed him and turned him to the authorities, his boss, Beatty, and his friend, Faber, didn’t betray Montag and each tried to stop and support him.

Conclusion:
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, published in 1953. The story is about a firefighter, Guy Montag, who meets a young girl named Clarisse who makes him doubt the world he lives in. He started to read books when he should burn or destroy them. His boss, Beatty, tries to stop him from reading the books but Montag ends up killing his boss. He flees to his friend’s house and then meets a group of intellectuals who have memorized the books. The novel shows the contrast between the life of Montag before and after meeting Clarisse and reading books. This represents the human’s need for knowledge, own thoughts, and complexity instead of happiness and entertainment. The book has many symbols; one of them is Clarisse who acts as a fairy godmother to Montag and shows him the truth. This book has many themes such as friendship, support, and betrayal. The novel also shows that we should be grateful for being able to read any books freely without having to get turned in to the authorities and eventually die.