Fahrenheit 451 Structure Analysis
Fahrenheit 451 and Narrative Structure Fahrenheit 451 is a book that is ironically about burning books. It causes readers to look at society and think about the way life is lived. It tells the story of a man who is able to make changes in his life that lead him to find happiness. While the story itself is itself is interesting, narrative structure elements such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution are used to help readers get and stay interested in the story. They also help readers care about what happens in the end.
Exposition
Exposition is a the revealing of the information of the story (Delbanco & Cheuse). Things like information on the characters, setting, and history are given so that the reader's …show more content…
It is the information and events that help move the story along and that help to build excitement as the story goes along (Delbanco & Cheuse). In Fahrenheit 451, the rising action starts within the first few pages of the book. Montag meets and speaks to his neighbor's daughter, Clarisse. As they walk home he realizes she is different, and as they are walking in their homes, she asks him “Are you happy?” (Bradbury). While this seems like a simple question, it starts the action for the entire story. From that point on Montag wonders if he is truly happy. The rising action keeps going when Montag has discovered his wife tried to overdose and he must call for help. He then is called to start a fire and discovers a women who would rather burn with her books than give them up. After this, he finds out that Clarisse has been killed by a speeding car. These previous events all lead up to Montag starting to explore books. He tries to learn more about books, but is reported by his wife's superficial friends and must turn in a book to be burned. Each of these events builds on one another to the point where the reader can feel that something big is about to happen. The reader can feel that if they were in Montag's situation, they may be about to burst inside and something must happen to resolve this
Exposition
Exposition is a the revealing of the information of the story (Delbanco & Cheuse). Things like information on the characters, setting, and history are given so that the reader's …show more content…
It is the information and events that help move the story along and that help to build excitement as the story goes along (Delbanco & Cheuse). In Fahrenheit 451, the rising action starts within the first few pages of the book. Montag meets and speaks to his neighbor's daughter, Clarisse. As they walk home he realizes she is different, and as they are walking in their homes, she asks him “Are you happy?” (Bradbury). While this seems like a simple question, it starts the action for the entire story. From that point on Montag wonders if he is truly happy. The rising action keeps going when Montag has discovered his wife tried to overdose and he must call for help. He then is called to start a fire and discovers a women who would rather burn with her books than give them up. After this, he finds out that Clarisse has been killed by a speeding car. These previous events all lead up to Montag starting to explore books. He tries to learn more about books, but is reported by his wife's superficial friends and must turn in a book to be burned. Each of these events builds on one another to the point where the reader can feel that something big is about to happen. The reader can feel that if they were in Montag's situation, they may be about to burst inside and something must happen to resolve this