Fahrenheit 451
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Extremely frequent use of metaphor and simile, especially nature comparisons
Limited third-person narrator
Paranoia
The timeline is vague, the location is vague, description of the technology
The book is from 1953
Written soon after World War 2. Germans were burning Jewish books. The books evoke an idea of continuous, never-ending wars, so people don’t even care about the war.
Society is quite preserved. It does not want people to learn new things and develop. No conversations and fewer things to think of.
People are not used to the light. It is shown when Clarisse’s house is described as something obscene. Once again, people have less chance to “see” each other and the truth.
Marriage has 0 sense. People don’t love each other; they don’t want kids. As if they do it because the government wants them to
See shells == ear bugs. And the government is playing the radio in the shells for regular brainwashing.
In Fahrenheit 451, every book is presented as something that has no meaning but conveys the reasons to be unhappy.
Another consequence of totalitarianism is that nobody trusts anybody. So, everybody snitched on everybody. An example is the beginning of the third chapter when Mildred and her friends snitch on Montag.
Dystopian science fiction – shows the issues of society. In this case, totalitarianism and its consequences
Utopia – the story of a perfect society
When people don’t think, it is easier to control
“the word intellectual became the swear word it deserved to be.”
The smart boy is the one who is beaten, so we must equalize everybody
Books contradict each other; they cause thinking and highlight differences between people and races.
The federal government/department runs the fireman department. In real life, firemen are employed by local authorities. If the federal government controls firemen, it has to be wrong, they have reasons for taking over the fireman, and this is how totalitarianism starts.
There is no information about history because there are no books. So, it helps the government to rule the total control and make up or change the truth. Easy to guide people in any direction.
They burn at night to make it brighter, highlight the burning, and threaten people.
Totalitarianism always wants to prove that they are the best regime.
"While the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch...”
This is significant because the connotations of 'pigeon' are freedom, flying, and travelling great lengths. This symbolizes how one is transported when reading a book. One can soar and travel into the story and be free to imagine and think whatever one wants. This also applies to the writer of the book. Writers can imagine anything they want and put it on paper to share with the world. Pigeons were also used as messengers, which can relate to the fact that books are messengers. The personification of books "dying" symbolizes the death of shared knowledge, messages, and the freedom that books bring. Causing a "pigeon" to die is violent and brutal. So the death of these books is violent and brutal.
The description is continuously referring to nature and compares everything with nature. At the same time, nature is missing in the book, as if nothing is around the people but technology and artificially created things.
Symbolism for immortality, renewal and everlasting hope urges resilience and overcoming obstacles. Widely perceived as a fiery-driven bird to represent the ongoing of the human spirit and used in mythological books and movies. Phoenixes originate in ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology and are associated with the sun god".
In the book, the phoenix's rebirth mimics the city's fate since it was reduced to ashes. It also foreshadows the end of the work.
The Phoenix is a consistent being that undergoes several deaths and rebirths. Phoenix symbolises undying perseverance despite expected opposition and blockade towards its goals. In addition, the Phoenix rebirth from ashes to become a better version of itself, which is symbolic of the book because burning the house to ashes activates Montag’s mind about the book's burning purpose and makes him better. Also, the bird is associated with a life cycle in certain cultures, similar to Montag questioning the nature of totalitarianism in his country.
The firemen in Fahrenheit 451 wear a badge with a symbol of a salamander
A salamander was believed to be a mythical creature that could withstand fire; when a salamander would be burned or set on fire, it would come out unharmed.
The fireman used the salamander as it symbolized power and protection. The firemen believed they were “related to the creature” as their goal was to burn down books/ houses to “protect” people from the books. In addition, the firemen have incredible power in the society that Fahrenheit 451 is written. The fireman might relate to being “fireproof” as they always construct the fire and never get harmed in the fire.
Fire gives them the power to control everything and everyone. The idea of the salamander and phoenix is that the fire department is making a new, better society instead of an old bad book reader nation.
