Theme Of Humanity In Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, positions his readers to see the future world in a negative light. He sees the essence of humanity as individuality, the capacity to form intimate relationships and to reflect on our lives. Several key characters are crucial to the novel’s plot and thematic concerns. The awakening of humanity depicted in Montag’s characterisation, captured through Bradbury’s use of narrative voice and diction becomes, in my mind, inspirational. We are asked to question the values that underpin this dystopia and this is essential in shaping our understanding of the values we should all share.

Montag’s characterisation is inextricably linked to our understanding of other characters and shapes our view of the novel. When Clarisse confronts Montag and the values of society, where
But this is just a tool of power as the deliberate dumbing down of the population; to keep them happy and ignorant. Captain Beatty reasons that a book “breaches a man’s mind” and conflicts with society’s purpose; “we must all be alike.” This indicates the turning point of the conversation and why the motivation for keeping people ignorant becomes obvious. It has a sinister overtone suggesting oppression. Through Captain Beatty’s voice, readers sense the irony and the issues that burning books raises; the loss of individuality and the ability to question. This allows the authority to bend the society to its will without resistance and promotes the reasoning: without books which “breach a man’s mind”, we are equal therefore, “happy”. Captain Beatty goes on to say: “Don’t we give them fun? That’s all we live for, isn’t it?” He believes the meaning of our lives is “pleasure” and “titillation” and defends the “culture” of the society because it “provides plenty of these”. Life is not just limited intellectual lives and hedonistic