Fahrenheit 451 | Summary & Analysis | Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 is an iconic representation of dystopian fiction it's a world where ignorance is bliss war is always on the horizon and knowledge itself is under constant attack the legendary story of book burning fireman Guy Montag journey of enlightenment and rebellion his famous or infamous depending on how you look at it because its themes and ideas are still relevant today Fahrenheit 451 is the most successful work of author Ray Bradbury born in Waukegan Illinois on August 22nd 1920 Bradbury published some 30 books and 600 short stories plus poems essays and plays in his lifetime he's the winner of a two thousand a tional for distinguished contribution to American letters and a 2007 winner of a Pure Land surprise special citation Bradbury got the idea to write Fahrenheit 451 from Adolf Hitler who burned books in Berlin when Bradbury was a teen this is Brad burries biggest seller and like the author himself it was decorated in awards it won the American Academy of Arts and Letters award in Literature in 1954 and the Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal in 1954 it also won the Prometheus Award for libertarian science fiction in 1984 Bradbury continued to publish and oversee new story collections until close to his death on June 5th 2012 his obituary in The New York Times predicted his name would appear near the top of any list of major science fiction writers of the 20th century the book takes place in a world where nuclear wars have been won by the US and in reality the threat of nuclear war was hanging over America as the Cold War with the Soviet Union heeded Fahrenheit 451 also spoke to McCarthyism the infamous anti-communist witch hunt propagated by Senator Joe McCarthy and the rise of TV an overwhelming reinforcement of noisy propaganda Bradbury saw as a medium that could become more calm than pro for American citizens Fahrenheit 451 is dystopian fiction meaning it takes place in an upside-down world one often run by totalitarianism or oppression where technology and institutions work to subvert the people not uplift them in the story the main character time Montag works as a fireman in this dystopian world it is illegal to own books and fireman Network to burn them instead of fighting fires like they do now Montag meets Clarice his thoughtful curious next-door neighbor someone whose natural questioning leads Montag to question himself and the world around him his wife an ignorant TV and radio addicted woman named Mildred overdoses on sleeping pills her rescue by nonchalant technicians shows right away how little people care for each other or think for themselves in this world during a routine book burning Montag steals a book from a fire the woman who owns the books and burns herself alive Mildred tells Montag that their neighbor Clarice is dead and this disturbs Montag Montag becomes ill and stays home from work captain Beatty his boss visits extolling the virtues of ignorance and bemoaning the past when people read and made informed political and social choices for themselves Montag shows his books that he stole into Mildred Montag teams up with Faber an English professor he'd once met in a park and talked about literature with firemen respond to an alarm in Montag's home his wife turned him in to firemen and she is leaving permanently as they arrive to burn to his collection to the ground Montag is forced to burn his own home as Captain Beatty Moxon baby hits Montag at one and his ear radio from faber falls out Beatty's says they will track down the person on the other end Montague snaps and burns baby alive with his flamethrower Montague then runs away joining others who have memorized books in the hopes of writing them again jets bombed the city and civilization to rubble as Montague and his group of book lovers watch Montague joins them as they return to the city hoping to rebuild society from scratch the novel ends on a hopeful note with this group of outcasts book lovers returning to civilization - hopefully plant the seeds and so the knowledge they're holding in their minds all throughout Fahrenheit 451 critical symbols like fire salamanders the firemen themselves and pieces of technology like the seashell radio characters carry in their ears and the mechanical hounds not only provide exposition and illumination into the science fiction future ruled by dissonance but into key themes like censorship and technology alienation and connection individuality and conformity and the power of books these are themes that will always be relevant as long as the relationship between access to knowledge and processing it are at odds with power elites who have agendas based around controlling populations of manageable unthinking people rather than educated thoughtful ones Fahrenheit 451 remains a frequently reprinted critically celebrated canonical work of fiction by Ray Bradbury a prolific American writer and a book that's an enduring tribute to books themselves [Music] you

Channel: Course Hero

Views: 154,653

Rating: 4.8820291 out of 5

Keywords: farenheit 451 summary, ray bradbury, fahrenheit 451, fahrenheit 451 summary, sparknotes, thug notes, fahrenheit 451 themes

Id: rPcld8UzXtg

Length: 6min 11sec (371 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 13 2017