"Hearth and home" refer to someone's home and family life; in this context, it compares Montag's current family life, and home, which seems to be sad and miserable whilst the phrase is something positive, but in this case, it is not. It evokes warmth and security that Montag does not get.
"Keep the home fires burning" means maintaining the basic daily routine and providing necessities.
In the heading “The Hearth And The Salamander”, Hearth refers to Montag’s family life and home. In contrast, a salamander refers to his job as a fireman since salamanders were believed to be able to resist fire. The reference to a hearth as domestic life is contradictory in Montag’s case, as his home is a cold, dark environment. Both subjects of the heading represent Montag's life throughout the first chapter.
The hearth symbolizes home, which this society is missing.
The significance of fire is that fire means destruction and provides warmth and shelter. Controlled fire provides people with a safe home, while uncontrolled fire is destructive. Everybody has a fire, but they use it to burn rubbish, not the warm.
The Bible is more important as history and cultural significance rather than religion. It is one of the reasons why book burning is about wiping out the culture, destroying its memory, but not the preparation for cooking on the fire.
1. Christians Burning Muslim books during the crusades eliminated "wrong" knowledge and dismantled their beliefs.
2. 1933 May-June Nazis Burning Jewish Books to establish power, show that Jewish religion is wrong, and eliminate intellectual knowledge of the past.
3. Chinese emperor in 213 B.C. burned books to give a sense of high symbolism and to destroy the enemy's beliefs because he considered that they were wrong and only true beliefs should be printed.
Compared to the book, they use book burning to keep society shrouded in lies and white lies in which they twist the truth to suit their needs best. It also keeps people development at a very low and stable level that allows having full control over the population.
Clarisse's uncle was driving 40 miles per hour and was jailed for two days. He was also arrested for being a pedestrian. Talking about society, it lives faster than we do. While we have upper-speed limits, the book’s society has lower speed limits. Also, the punishments are harsher.
They talk with each other, and they put on all the lights while talking. They were unusually “alive”, happy and talkative (p.26). Hence, the family is juxtaposed with the rest of the society that lacks family in its true sense and communication. Clarisse’s family disappears a night while they are doing unusual things.
She asked him whether he was happy or not. His answer seemed obvious "yes", but his hunches predicted the opposite. Later, after coming into the bedroom, he realized and admitted to himself that he was unhappy. Montag preferred the answer and later thought about whether he was truly happy. Clarisse asks and then disappears so that he can think alone. And afterwards, Montag starts to convince himself that he is happy even though he is not. And the books symbolize that he has collected for a while is one of the main reasons why he is not delighted.
He looks at the air conditioner and remembers his unhappiness because of the books he hides in the ventilation as if the books are looking at him. He did not think of taking and hiding the books. He steals the books unintentionally as if trying to find the missing piece of his life.
It felt empty, cold and unpleasant. There was no light. Moreover, as Montage stood in, he already felt something wrong had happened. There were no windows (p. 18, 19)
The main difference is in their attitude to life. Clarisse is constantly questioning every human action and enjoys nature. Mildred is not interested in any reasoning and is more familiar with technology than nature or people. She doesn’t even remember the time and the place where she first met Montag (p. 57, 58) Clarisse is incredibly curious. She is alive, seeks answers, and is described as beautiful. In the story, she is a freak for the government. Afterwards, the story shows Mildred is the opposite. She is ugly and slim, and her first appearance is almost dead. She barely talks, so her libs are thin. The outlook is symbolic.
Totally. She is the only person who is truly alive. She enjoys drinking the raindrops and uses flowers to make a love check (p.32). Unlike others, she has a tone of free time (p. 34)
She has all the characteristics that reflect what society lacks. Moreover, the perception that it is "insane" is used to highlight it and portray Bradbudy's idea of what future society should take care of.
A symbol of traditional family values and home life
Hearth means fireplace and the sitting area around it. Usually, the family sit around it often and spend time with one another around the hearth. Hearth for the word home.
The activation of the Hound scared him a lot (p.37, 38).
