Various Notes

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Fahrenheit 451: Themes
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In LitCharts each theme gets its own color, as you can see in the colored boxes next to each theme title below. You can use these colors in the Summary and Analysis sections to track how each theme develops through the work.
Mass Media
Much of Fahrenheit 451 is devoted to depicting a future United States society bombarded with messages and imagery by an omnipresent mass media. Instead of the small black-and-white TV screens common in American households in 1953 (the year of the book's publication), the characters in the novel live their lives in rooms with entire walls that act as televisions. These TVs show serial dramas in which the viewer's name is woven into the program and the viewer is able to interact with fictional characters called "the relatives" or "the family." Scenes change rapidly, images flash quickly in bright colors, all of it designed to produce distraction and fascination. When not in their interactive TV rooms, many characters, including Guy Montag's wife Mildred, spend much of their time with "Seashell ear thimbles" in their ears—miniature radio receivers that play constant broadcasts of news, advertisements, and music, drowning out the real sounds of the world.
Throughout the novel, Bradbury portrays mass media as a veil that obscures real experience and interferes with the characters' ability to think deeply about their lives and societal issues. Bradbury isn't suggesting that media other than books couldn't be enriching and fulfilling. As Faber tells Montag, "It isn't books you need, it's some of the things that once were in books.... The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not." In an interview marking the fiftieth anniversary of the novel's publication, Bradbury indicated that some of his fears about mass media had been realized. "We bombard people with sensation," he said, "That substitutes for thinking."
Censorship
Books are banned in the society depicted in Fahrenheit 451.When they're found, they're burned, along with the homes of the books' owners. But it's important to remember that in the world of this novel, the suppression of books began as self-censorship. As Beatty explains to Montag, people didn't stop reading books because a tyrannical government forced them to stop. They stopped reading books gradually over time as the culture around them grew faster, shallower, intellectually blander, and centered around minor thrills and instant gratification. In such a culture, books became shorter, magazine and newspaper articles became simpler, cartoon pictures and television became more prevalent, and entertainment replaced reflection and debate.
Another factor that contributes to the growth of censorship in Fahrenheit 451 are minorities and what we might call "special interest groups." In order not to offend every imaginable group and sub-group—whether organized around ethnicity, religion, profession, geography, or affinity—every trace of controversy slowly vanished from public discourse, and magazines became "a nice blend of vanilla tapioca." In time, the word "intellectual" became a swear word, and books came to be seen as a dangerous means for one person to lord his or her knowledge and learning over someone else. Books, and the critical thinking they encouraged, became seen as a direct threat to equality. By making widespread censorship a phenomenon that emerges from the culture itself—and not one that is simply imposed from above by the government—Bradbury is expressing a concern that the power of mass media can ultimately suppress free speech as thoroughly as any totalitarian regime.
Conformity vs. Individuality
Pleasure-seeking and distraction are the hallmarks of the culture in which Montag lives. Although these may sound like a very self-serving set of values, the culture is not one that celebrates or even tolerates a broad range of self-expression. Hedonism and mindless entertainment are the norm, and so long as the people in the society of Fahrenheit 451 stick to movies and sports and racing their cars, pursuits that require little individual thought, they're left alone by society.
However, whenever individuals start to question the purpose of such a life, and begin to look for answers in books or the natural world and express misgivings, they become threats. Their questions and actions might cause others to face the difficult questions that their culture is designed to distract them from. For that reason, in the society of Fahrenheit 451 people who express their individuality find themselves social outcasts at best, and at worst in real danger.
Clarisse McClellan represents free thought and individuality. She's unlike anyone else Montag knows. She has little interest in the thrill-seeking of her peers. She'd rather talk, observe the natural world firsthand, and ask questions. She soon disappears (and is probably killed). Fahrenheit 451's society is set up to snuff out individuality—characters who go against the general social conformity (Clarisse, Faber, Granger, and Montag) do so at great risk.
Distraction vs. Happiness
Why has the society of Fahrenheit 451 become so shallow, indifferent, and conforming? Why do people drive so fast, keep Seashell ear thimbles in their ears, and spend all day in front of room-sized, four-walled TV programs? According to Beatty, the constant motion and titillation is designed to help people suppress their sadness and avoid any kind of intense emotion or difficult thoughts and experiences. The people of Fahrenheit 451 have to come to equate this motion, fun, and distraction with happiness.
However, Fahrenheit 451 makes the case that engaging with difficult and uncomfortable thoughts and experiences is the only routes to true happiness. Only by being uncomfortable, or experiencing things that are new or awkward, can people achieve a real and meaningful engagement with the world and each other. The people in the novel who lack such engagement, such as Mildred, feel a profound despair, which in turn makes them more determined to distract themselves by watching more TV, overdosing on sleeping pills, or letting technicians use a specialized machine to suck away their sadness. The result is a vicious cycle, in which people are terrified to expose themselves to any kind of emotion or difficulty because doing so will force them to face their pent-up despair, though in reality it's their avoidance of those thoughts and feelings that creates their despair. Only after he acknowledges his own unhappiness can Montag make the life-changing decision to find Faber and resist his society's oppressive "happiness" and thought-suppression that he, as a fireman, once enforced.
Action vs. Inaction
