Fahrenhiet 451

This stories setting is during the twenty-fourth century in a well known futuristic American city (which is not mentioned). This is the expostion, where it introduces a New world in which control by the media,overpopulation, and extreme censorship has been taken over by the general population. The individual is not accepted and the intellectual is an outlaw. Books are banned, and anyone who is found with a book in their possession is arrested, and the books are burned. This story shows how important books are to us all.

Fahrenheit 451 starts with an incident in which Guy Montag, the main character meets Clarisse McClellan, his new neighbor. Montag is the protagonist of the story. In the time of his life when we meet him he is very u

In the distance he sees a camp fire and heads toward it. When he reaches the fire he sees several men surrounding it, sipping coffee, they invite him to join them. The men know his name though, and this scares him, but he is informed that they had been watching the chase that was taking place because of him on a portable television

Faber through all his years as a hiding scholar is afraid that he may be caught harboring some of the books so Montag suggests that they strategically place books inside of fireman's homes all over the country, only after having them copied for future use. Faber has created an ear piece for Montag to wear, and be able to hear Faber speak. This provides unnoticeable communication between the two men. The men's meeting comes to an end, and Guy heads home.

When he gets to work he immediately encounters the mechanical hound2, who growls at him as he passes. He quickly tells his superior, Captain Beatty, about the encounter with the hound. Beatty is the antagonist in the story. He is well read and uses his knowledge of books as a weapon to fight curiosity about them. Beatty can almost smell disloyalty among his workers,and begins to suspect Montag of wrong doing. "It doesn't like me" (56) Montag says, Beatty "assumes" it is a mistake, and reminds Montag that it doesn't have the capabilities to like or dislike, it simply just follows orders. He tells Montag to forget about it, he will have it checked out. Guy tries to forget, but the intensity of the machine lingers in his mind.

Days later while Guy was at work the station received an alert, a woman had been stashing books in her home. The fighters race to her home and begin to destroy the books by spraying kerosine on them. Montag urges the book owner to leave because the house is going to be set afire. She refuses and recites something she read from a book " 'Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."(65). She then lights the house and herself on fire, saying she doesn't want to live without her books. This the climax, while at the woman's house he stole illegal contraband from her collection and hid it from the others.

At this point Montag remembers an old English professor, Faber, who he met at a park some time ago. Guy wants more of an understanding for the books, so he decides he is going to talk to Faber. When he reached the professor's home he is greeted with fear. Faber thinks Montag is there to burn his home down, but this is all changed when he sees what Guy has brought, he says "I am sorry. One must be careful" (109). The professor knows Montag is a fireman so he takes precaution, even though the two were acquaintances. Faber is surprised at both the rarity of the book (The Bible), and at the thought of a fireman stealing and salvaging books. The two men speak for several hours about Clarisse, Beatty, and about how to help Montag understand what it is he reads. They then devise a plan to keep most of the books Montag stole, while only giving Beatty one book.

's questions leave Montag fascinated with her because of the things she thinks of such as, happiness, love, and most importantly what is in the books he burns.

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