Facets of Fahrenheith 451

Bradbury is viewed by many as an ill-tempered old man who is out to keep hold of his freedom of speech. He does not believe in excerpts from stories. In his opinion, to comprehend the idea of the story, you have to read the whole thing with nothing edited out. The letters he receives on giving he female and African American characters better treatment anger him even more. He feels that these approaches lead to the banning of books. This may be where he came up with the idea of the story of Fahrenheit 451. Another possibly source for his story ideas is his dreams he had. He bases many of his stories off of nightmares from his childhood. He also witnessed a terrible car accident as a child, and therefore has never driven one. This is one reason he talks about cars speeding by in his novels.

Writing since the age of eleven, Bradbury has composed numerous works. He was

Fahrenheit 451 was written on the verge of war. The Cold War period had just begun. This accounts for the wars mentioned in the novel. Bradbury describes jets constantly flying overhead preparing for war. Also, the Age of McCarthyism took place in the 1950’s. Joseph McCarthy accused many people of being communists. The people accused but refused to take a pledge were placed on blacklists and could not find jobs anywhere. This same type of thing happens in Fahrenheit 451 with the characters who read books. These readers are going against the law and are therefore despised by the other characters.

The novel is separated into three parts rather than chapters. It is divided this way to follow Montag’s mental journey. During the Part One, “The Hearth and the Salamander,” the reader is introduced to the lifestyle of Bradbury’s modernized society. Montag meets Clarisse who tells him that life should be lived to its fullest. He begins to realize what Clarisse means and starts reading books. In Part Two, “The Sieve and the Sand,” Montag realizes that they have everything they need to be happy, but they are not. He meets Professor Faber who advises him to keep reading books. Montag still may be a little unsure of himself when he is with the other firemen. It is in Part Three, “Burning Bright,” in which Montag escapes from the

Some topics in this essay:
African American, Douglas Spaulding, Loyola Faber’s, Professor Faber, Hearth Salamander”, Joseph McCarthy, Fiction Throughout, Ray Bradbury, Cold War, Lois Lowry, fahrenheit 451, science fiction, ray bradbury, reading books, professor faber, idea story, banning books, novel bradbury,