Academic Critique

Academic Critique
Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian literary piece based on an

ignorant society that is free from all sources of intellectual curiosity. Guy Montag is the
protagonist and transforms from a book-burning fireman to a book enthusiast.
The story begins with Montag’s encounter with a young girl Clarisse while he is off to
work whose thoughts about life and the past intrigue him. Later, he has to burn a house
where books are suspected and the woman chooses to die with her books. Due to a
feeling of discomfort, he takes a day off. Captain Beatty pays him an unexpected visit
and tells him that every fireman gets the itch to read at some point in his career but
should know that they have nothing to offer(Bradbury 43). After this meeting, Montag
turns to his wife for support and shows her the books he has been hiding. However, she
prefers television to her husband’s company.
At this point, he feels the need to address his urge to leave the book-burning career. He
recalls a retired English professor, Faber, and decides to visit him. Faber agrees to
teach him, and they formulate a risky plan against the status quo. Montag returns to the
fire station and hands Beatty one of his books, which is immediately incinerated. An
alarm sounds and to Montag’s surprise, it turns out from his own house. Beatty forces
Montag to burn the house himself. Montag kills Beatty and the Mechanical Hound is
after him. After a chaotic mayhem, Montag manages to escape to the river. At last, he
meets a group of intellectuals, “the Book People”, led by Granger, who are preserving
works of literature and philosophy by memorizing their contents, hopeful that mankind
would value them after the war that just began.
Montag’s character is a representation of survival in a dystopian society where the plot
revolves around his realization of the wrong and the right. Dystopia, as defined by
Gottlieb is “a social structure that is worse than the present social system.” (05). It is a
direct contrast to eutopia which is a fictional place where everything is perfect.
The story is set in a society where apart from not reading books, people don’t enjoy
nature, appreciate history, discuss profound thoughts or have meaningful
conversations. People use ‘Seashell Radio’ in their ears for broadcasts and television
has replaced the perception of family. Mildred’s character, for example, is a painting of a
typical citizen who is far from art and emotion. Throughout the novel, Montag’s search
for truth is the essential theme, as stated, “Awakened to a sense of his unhappiness
and the oppressive nature of the political system, Guy Montag gradually also finds
himself in conflict with the firemen’s perceptions of justice.” (Gottlieb 89).
In the beginning, he is part of the team of firemen whose goal is to burn down all books
present. Books are considered unpleasant and confusing because they make people
question the world, hindering their happiness and satisfaction. Montag discovers that his
fellow townsfolk are not actually happy but just living in unreal, superficial happiness
which halts the learning process. They are pleasure-seeking, isolated, and empty. As
written, “The entire culture of this society seems designed precisely to numb the minds
of the populace and to prevent them from experiencing any real thought or feeling.”
(Booker 88)
The stone for the novel's plot is set when Montag meets the intellectual Clarice
McClellan. He has a sudden realization that something is not right about society. The
young woman talks like a much older person and her thoughts deeply affect his
conscience, specifically when she tells him that firemen used to put out fires to save
people in the past but now they start it themselves.
In addition to this, when a rebellious woman burns herself alive along with her books
(Bradbury 30), Montag is internally inspired by her loyalty to books and thinks about
the deep-seated problem in his society where people have come a long way from
seeking knowledge and have lost its value.
Montag‘s decision to pursue book value leads directly to the novel's climax. He
continually undergoes a process of mental metamorphosis. He doesn’t move even
when Beatty thoroughly explains how books have become useless and the social and
technological history that led to the book being banned. In past, people used to get
stuck in controversies and complexities due to books and they couldn’t stay happy for
long. Burning the books, according to him is the best solution to erasing misery and
stress. (Bradbury 48). The book ends on a note that Montag is close to fulfillment of his
vision but the reader is not told what exactly happens afterward.
Throughout the course of events in the story, the author has creatively blended the
dystopian form of society along with lines of the once-now structure. The portrayal of
fundamental standards and principles of society is vividly captured.
Citations
Booker, M. Keith, et al. "Dystopian literature: A theory and research guide." Greenwood Press (1994).
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451, 2008.
Gottlieb, Erika. Dystopian fiction east and west: universe of terror and trial. McGill-Queen's Press, 2001.
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/fahrenheit-451/book-summary
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/summary

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Academic Critique

Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is a dystopian literary piece based on an

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451, 2008.

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