Fahrenheit 451 Character Analysis

Words: 1102
Pages: 5

Although world literacy rates have increased prominently since the 19th century, 26% of the world’s adult population is still considered illiterate. In the story Fahrenheit 451, the author Ray Bradbury creates a futuristic American society where a fireman’s role is to burn books and arrest the caretaker who retains this forbidden knowledge. Guy Montag is a fireman that is having second thoughts about his role in society. Events continue to strengthen Guy’s personal opinions as the novel progresses. By interacting with different people in his life, Guy realizes that technology has blocked any emotions or feelings that humans need in order to think for themselves. Not wanting to live in a censored society, Guy ventures off on his own into risky territory. The characters Clarisse McClellan and Mildred Montag live in a culture that is insufficiently educational with inadequate relationships that illustrate the themes of technology and happiness.
As complications in this
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Guy: Am I what?
Narrator: But she was gone--running in the moonlight. Her front door shut gently.
Guy: Happy! Of all the nonsense.
Narrator: He stopped laughing. (Bradbury 10)
This is significant because as the story progresses, Guy is able to define happiness in a clearer fashion. Themes can make or break a story, so it is important for the reader to be able to vividly describe what they are in a novel.
Themes of technology and happiness are visible as Clarisse McClellan and Mildred Montag live in a culture that is insufficiently educational with inadequate relationships. In Bradbury’s dystopian society, it is illegal to read or own books. Fortunately, not everyone is brainwashed by this forged civilization. Guy Montag realized the kind of life he wanted to live was filled with freewill and independence. The futuristic society described in Fahrenheit 451 is not so farfetched from today’s society. In this dystopian society, people were not able to freely think for