Montag gets irritated by his co-workers when they laugh around the old woman when her house is about to get burned down (page 50). He says that the lady shouldn't be in the house when it gets burned down; she should be. He hates himself that he is trashing all these precious books and says that he isn't doing these terrible things, but his hands with his mind of his own. He was also disappointed in himself when he couldn't save the lady from the fire (page 54). Montag is sick with guilt.
The hound is another foreshadowing. Moreover, it symbolizes the danger of technology.
No, the country is on the border of a war. “… war may be declared any hour. This country stands ready to defend it.”
Yet another symbol of destructive technology and how it might lead to death. On the other hand, the finale shows that the bombing was used to purify the city so that the dust-jackets could rebuild it.
Books are figments of imagination, which might cause a difference in people. So, for every member of society to be the same and has the same view on things, the fireteam should burn the books. (p. 78, 77).
Since they try to accomplish piece in the entire country, differences and minorities will cause distortion. Therefore, the oppressive government tries to eradicate individuality.
As a policeman and a judge, they are helping society to be “equal” and “unload the guns” by burning books and making people think. (p.77) The fireman looks the same, and the job is a generation thing, so they look like clones of each other and have the same image. They are robot-like policemen.
A lot of stress and attention is put on burning books and book deadliness. However, Beatty mentions that movies and radio had a vaster effect than books (p. 71, 72). At the same time, there is no information about dealing with movies and radio. But what is more important is that absence of books allowed us to rewrite history and twist the historical figures and what they did.
Since TV and radio can transmit information once (assumed that recordings are impossible), books save the past, and the government fears it. The government already uses TV and radio to brainwash people through tones of useless information and entertainment.
The woman quotes Latimer because he believed "his death would light a candle that might never be put out." Latimer was an English Protestant that was burnt. Latimer is a protestant. Executed for being a heretic. He died for his belief, so the lady from the book with the same belief in trusting books is also ready to face the same destiny.
Montage calls them relatives (p. 64). Mildred seems to like "relatives" more than she likes Montag because simple "shouting in the parlour" made her furious (p. 65) Parlour – family – the living room. TV has replaced relationships with real people and family. Mildred cannot explain what is shown. The aim is to brainwash. It has almost no meaning, and the people there scream at each other. Mildred wants to have 4 TV walls to be isolated. When Montag says he might stop working as a fireman and have a break, Millie is first worried about the fourth wall in the parlour, when people usually start to worry about the person and whether everything is fine with him.
She acted like burning a thousand books with a woman was nothing for her (p.66). Montag saw the event as something mind-turning. The critical thing is the kerosene smell. He used to love to burn books, but the event made him hate the kerosene and its smell, which turned his life upside down.
Montage can burn the book within 24 hours. Otherwise, other firemen will come and do it for him (p.82)
Beady is an officer of a fire department. He knows that Montag is staying home and that he has stolen a book. So, he comes to Montag to threaten him and convince following the correct right path. Beatty is not talking about the actual rules. He tries to threaten Montag, so he does not even think about reading books.
And Beatty partly achieved his aim. By the time he left the house, Montag was confused and uncertain about having books and their purpose in general. However, instead of immediately burning them, he asks for his wife’s help sorting out the truth.
After burning an old lady with her books, Montag realizes something is hidden inside the paper works. His guess confirmed Beatty with his talk about the history of a fireman. Therefore, he decided to read the books he collected over the year to understand what is the reason for such people like Beatty to be scared of Clarisse (p. 87 - 89)
It refers to Montag’s childhood when his cousin forced him to collect the sand with a sieve (p. 101-102). However, the more sand he put, the faster it escaped. Same with life. Montag was like a sieve trying to catch the sandy happiness. It also refers to a way of brainwashing in the book. The more information people get, the less time they have to think and question this data.
Alliteration. He is trying to memorize the passage from the bible because he is destructed and has too much information, which he cannot remember and focus on. The same is true of a society that does not remember anything. Evokes the feeling of futility.
