Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 Analytical Essay
Liz Casten
Ms. Brown
Advanced English 10: 3A
18 November 2013
Liz Casten
Ms. Brown
Advanced English 10: 3A
18 November 2013
Fahrenheit 451 Analytical Essay
Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 illustrates what will happen if we let society fall away from thinking and reading. The main character, Montag, is a fireman that struggles between following society or going against it after he meets Clarisse, a preppy, meddlesomeness teenager. After he encounters her, he starts reading books and apprehending them and becomes to establish more questions regarding why people do certain things in his socety. One of the main questions is “Why is the society against its citizens having knowledge?” Bradbury uses the symbolism of the books, the sieve and the sand, and fire to help the reader percieve the theme of knowledge versus ignorance. The sole purpose of books in Fahrenheit 451’s society are to be burnt and they are compared to pigeons twice throughout the book. The first time they are compared to pigeons is at the beginning of the book when the firemen are burning a house and books, it is also when we are first introduced to Montag. They are described as, “pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house” (3). When it states, “pigeon-winged books died” it seems as if they have given up and are adequate about dying. Bradbury uses the symbolism of pigeons because they are thought of as pests and books are a pest in Fahrenheit 451’s society. This can also be interpreted as Montag gaining hope and realizing he is not happy and wants to change his life. However, as we read farther into the book, “The books leapt and danced like roasted birds, their wings ablaze with red and yellow feathers” (117). When it says, “leapt and danced” it seems as if they have raised hopes and have almost broken the bars of freedom. He also recognizes that the only answer to his unhappiness is knowledge: which means reading books. Montag
Liz Casten
Ms. Brown
Advanced English 10: 3A
18 November 2013
Liz Casten
Ms. Brown
Advanced English 10: 3A
18 November 2013
Fahrenheit 451 Analytical Essay
Ray Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 illustrates what will happen if we let society fall away from thinking and reading. The main character, Montag, is a fireman that struggles between following society or going against it after he meets Clarisse, a preppy, meddlesomeness teenager. After he encounters her, he starts reading books and apprehending them and becomes to establish more questions regarding why people do certain things in his socety. One of the main questions is “Why is the society against its citizens having knowledge?” Bradbury uses the symbolism of the books, the sieve and the sand, and fire to help the reader percieve the theme of knowledge versus ignorance. The sole purpose of books in Fahrenheit 451’s society are to be burnt and they are compared to pigeons twice throughout the book. The first time they are compared to pigeons is at the beginning of the book when the firemen are burning a house and books, it is also when we are first introduced to Montag. They are described as, “pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house” (3). When it states, “pigeon-winged books died” it seems as if they have given up and are adequate about dying. Bradbury uses the symbolism of pigeons because they are thought of as pests and books are a pest in Fahrenheit 451’s society. This can also be interpreted as Montag gaining hope and realizing he is not happy and wants to change his life. However, as we read farther into the book, “The books leapt and danced like roasted birds, their wings ablaze with red and yellow feathers” (117). When it says, “leapt and danced” it seems as if they have raised hopes and have almost broken the bars of freedom. He also recognizes that the only answer to his unhappiness is knowledge: which means reading books. Montag