Fahrenheit 451 Setting Analysis

The setting in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a very controlled and powerful atmosphere. The burning of books is a prime example of the control the government has on society. Not only does the society lack knowledge, they live in an up roaring city where your own neighbors will turn against you in a second. The controlled setting reinforces the story’s central idea that a culture can be stymied when government decides to eliminate freedom of expression and original thought. This theme is further reinforced by the cultural/historical/biographic influences of the time this book was written, specifically: the beginning of the Civil Rights movement and the McCarthy trials and communism. In December of 1955, the Civil Rights Movement was beginning when a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white male. The government showed an enormous agreement with the white population rather than the black. In an interview with Rosa Parks, she states, “…he wanted to know if I was going to stand up, and I told him I was not. And he told me he would have me arrested. And I told him he may do that. And of course, he did” (Parks). The severity of Parks’
crime at this point in time led to her arrest and conviction. Rosa had violated the laws of segregation, also known as the Jim Crow Laws. The lack of integration with the black and white community was becoming infuriating for the blacks. The control that the government had on society was so severe that it took much time and effort to see even the slightest change. A boycott was in discussion to finally go against the government and show that blacks and whites should be treated equally. The main concern of the people was whether the boycott would be efficient or a failure. Martin Luther King Jr. played a big role in the starting of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. An article written about this event states, “He was pleasantly surprised when bus after empty bus rolled past his house that morning” (“The Montgomery Bus Boycott”). Similarly, in Fahrenheit 451, the government was so powerful that it caused fear and paranoia for the citizens. The government had much control over the activities the people could participate in and the fun they were allowed to have. However, each and every person’s idea of fun and happiness was completely different. Each had a different dream and goal in life. Beatty expressed to Montag that his happiness was being dumb with the lack of books and knowledge. This is shown when Beatty states:
You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can’t have our minorities upset and stirred.
Ask yourself, What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn’t that right? Haven’t you heard it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren’t they? Don’t we keep them moving, don’t we give them fun? That’s all we live for, isn’t it? For pleasure, for titillation? And you must admit our culture provides plenty of these (Bradbury, p.56).
This shows the different views on happiness in the society. Burning books eliminates people from learning and experiencing new ideas. However, Beatty believes that this makes people happy and by limiting society’s freedom it will eliminate controversy as well as one person being inferior over the
other. Segregation was happening not only on busses but all public places. The 1950’s was an era of complete separation of races. Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case that argued the segregation in schools is unconstitutional. An article about this Supreme Court case states, “The plaintiffs in Topeka did not charge that the schools' facilities their children attended were inferior, but that segregation itself did psychological and educational damage to black children forced to attend schools isolated from the other children in the community” (Kansas Historical Society). The Jim Crow Laws were enacted to explain the separation between races. The norms of the Jim Crow etiquette specifically stated, “Blacks and whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did eat together, whites were supposed to be served first, and some sort of partition was to be placed between them” (Pilgrim). This shows the separation in many public places. It was believed that whites were superior to blacks and the minority’s facilities were inferior to the whites’. This is similar to Fahrenheit 451 because the control over society is greatly expressed in public places such as restaurants, transportation and even schools. The 1950’s began an era of much fear and paranoia in society’s eyes. Senator Joseph McCarthy only added to this fear. America heavily relied on the media for information which caused many assumptions and conspiracies. In an article written about McCarthyism it states, “An atmosphere of fear of world domination by communists hung over America in postwar years” (“McCarthyism”). Joseph McCarthy expressed his opinions and ideas about communism and used it to cause great stress on the United States during a very sensitive time period. In McCarthy’s speech in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9th, 1950 he states, “I have in my hand 57 cases of individuals who would appear to be either card carrying members or certainly loyal to the Communist Party, but who nevertheless are still helping to shape our foreign policy” (“McCarthyism”). In this speech, Senator Joseph McCarthy states the names of innocent citizens who he believed to be in the Communist Party. This interfered with the reputation of these citizens. Similarly to Fahrenheit 451, when victims were found to be disobeying the law such as owning books, they were exposed to the rest of society and publically embarrassed such as Joseph McCarthy did to the victims he believed to be in the Communist Party. As a result, the setting in a novel can reinforce the major theme of the work. The controlling, powerful setting in Fahrenheit 451 reinforces the story’s idea of censorship and the power the government has on society. The government eliminates the citizens’ freedom of expressing new ideas and inquiring knowledge. The theme of Fahrenheit 451 is reinforced by the influences of the time this book was written specifically by the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and McCarthyism and communism. The Civil Rights Movement had a great impact on the United States and began the movement towards integration between the blacks and whites. McCarthyism and communism added to the stress of America and caused much stress for society. Each of these topics had an impact on society in America during the 1950’s as well as reinforcing the major theme in Fahrenheit 451.