Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 was an
interesting Science fiction thriller that provided an
odd view on the
censorship of books. Not just some books, but all books. An entire distorted
culture and
civilization where all books are prohibited. And the penalty for being caught
with
books is that the
books must be burned and in some cases the penalty may lead to death. In this
tale of censorship
and self discovery, Bradbury leads the reader through a short period in the
life of the
protagonist, Guy Montag. A firefighter struggling with his conscience to
determine if
a society without
books is right. Fahrenheit 451 has an entertaining theme and plot and a well
paced story line.
This book combines catchy description and well thought out characters to put
together a
gripping story that keeps the readers attention. It is interesting to see how a
once
controversial
topic could create such a dystopia in one place.
Fahrenheit 451 had many examples of good
writing techniques that made it a good novel.
One technique
that Bradbury did a good job of using was description. He described things
specifically
using outstanding similes and personifications. One example is how he mentioned
the fire hose. He
called it "the great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the
world."
(Bradbury 3) This made the reader not only visualize the
hose but get a feel for the mood about
the firemen at
that time. Another example of good description is how he described the physical
appearance of the
firemen. "Their charcoal hair and their soot-colored brows and their
bluish-ash-smeared
cheeks where they had shaven close." (32) The adjectives charcoal and
soot-colored
describe the color of their hair but also are words that relate to their job as
a
fireman. Finally,
an excellent example of Bradbury's descriptive writing was when Montag
pulled the
trigger and set Captain Beatty on fire. "There was a hiss like a great
mouthful of
spittle
banging a red-hot stove, a bubbling and
frothing as if salt had been poured over a
monstrous black
snail to cause a terrible liquefaction and a boiling over of yellow foam."
(117)
A different aspect of writing that made
Fahrenheit 451 a good story was the way he kept
the book well
paced. There were few dead spots in the story and few spots that pushed the
storyline along
too quickly. Another aspect of the story that made it enjoyable was the
characters and
their relations to each other. Each character brought a special part to the
story
that effected the
plot and other characters. One of the most important characters was Clarrise.
She was the teenage
girl that began Montag's self realization that a world with no books was
wrong. For that,
Montag had a special appreciation for her. She stated that ,"Didn't
firemen
prevent fires
rather than stoke them up and get them
going." (33) Another relationship in this
novel that made
it good was that of Montag and Captain
Beatty. Throughout most of the story
had a strange
fear and hatred towards Captain Beatty. When Montag started to collect books
from the houses
he and other firemen burned, he got extremely paranoid and edgy with Beatty.
He began to see
Beatty as the absolute opposite of what he wanted to become. Captain Beatty
represented all
of the evil in what they did to the books. He taunted Montag for wanting to
change his life
around. "Go ahead now you, second hand litterateur, pull the
trigger." (117) This
was how Montag
was treated moments before he was about to end Beatty's life. In all effect,
the
relationships in
this novel proved to be very relevant and well thought out.
Fahrenheit 451 was an excellent book that would
interest many different types of people.
It contains a
plot that brushes very close to a dystopia that could happen in our culture
today.
Therefore
creating a unique element of suspense. Fahrenheit 451 is also a story about
self
discovery and
change. Readers would enjoy to read through Montag's confusion with figuring
out right and
wrong, and avoiding a government filled with ignorance. This book proves to be
packed with action,
adventure and emotion. It is a science fiction tale that will surly continue to
intrigue
minds, young and old for generations to
come.
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