He had a book in the park, and as soon as he realized Montag was not a thread for him, he gave him his contacts (p.98). Moreover, he quotes the poem and talks about the “meaning”, which might help Montag (same page)
Montag goes from one mentor to another, which develops his character. Faber explains that the meaning of the books matters more than the paper attached. Faber’s ex-university has a significant meaning that thinking is unnecessary in that world (literature, philosophy and so on). Separate natural and social sciences: natural sciences explain how it works, while social scientists question things and their sources. Science does not tell why.
He is scared that the Bible may be the very last copy in the world, so he doesn’t want to lose it (p.99). At the same time, Beatty might know which book did Montag take. So, if Montag brings the other book, Beatty might guess he has more books at home. (Same page)
The destructive fire is in every house instead of the trash can.
Faber sees himself as a failure. He could have protested when he had the chance to stop burning books, but he didn't, and then the decisions were already made, and Faber couldn’t do anything anymore to stop it. (p 106) Faber views Montag as a hopeless romantic. Montag believes that he misses something in life and that it is books. However, Faber believes Montag doesn’t miss the books out of his life but what is written in them. Books have things written in them that people might forget. That is why it's so crucial for Faber to perceive books so that we don’t forget what happened. (p 108). I agree with Faber that books alone don't have any meaning; it's just some words written on paper, but the words inside the books are what is essential and acquire knowledge.
They plan to print copies of the books, plant them inside the fireman’s houses and then call the alarm about the book, forcing the fireman to rethink their beliefs and collapse the firemen department (p. 115-116).
The plan undermines the ideology that society is built on. Total control is important because the majority think the fire department will burn the books, while they can do whatever they want. If people see that the fireman is reading books, it will collapse people’s view of the government, and the government will have to explain too many things.
The commercial has a repeating rhythm, which disturbs Guy and is stuck in people’s heads. This way, people are persuaded to listen to certain things repeatedly, disallowing them to think (p. 102).
The passage says that material things do not matter because God will care about them. The commercial says the opposite, screaming that you need to buy toothpaste. Books symbolize the willingness to think critically and the ability to think critically.
Books are saving history for us and the knowledge of our ancestors. This way, we can learn from past mistakes, so we are not repeatedly jumping from the same cliff (p. 111-112).
The books are meant to remind people of their mortality and misery. People who are smarter than others look bad and confusing. Conversely, smart people have no desire to explain the basics but are willing to explore more and develop. The books remind us that there is a lot of stuff to learn.
In this book, God puts Job through tests to check if he does the right thing. Montag will have to do the same: he will have to test himself to get the truth.
Beatty cannot be “one of us”. Despite quoting different books and authors, despite giving Montag a chance even though he knew that a fireman had at least a book, Beatty still is a fire department captain. He persuades Montag to think regularly and forget about the books (p. 136-140).
Beatty quotes the most in the book. At the same time, he might recruit the fireman into book saving by checking their faith in the department.
He compares it to a monstrous crystal chandelier tinkling in a thousand chimes (p. 121).
Bradbury compares Mildred and her friends to enabled creatures. The women have nothing interesting to say; they all repeat each other and talk about useless things.
The monstrous crystal chandelier makes useless high-pitched noise that annoys the ear.
When the chandelier makes noise, it is most likely to be high-pitched meaningless noise, as the conversation does not make any sense. Also, Montag does not have the time to eat together, and they do not interact; it seems more pronouncing random noises from time to time.
Everybody voted the same for a better outlook. They have selected a handsome, tall, slim guy with excellent manners instead of choosing the man who can run the country properly (p. 125-126).
The TV significantly affects the elections because people can see the person and start to pick the appearance rather than the ability to run the country. They do not treat people as human beings. Therefore, it matters to look competitive instead of being competitive.
The woman is used to everything going according to the plan, and the plan is that everything is fine while everybody is happy. The poem ruins this stereotype, so the lady starts crying and wants to see her family because this ”family” makes her happy (p. 130-131). She has never thought of consequences, which are wrong, and which she never even think of (p. 131).
“It’s always someone else’s husband who dies”. The poem is about a man standing in front of the shore and thinking, which is the opposite of the society Montag lives in. They also do not do anything that makes them sad and make them think. They do not do anything complex, which requires even a sense of thinking. Unlike others, Montag thought of the reason for his job and what he does for society, while others work to work without realizing what they are doing. Therefore, the people are covering the first step of the Maslow pyramid, and the government convinces or forces them to stop there.
