Introduction
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 American novel written by Ray Bradbury. In this piece, Bradbury expresses the fears about society censoring literature and knowledge in the future. The story describes a culture that is embracing book burning in claims of eliminating information which it terms as misleading. The title, “Fahrenheit 451” is self-explanatory as it indicates the average temperature at which a paper burns completely (Hiner, 2011). Notably, the novel’s plotline centres the protagonist who is a fireman, Guy Montag. Ironically, in the setting, firefighters are tasked with blazing any written materials instead of salvaging them. However, circumstances put Montag in a challenging situation that, in turn, enables him to see the criticality of literature (Hiner, 2011). Therefore, he embarks on a mission of saving it amidst all the risks, such as breaking up his family. More so, the society in Fahrenheit 451 proves to be incompetent regarding their priorities and humanity due to lack of reading and depending on the media for information. For instances, drivers are driving carelessly while families are failing to have meaningful conversations (Bradbury, 1953). Notably, this paper discusses what this novel is all about by particularly evaluating the themes, and the styles projected by the author.
Themes in Fahrenheit
A theme is a central idea which an author is projecting to the audience through his/her writing. Indeed, Fahrenheit 451 exhibits numerous issues based on its dystopic nature, where the author creates a setting that is opposite of his standards and values (Rodriguez, 2017). The most visible idea portrayed in the plotline is a clash between freedom of thought process and censorship (Fox, 2011). Books and other reading sources are banned by being burned to prevent people from accessing information. Notably, this sense is derived from the part where Captain Beatty tells Montag about the events that led to the book-burning (Bradbury, 1953).
According to Beatty, people were writing books that were offending community values. As a result, the communities began getting confused, leading to the diminishing of tranquillity and peace. Therefore, rules were constructed to ensure that writers do not give “offensive information” (Bradbury, 1953). However, the move was not enough, and people were required to destroy books for society’s safety. With books incarnated, people became less knowledgeable, and their thinking process was highly affected (Fox, 2011). They could not think for themselves as they had become dependent on other avenues (Fox, 2011). An excellent of this situation is Mildred, Montag’s wife. She is unable to think through about life as her mind is dependent on the fantasies which get from watching her programs.
On the other hand, people who exposed to reading in the text are liberal thinkers. For instance, Clarisse McClellan, the girl that inspires Montag to have a critical opinion about books, is knowledgeable enough to question the deficits of society (Bradbury, 1953). She thinks through how the book burning has resulted in the loss of humanity and ethics. Also, this similar effect of reading books is depicted by Montag when he finally opens his eyes to realize how society is becoming void as then days go by. For instance, the incidence which an older woman chooses to burn with her books causes her sleepless nights (Bradbury, 1953).
Importantly, the role of the media and its effect to society is a topic that is also mentioned in Fahrenheit 451. However, Bradbury tends to show the negative side of the power of the press to people’s lives (Fox, 2011). For instance, Montag's family is broken because of Mildred's obsession with watching television. She is affected in a way that she does not care about the wellbeing of her family. For examples, after Montag expresses his dissatisfaction about his firefighter job, she objects the idea as she is afraid that they will lose the house, especially the "parlour wall entertainment” (Bradbury, 1953). Furthermore, she pays more attention to the television than she does to her husband. This behaviour is seen when she chooses to follow up on her program instead of taking care of husband, despite knowing that he had had a sleepless night thinking about Clarisse’s death (Bradbury, 1953).
Notably, the media’s power over Mildred is a demonstration of the magic bullet theory. According to the method, the press content is compelling, and the consumers are unable to overcome its effect (Kenechukwu, 2015). Mildred obsession of the parlour wall indicates that the entertainment cages her thought process, therefore she is addicted. Again, the media plays a huge role in suppressing the culture of literature. It acts as the medium that is used in “praising” the censorship acts (Fox, 2011). An excellent example is when the Faber and Montag are watching the news about a mechanical hound be released. The most astonishing part about these news reports is the numerous news helicopter that following the machine around, which, in turn, creates public excitement about arresting Montag (Bradbury, 1953). Importantly, Montag is the only hope that leads his community to embrace literature again; thus, his death or arrest will be a disadvantage. The media goes against its role to protect society by advocating the arrest of its sole hero, Montag.
Lastly, the author shows the universal bad of technology. The novel was set during a period which industrialization was at the peak, and people were embracing the advancement of technology (Hiner, 2011). However, technology seems to have brought more harm than good in the story. First, it resulted in people losing their humanity towards one another. For instance, people are driving recklessly without caring for their safety and that of others. Clarisse is one of the victims as she dies after she is hit by a speeding car (Bradbury, 1953). Another alarming technological use is the mechanical hound, a robotic dog programmed to aid firefighters to spot people who are keeping books (Bradbury, 1953). Notably, technology is meant to ease human's lives mental, physical and emotionally wise. However, the mechanical hound, in this case, is set to aid in destroying people’s thinking capability by facilitating the burning of books.
Styles in Fahrenheit
Literal forms entail the method in which the author is expressing his/her central ideas to the audience. The language used in Fahrenheit 251 is rich in literary devices. The most vivid style is situational irony. It occurs when the writer expresses something opposite to how it is expected in the actual life. It simply highlights the contradictions of events. In the novel, Bradbury shows the situational irony through creating firefighters whose task is to set books in fire (Bardbury, 1953). Generally, firefighters' role is to put out a fire to help save lives and prevent the destruction of property. However, in Fahrenheit 451, they are tasked in ensuring that they destroy books by burning them. They have devices that are used to start fires. More so, they end up damaging property and lives in their mission, thus contradicting what the job's primary purposes. An excellent example is when Montag is forced by Beatty to burn his own house (Bradbury, 1953).
Another device that the writer incorporates is symbolism. It means the use of objects to represent ideas. Symbolism, in Fahrenheit 251, is expressed using animals, which the author has not used as live characters. Notably, they are mentioned in the analogies which various characters are using in showing their points. A good example is the phoenix that is mentioned by Granger, towards the end of the novel. According to Granger, the phoenix was a stupid bird that lived before the coming of Christ. It had built a pyre and burned itself up. It would spring out of the ashes and come back to life, and the process would continue without it noticing its mistakes (Bradbury, 1953). The symbolic part in this analogy is the endless cycle of the phoenix’s rebirth and death. The sequence represents humanity which progresses and later get destroys by the advancement of technology in a repeated cycle. Also, the “great python” in the first paragraph of the novel is symbolic. The great python is said to spit its venom upon the world (Bradbury, 1953). Here, the “great python” stands for the flamethrower which Montag is using set the books into the fire.
Importantly, the use of imagery is also used as a literal style. It is the description by the writer that enables the reader to form mental pictures of what is being described. The major type of imagery that is most evident is the visual image, which appeals to the sense of sight. Here, the author explains an aspect using a visual expression that enables the reader to have an imaginary picture of point. Importantly, visual imagery is depicted in the first paragraph about the great python. The description of the python is spitting venoms of kerosene enables the reader to have a mental picture of how the flamethrower, which Montag is using, operates.
Finally, the writer uses comparison devices of similes and metaphors in his work. Similes are a comparison that uses terms such as "like" and "as," whereas metaphors are direct comparisons. An example of simile is depicted in the part where the author is describing Clarisse’s physical appearances. He writes, “…. her face bright as snow in the moonlight” (Bradbury, 1953: 2). Here, Clarisse’s face has been likened the snow in the moonlight as they are bright the same.