In the years up to and before World War II, many societies, including Germany, become dangerous and intolerant. Even so, their citizens were afraid to speak out against these changes. Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953, just a few years after WWII ended, and is very concerned with the idea of taking action versus standing by while society falters. In particular, the novel shows how Montag learns to take action, in contrast to Faber who is too cowardly to act. At the same time, Faber does help teach Montag the difference between reckless and intelligent action, so that by the end of the novel Montag is ready to act in a constructive rather than destructive way.
Animal Imagery
In the opening paragraph, the burning book pages are compared to birds trying to fly away. When Millie attempts suicide, Montag compares the tool used to save her to a snake. The Mechanical Hound is a dominant presence throughout the novel. The image of the salamander is dominant as well, as a symbol of the fireman. In addition, the story of the Pheonix plays a prominent role.
This animal imagery expresses the importance of nature in life. The lack of nature, or the manipulation of nature (i.e. the development of the Mechanical Hound), causes death and destruction. The only time animal imagery is positive in the entire novel is when Montag gets out of the river and encounters a deer. At first he thinks it is a Hound, but then realizes his mistake. The deer is peaceful, beautiful, and an expression of nature. This image welcomes Montag into his new life.
Technology
Technology in Bradbury's 24th century is highly advanced. Television screens take up entire parlor room walls and characters can speak directly to the listener, addressing him or her by name. Small seashell radios broadcast into people's ears throughout the day. People rely on inventions such as the Mechanical Hound and the snake-like tool used to save Millie's life after her suicide attempt. People drive cars at speeds of 150mph and above. Faber invents a small radio to be inserted in the ear through which he can communicate with Montag. Technology dominates society. Montag discusses this issue briefly with Clarisse and reflects on it as he opens up to the world of books. When he finally escapes his old life, the city is destroyed by atomic bombs (yet another example of negative technology), and Montag begins a simple life with very little technological tools as he sets out to rebuild society with Granger and the other intellectuals. Clearly, Bradbury is commenting on the negative influence of technological development in this world and the destructive potential of technology in our society.
Paradoxes
At the opening of Part I, when Montag goes home, his bedroom is described at first as "not empty" and then as "indeed empty". Mildred is there, but her mind is floating away with the music of her seashell radio and she is almost lost to a sleeping pill overdose. This concept of paradoxes continues throughout the book, expressed in the conflicts between life and death mentioned earlier. Examples include the "electric-eyed snake" tool that the technicians use to revive Mildred, and the Mechanical Hound, which appears to be both machine and animal. Furthermore, this paradox exists in the concept of "truth" portrayed in the novel. Beatty's "truth" is a fabrication and manipulation of history. Actual truth is hidden from society, or more accurately, burned. Many people in Montag's life, including Millie and her friends, believe they live in reality when in fact they live in a superficial world dominated by television, government oppression and the media. Society is blind to the truth. Montag's discovery of the truth and his dedication to living a life of truth save him from the ultimate destruction bombs bring to the city.
Religion
Although it appears no character in Fahrenheit 451 holds any religious beliefs, Bradbury includes many religious references in this novel. The book Montag saves from the old woman's house is The Bible. Throughout his tribulations, Montag holds on to this book, reading it on the subway, showing it to Faber, and finally, with Granger and the other intellectuals, Montag agrees that The Bible is the book he will memorize in order to one day, in a new society, reprint. Furthermore, Montag compares Millie's friends to icons he saw in a church once but did not understand. Later on in the novel, Faber compares himself to water and Montag to fire, saying the cooperation of the two will produce wine. This is an allusion to the biblical story of the miracle at Cana where Christ transforms water into wine.
At the conclusion of the novel, Montag, Granger and the rest of the intellectuals walk up the river to find survivors of the ultimate atomic destruction of the city. In his walk, Montag remembers passages he read in his Bible from Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season," and Revelations 22:2, "And on either side of the river was there a tree of life...and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." The apocalypse Montag has witnessed has clear connections to the apocalypse foreseen in the Bible.
Glossary of Terms
451 degrees Fahrenheit
The temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns.
Burning Bright
From William Blake's poem, "The Tiger" cacophony A variety of harsh, jarring sounds heard all at once.
Clarisse
A name derived from the Latin word for "brightest". dentifrice Any preparation for teeth cleaning.
Guy Montag
His first name refers to Guy Fawks, a man who plotted to blow up British Parliament in 1605. Montag, a trademark of Mead (an American paper company), makes stationary and furnaces.
Icarus
Son of Daedalus in Greek mythology. He flew too close to the sun and his wings made of wax melted, sending him plummeting to his death. infinitely Lacking limits or bounds, specifically regarding time.
November 4
Historically, the eve of Guy Fawkes' "Gunpowder Plot" to burn the British Parliament, a plan meant to destroy James I who oppressed Catholics. In F. 451, the firemen play cards together on Nov. 4. phoenix In Egyptian mythology a bird that, after a long life, sets itself on fire, and then rises from the ashes to begin a new life. pratfall Slang for falling on one's rear end. Often used in burlesque routines. proboscis A tubular organ used for smell and sense. The human proboscis is the nose. salamander Amphibian resembling a lizard. In mythology, salamanders are said to live through fire without burning. theremin An early electronic musical instrument whose sound is controlled by moving the air between two antennae. trench mouth
An infectious disease producing mouth ulcers in the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat.
V-2 Rocket
The first long-range liquid fueled missile carrying one ton of explosives, used first by the Germans in WWII.
Vesuvius
A volcano in Italy, near Naples, that erupted in 79 A.D., burying Pompeii in volcanic ash.

