Critical Analysis Of Fahrenheit 451

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Set in a near distant future, Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of protagonist Guy Montag who lives in a world where firemen start fires rather than putting them out and people do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations (“Plot Overview”). Instead, they drive excessively fast, watch needless amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio through “seashell” attached to their ears. At the beginning of the novel, Montag is content with his life as a fireman, burning illegally owned books and the homes of their owners without a second thought. As the storyline progresses, however, the introduction of gentle 17 year old Clarisse McClennan opens his eyes to the emptiness of his life and causes him to question the value and ethics of his profession. Unfulfilled by his occupation and discontent with a society unconcerned with reports of an impending atomic war, Montag begins to question the ways of the world (“Fahrenheit 451 Summary”). Driven by his ever increasing sense of uneasiness, Montag turns to the collection of books he has stolen from homes over years for …show more content…
From his earliest days of cognition, young Bradbury was able to effectively tie his personal experiences both with the cultural inheritance that his family provided him and with the burgeoning society around him (Roberts 1). As a result, he was able to fully encompass this into his works and by doing so, drew in a vast international audience who were able to relate to his storytelling. Critics find Bradbury’s most interesting years to be between 1947 and 1957, the years after World War II. During this time, he wrote Fahrenheit 451, one of his most recognized novels. The theme of censorship in the novel is synonymous with the irrationality Bradbury saw in the twentieth