Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 Essay

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 has been highly regarded and analyzed by a variety of critics through its monumental plot, haunting language, and frighteningly relevant themes. The dystopian backdrop and themes of the novel are deeply connected to the environment of which the novel was written and the events that transpired throughout Bradbury’s life fuelled his artistic response to the McCarthyism era. Through deep analyzation of Bradbury’s life, Garyn G. Roberts concludes that, “Fahrenheit 451 is the result of the keen observations and personal experiences of its author; it is also a cultural artifact, which reflects who we were, who we are, and who we might become” (36). Bradbury has indeed developed a strong connection to books at a very early stage in his life and this has been presented in his own storytelling of the types of book he writes. Bradbury’s life can also be said to be an antithesis to Montag’s world since the presence and feelings associated with literature contrasts very well in their respective realms. Furthermore, Bradbury encourages his audience to examine the culture of which society is evolving towards throughout time in order to understand the functions and needs of human relationships. To support this analyzation, Andrea Krafft
considers the role of family in Bradbury’s overall messages of Fahrenheit 451 by stating that, “the notion of the family as a happiness machine recurs throughout Bradbury’s oeuvre, as he elevates the ideal of the home that refuses the senseless distractions of entertainment in favo[u]r of a community bound by conversation” (135). Krafft analyzes Bradbury’s bias on a community bound by social interactions as opposed to one dependent on technology for personal satisfaction. Bradbury uses multiple ways to illustrate the entertainment vs. conversation uses of technology on a family through further evaluation of Clarisse’s and Montag’s respective families. Before Mildred’s betrayal, Montag continuously tries to convince himself that he is happy with Mildred and their life together, however his home is dark and he feels emotionally empty in a place of living. In contrast, Clarisse’s house is lit up every night with noise and conversation - an event that sparks the curiosity amongst Montag’s dull life. Upon further analysis, Bradbury’s use of narrative structure and storytelling has been continuously criticized as, “the central irony of the book is that of Montag’s job, for in an era before such gender-neutral terms as firefighter or mail carrier or congressperson, Bradbury uses the linguistic ambiguity of the term fireman to transform a profession once considered perhaps the most unambiguous force for good into one sinister and threatening (McGiveron 11-12). Bradbury’s use of the fireman as the central antagonistic occupation provides readers with a sense of oddity as these paradigms of good become figures of evil against the written word. As opposed to policemen or medics, Bradbury specifically chooses firemen to be the central destroyers of books because their jobs entail saving people and salvaging the remnants of a house during a fire in Bradbury’s world. In Montag’s world, firemen are destroyers of homes and people thereby acting as oppressors and equalizers of society.

From the turn of each page, Fahrenheit 451 has become an instant classic in the booklists of many.
Ray Bradbury’s pristine writing, significant themes, and flow of writing inevitably define the masterful piece of work that Bradbury is trying to portray to his universal audience. The novel starts with an empty, dark world and ends with hope for rebirth of a new civilization with unique individuals who become literal passages of books themselves. Bradbury’s effective writing resonates with the readers as he personifies the book for a living creature capable of humanistic influences. The endless love of literature that Bradbury possesses is clearly apparent in many memorable lines of his novel
including