Both Katniss (just Hunger Games Katniss, not Catching Fire or Mockingjay) and Montag:

- Are subjective to their extremely powerful government at the beginning
--> Katniss obeys the government, participates in the Reaping, etc.
--> Montag is a firefighter who carries out the government's ban on books by burning them

- Are objective to it by the end
--> Katniss threatens suicide to prevent a Hunger Games victor and becomes a political target
--> Montag kills Captain Beatty and reads books regularly

- Create alliances to help them survive their situation
--> Rue helps out Katniss by warning her of the Tracker Jacker nest and aiding her in a plan to eliminate other tributes. Peeta and Katniss pretend to be lovers to gain sponsers and eventually win
--> Professor Faber gives Montag books and critical information that turns out to be extremely helpful to him

- Both lose a close friend that further spurs events of the book
--> Katniss loses Rue after she is speared through the stomach, and her death pushes her to fight on and also saves her life later on when Thresh kills Clove just as Clove is about to kill Katniss
--> Montag loses Clarisse, who started Montag's transformation to rogue firefighter, when a car kills her, causing him to consider many of the things she said to him and pushing him to explore the world rather than live in the society he is trapped in

-Both are confused about their relationships
--> Although Katniss pretended to love Peeta, she really is unsure of her feelings toward him
--> Montag is married, but regularly questions why and if he really loves Mildred