The speaker refers to past philosophers, which makes him think of the symbolism. He thinks of the experience, which was the same experience back when these philosophers were alive. The speaker addresses his love differently from how Montag and Mildred communicate and show their feelings.
Montag and Mildred do not have any relationship. Even though they are married, they are married just because of custom and not because they love each other. They don’t even have a single common characteristic or time spent together.
Old Montag and New Faber. He was still a fireman who must burn the books without understanding why. But at the same time, he became more like a Faber who tried to understand the meaning of the books and shape himself with this knowledge (p. 133).
He felt cold and hot simultaneously, like comparing the destructive fire and an ice-cold brain trying to protect knowledge.
Unlike seashells, we can control what we are listening to. In Fahrenheit 451, they can listen only to the government radio, don’t talk back, and are constantly brainwashed.
"It's been a long time. I'm not a religious man. But it's been a long time." Faber turned the pages, stopping here and there to read. "It's as good as I remember. Lord, how they've changed it — in our 'parlours'. Christ is one of the 'family' now. It symbolises how they have changed the religion to match the current society and government needs. God is a technical "part of the family" because people in society don’t notice how important religion is (for the people who know what religion is) and believe that it's just a "family member".
They also use god in advertisements by using Denham’s dentifrice, a Bible passage.
They use God to advertise everything; religion has become the face of product placement.
Faber states that quality information, the leisure to digest, and the ability and freedom to act on what was learned from books are missing from a world without books (pg.108). We agree with the three points that Faber states because, in a world with books, we would not be able to have the freedom to pull conclusions on our own. For example, in their world, they have all been brainwashed and prohibited from having their ideas and thinking. They cannot have their ideas or even have the freedom to express and express their ideas. We would add that we cannot pass on the knowledge we learn without books.
Montag wants to read books because he believes they might help him understand what's wrong with society. Following his initial encounter with the free-spirited Clarisse, Montag begins paying attention to his emotional state and realizes that he is, in fact, quite unhappy. Montag talks to Mildred about how she killed herself and nearly died. He states, "People have too much fun, they’ve "forgotten the world". Books can help people answer questions that ask "why?" Montag needs answers, and Mildred is fixated on her superficial personality.
Mildred does not care about past events or even people. She is so focused on herself and the present that she cannot think and analyse. While Montag is thinking and trying to convince Mildred to read the books, she does not bother about it because everything she can think of is entertaining and watching the TV in the parlour.
He wanted Montag to feel miserable. He gives Montag the fire hose and sarcastically inspires Montag to pull the trigger.
On the other side, he might have thought that he had enough authority over Montag to fully control him and bring him back to the right side.
Fire is mostly used as a destructive power in the book. Therefore, “burning bright” represents the way of leading society to prosperity: the firemen are burning to ash everything that makes people unhappy, cleaning the path to a “bright” future. “The tyger” - tyger, tyger, burning bright. The poem is about nature, missing in the city and people’s minds. The fire is also representing the warmth after.
Before burning his house, Montag realizes that fire can be used for destruction and saving. While all the firemen were using the fire to destroy everything from books to consequences, the fire could also create warmth and produce saving heat (p. 154). However, the moment before, Montag was using the fire to destroy everything he wanted to forget (p.150-151).
He was satisfied with demolishing his past because it reminded him of himself. Burning the parlour with the TVs was incredibly satisfying because it reminded him of Mildred and the unstoppable flood of useless information. (p. 151) He is burning all the stuff that he bought but never used. He does not have any good memories of this house.
Both of the announcements were police alerts. The first one was saying that Montag is a criminal now, and people should try to spot him in the streets (p. 160). However, the second announcement convinces people to look for Montag from the window or the door (p. 178). In this case, because everybody is listening to the seashell and following the police instructions, there would be zero chance for anybody to hide.
