Examples Of Fire In Fahrenheit 451
Image of Fire in “Fahrenheit 451”
In “Fahrenheit 451,” firefighters rush to homes and start fires, rather than prevent them. Ray Bradbury’s story depicts a futuristic society where fire has become the matter of a significant dispute. On one side, fire is seen as almost a cleansing tool used to purify the thoughts of ordinary citizens by protecting them from reading “dangerous” works of writing by burning all copies of forbidden books. The government tells its people that reading books would be terrible for the common good but truly know that allowing people to read books would lead to the people’s questioning of the government’s authority. From an opposite perspective, however, fire is a destructive tool used by the government to …show more content…
take away freedom, knowledge, and power from the people. They fear that if the government continues to burn all books, citizens will become nothing more than programmed humans. Nevertheless, it can safely be said that fire plays two very different roles in the novel.
The fascist government has turned reading books into a criminal act because they fear that if their citizens begin to read books, the citizens will also begin to develop their own, independent thoughts. When fascist governments have come into power in history, they have always tended to focus not on living conditions, restoring prosperity, and fixing the problems, but rather on maintaining their own power by playing with the minds of the people. In “Fahrenheit 451,” this is exactly the case. The government is very afraid that if books become accessible to the public, people will understand new concepts and ideas that they had not before. Inevitably, they would begin to branch off on their own thoughts and opinions which could potentially be damaging as the people would question the morality and ethicality of the government’s practices. To prevent a rebellion or outrage amongst the people, the government is unwilling to be doubted or risk losing its power and uses the virtually total control to their advantage by censoring all books from the public. With fire, the government is able to prevent books from being read and also maintain control.
The ordinary citizens, including the firefighters, who have fallen under the fascist government’s ways like Mildred believe that reading books would be detrimental to not only their own health, but the health of the common good. The people have always been taught to think of books and literature as the root of all evil and fire as the answer to all their problems. They find books to be utterly useless, pointless, and often dangerous. For entertainment, they instead turn to “The Parlor,” a show created by the government to keep their people happy and busy. The show takes them away from reality and into a new dimension that feels the same, if not better, in the same way that books do for people like Guy Montag, Faber, and the Book People. By watching the show and burning books, the people are unknowingly deceived but pleased and happy with their government. And by lighting books on fire for the government, firefighters believe that they are fulfilling a civic duty and protecting and serving the people. Fire makes the people feel protected and safe in their community from the dangers of the outside world. However, by praising and glorifying fire, the people simply pick up speed as they walk on the road paved by the government, the road to absolute control and submissiveness.
On the contrary, fire is seen by others such as Granger’s book preservation group as an opportunity for the government to take away what little freedom the people still have.
With the fascist government in “Fahrenheit 451,” it can be easily inferred that books are not the only subject of limitation. It was said that cars were only allowed to drive at very high speeds and walking on the streets was forbidden, and that if people did otherwise, they would be given hefty fines and in some cases taken into custody. From this, it is almost obvious that the fascist government is trying to control all aspects of people’s lives. However, books have always been the way for these people to escape the harsh realities, and when the books, too, became forbidden, they were furious. To them, books are one of the last hopes they can hold on to. With fire, however, the government is quick in its mission to burn all copies of books. Fire is seen to be just as despicable and evil as the fascist government.
The dual image of fire in “Fahrenheit 451” shows how fascism can initially be appealing to some as it seems to create a utopian-like society, but will always end disastrously. In the story, fire to many takes away what they think of as the root of all evil: books. The government’s constant propaganda and teaching has turned almost the entire population into a perfect and programmed body. The others see books as the last hope for the fascist government and are appalled by the thoughts and actions of not only the government, but also all the people. The story shows
how
In “Fahrenheit 451,” firefighters rush to homes and start fires, rather than prevent them. Ray Bradbury’s story depicts a futuristic society where fire has become the matter of a significant dispute. On one side, fire is seen as almost a cleansing tool used to purify the thoughts of ordinary citizens by protecting them from reading “dangerous” works of writing by burning all copies of forbidden books. The government tells its people that reading books would be terrible for the common good but truly know that allowing people to read books would lead to the people’s questioning of the government’s authority. From an opposite perspective, however, fire is a destructive tool used by the government to …show more content…
take away freedom, knowledge, and power from the people. They fear that if the government continues to burn all books, citizens will become nothing more than programmed humans. Nevertheless, it can safely be said that fire plays two very different roles in the novel.
The fascist government has turned reading books into a criminal act because they fear that if their citizens begin to read books, the citizens will also begin to develop their own, independent thoughts. When fascist governments have come into power in history, they have always tended to focus not on living conditions, restoring prosperity, and fixing the problems, but rather on maintaining their own power by playing with the minds of the people. In “Fahrenheit 451,” this is exactly the case. The government is very afraid that if books become accessible to the public, people will understand new concepts and ideas that they had not before. Inevitably, they would begin to branch off on their own thoughts and opinions which could potentially be damaging as the people would question the morality and ethicality of the government’s practices. To prevent a rebellion or outrage amongst the people, the government is unwilling to be doubted or risk losing its power and uses the virtually total control to their advantage by censoring all books from the public. With fire, the government is able to prevent books from being read and also maintain control.
The ordinary citizens, including the firefighters, who have fallen under the fascist government’s ways like Mildred believe that reading books would be detrimental to not only their own health, but the health of the common good. The people have always been taught to think of books and literature as the root of all evil and fire as the answer to all their problems. They find books to be utterly useless, pointless, and often dangerous. For entertainment, they instead turn to “The Parlor,” a show created by the government to keep their people happy and busy. The show takes them away from reality and into a new dimension that feels the same, if not better, in the same way that books do for people like Guy Montag, Faber, and the Book People. By watching the show and burning books, the people are unknowingly deceived but pleased and happy with their government. And by lighting books on fire for the government, firefighters believe that they are fulfilling a civic duty and protecting and serving the people. Fire makes the people feel protected and safe in their community from the dangers of the outside world. However, by praising and glorifying fire, the people simply pick up speed as they walk on the road paved by the government, the road to absolute control and submissiveness.
On the contrary, fire is seen by others such as Granger’s book preservation group as an opportunity for the government to take away what little freedom the people still have.
With the fascist government in “Fahrenheit 451,” it can be easily inferred that books are not the only subject of limitation. It was said that cars were only allowed to drive at very high speeds and walking on the streets was forbidden, and that if people did otherwise, they would be given hefty fines and in some cases taken into custody. From this, it is almost obvious that the fascist government is trying to control all aspects of people’s lives. However, books have always been the way for these people to escape the harsh realities, and when the books, too, became forbidden, they were furious. To them, books are one of the last hopes they can hold on to. With fire, however, the government is quick in its mission to burn all copies of books. Fire is seen to be just as despicable and evil as the fascist government.
The dual image of fire in “Fahrenheit 451” shows how fascism can initially be appealing to some as it seems to create a utopian-like society, but will always end disastrously. In the story, fire to many takes away what they think of as the root of all evil: books. The government’s constant propaganda and teaching has turned almost the entire population into a perfect and programmed body. The others see books as the last hope for the fascist government and are appalled by the thoughts and actions of not only the government, but also all the people. The story shows
how