Fahrenheit 451 is a novel where the society eliminates unhappiness. The fire department starts fire instead of putting it out, because they burn books. The author is trying to show that life prohibited by community results in false knowledge of ourselves. Not everyone feels that way. So, some people go against the law and read books. Ray Bradbury shows the readers that there is always something wrong with perfect society.
The society dislikes books because it makes them unhappy. For example, “Mrs. Phelps was crying. The others in the middle of the dessert watched her crying grow very loud as her face squeezed itself out of shape” Bradbury 100. This shows that when Montag read a poem to Millie’s friends, the misery of the poem got one of them to cry. This is because they don’t know how to accept the truth and grief. In addition, Beatty said “You can’t rid yourselves of all the odd ducks in just a few years” Bradbury 60.This shows that people even try to remove people that are weird but didn’t do anything wrong. This is because once again they try to make the society as perfect as they can. As a result, they can do some pretty cruel stuff to make life better for them.
The more people read the more knowledge they have but not everyone. For example, “If anything should happen to Harris you are the book of Ecclesiastes” Bradbury 151. This shows that Montag is smart and has knowledge of what’s going on. This is because, he memorized the book in his head so nobody would find out that he reads. In addition, Mildred, Montage’s wife, is one example of a very blind person like everyone else in this society. For example, she thinks characters on TV are her family like “How’s Uncle Louis today?” Bradbury44. This shows that she is very stupid and she is lacking knowledge. This is because she is always either watching TV or listening to music. As a result knowledge is important because if you don’t have it then you’re unintelligent.
Faber helps Montag because he is intelligent. For example, “You’d better head for the river if you can, follow along it, and if you can hit the old railroad lines going out into the country, follow them” Bradbury 132. This shows that Faber is smart and knows the way out of the city. This is because he wants Montag to survive. In addition, “I need you to teach me.” “All right” Bradbury 88. This shows that Faber is bright smart and will help Montag understand the book. This is because without reading books a person is in this imaginary world where they are lost. As a result, Faber’s intelligence helped Montag know more and survive.
This novel reveals censorship. It can be related to today’s life because we also want everything perfect. Only a few people don’t strive for perfection. The difference between the novel and today’s world is most people now what reality and censorship are.
Montag realized that if there is no knowledge there is always ignorance. As a result, Bradbury’s novel of the future is close to what’s happening today.