Montag became a criminal in society and started his war with the government. It might represent the fighting with the past society to build the new one. The more significant conflict and the local Montag’s conflict have the same plot. It has the same boiling point.
By the time he started to cross the road, the car had nearly run over him (p. 154). Firstly, he thought of the police but realized there were children inside, so they would hit him just for fun. It reminds him of Clarisse, and Montag instantly becomes furious. (p. 165-166)
Officially, Clarisse was hit by the car. That’s why he instantly thinks of her. The highway is a symbol of technology and its danger. It is also compared to crossing the river later in the story.
He compares Montag to Icarus (p. 147). As a mythical character, Montag is trying to reach the verity, which is unachievable. But the cost of his failure is too high, and Montag will be punished.
The idea is that Icarus's father is making the wings from wax. He tells him not to fly high, but he does not listen to his father; the wings melt, and he dies. In the book, Beatty tells Montag not to overuse his chances of reading books. However, Montag did not listen and continued investigating books and their knowledge.
Montag begged for knowledge and explanation during the last visit, so he mostly wanted to listen to Faber. This time, he acts more confident, as if he has gained knowledge. Also, he is trying to make a plan for the nearest future and guides Faber on how to eliminate the smell to prevent the hound visit. (p. 174-175)
The first time they meet, Faber is the mentor, while the second time, Montag acts equally to Faber as if they are partners.
The river used to be the way to clean your body. In this case, the river and the water symbolize cleansing the soul and mind from old memories and the past to restart life from scratch. The river is the boundary he must cross to another life: nature and meaningful life. Also, water is the opposite of fire; it extinguishes the fire and cleanses Montag. Like the highway, a river is a natural place or a way for travelling.
Because of the totalitarianism in society, police have used seashells to persuade people to find Montag (p. 178). It is logical due to the immediate and significant increase in searching force.
The difference between the seashells and the green bullet is that the seashell does not listen; they are listening to the government propaganda. At that moment, brainwashing has reached the point when everyone can be like a robot listening and reacting to commands.
They call them this way because these people are motorizing books, which are abandoned by society and mixed with dust as unimportant knowledge. Dust might also represent the ashes of the books, which they burn to memorize their content. (p. 196)
The dust jackets memorise the books to prevent their disappearance; they save them inside themselves. You can get rid of books, but it’s harder to get rid of people’s ideas.
Instead of burning and destroying, the woods' fire conveyed warmth and safety (p.187). It represented the flip side of the fire, unfamiliar to Montag. Besides, people were not scared of the fire, as if they tamed it to help the people.
The forest gives Montag sensory overload. He can see only hands while everything else is hidden in shadow.
The significance of the grandfather’s profession is his legacy, which he left to the next generation. His wooden sculptures inspired Granger and others to create something unlike anybody else in the book (p. 201-202)
His grandfather created the sculptures, a legacy you can see and touch. Meanwhile, nobody in this society left a legacy behind him. If Mildred dies, nobody will even remember her existence.
He thinks that the mirror would help people to see themselves and what they are aiming for and “reflect” on their actions (p.209-210)
The last thing she sees before her death is that the TV shuts down, and she sees her reflection on the screen.
Society thought that they were burning books to have a better society. At the end of the book, the city is blown up to rise from the ashes to rebuild society from scratch. Therefore, the book's main aim and idea are that there is a turning point when society can not go back to its normal state, and the only way to fix it is to use atomic bombs.
This might be one of the questions for paper 2
Type out the summary of how the book was written in the library and the story of quotes
The way he gets the quotes is similar to Montag finding the books and the quotes
Bradbury could not go to colleagues, so he was educating himself in the libraries
His first short stories are just combined into Fahrenheit 451
The Pedestrian is the possible introduction of the ideas from Fahrenheit 451
He claims that the metaphors were written by accident as a habit, but he never tells it to anyone
Everything that might be helpful for the analysis is the thing to be spotted and highlighted
He had the temptation to add the novel and complete it, but he never did
Clarisse's appearance at the end sounds logical, but Bradbury did not do it
His novel is based on his previous ideas for short stories
