Theme Of Civil Disobedience In Fahrenheit 451

But, books were illegal in this day and age, so he must keep the city protected. While watching the senior burn with her books, he learned that these books are so important to some people- there has to be something special about these books. As a result of this, he stole some of her books and took them to his home to read. This example proves that the old lady develops Guy Montag’s character considering he went from being fearful and weary about owning books, to becoming curious and wanting to learn the importance and significance of books. He begins to become intrigued, going against the law and putting his job- and life- at risk.

In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, members of society live in a dystopia. The society is framed around the ideology that all man shall be equal in all aspects of life. In an effort to keep the status qou the government leverages different methods of political control. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 the political control that is leveraged educates that man must make sacrifices to their individual rights to coexist in an inhumane society.

Albert Camus once said, “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” If something is not the way that it ethically should be then it is acceptable to rebel within the parameters of what is morally correct and just. In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, he presents a world where the government has restricted access to printed literature so that they can have increased control over their citizens. The main character, Guy Montag, shows incredible growth in his character through his journey of enforcing and blindly accepting the government restrictions to stop the flow of information to a realization that that the sharing of knowledge leads to a stronger community.

In Rand and Bradbury’s futuristic novels, they show the rebirth of a new age of wanting a change in society. When a person is being monitored and manipulated within a society, they’re unable to realize how corrupt their society is. In both Fahrenheit 451 and Anthem, the use of protagonists, opening scenes, and other characters bring us to a similar theme, freedom of individuality. Rand and Bradbury effectively utilize their main characters to tell readers to do what they want, teaching them the overall importance of freedom and liberty.

Firefighters’ jobs are to burn books and get rid of them without asking any questions. Montag, in the beginning, believes he is happy that he is doing his job and burning all existing books. Later in the novel, he encounters an old lady that is hiding books, and is stubborn enough to refuse to leave her house and books after being confronted by Montag and the firefighters. Montag starts questioning what is so valuable about books, but even Faber says, “It’s not books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books”(82). Faber is fascinated with the knowledge books have, but is more impressed with the fact that people stopped reading by themselves because of growing technology and propaganda which is what is happening in today’s modern

Books are illegal in Montag’s city, so he incinerates books every day based on telephone calls that he receives from neighbors of the people that own the books. This quote, as well as Montag’s job as a fireman relates to the theme of destruction because the government is so afraid of people learning about the past, that they are willing to hire firemen to burn homes because there are books in them. Guy Montag is so enamored with his job he feels as if

This quote really shows the power of books in Montag’s society and how they control the power of books. It also shows society's attitude towards books because of how Montag laughs at being questioned about reading the books. This quote honestly depicts how books have been manipulated to have a negative

Throughout the novel books evolving in the beginning. Montag burns the books and is trying to prevent the usage of books. Towards the middle of the book we find out montag is hiding books, and his wife points out that it's a huge risk. “He might come burn the house and the ‘family”’ (Bradbury 2.25). This is showing bravery because he is risking the books and his wife to save the books. It's dangerous because he's threatening to burn his own house down.

Montag began wondering why his society strongly believes in the burning of books, and why his society is the way it is. Montag puts time and effort reading and trying to understand books that he steals when on duty. This is the beginning of Montag’s quest to uncover everything that is being hidden from him. Montag becomes interested in books and goes to speak to Beatty regarding his job: “Was-was it always like this? The firehouse, our work?”(Pg. 31). Bradbury shows the reader that Montag is hesitant when asking the question, this is obvious in the way Montag was asking Beatty. Montag expresses to Beatty his curiosity about the past when asking this question. Bradbury uses this quote in Montag’s speech to assure the reader that Montag is changing his views and is exposing his curiosity. In the novel Beatty strongly believes in the burning of books, and the fact that Montag chose to open up to Beatty and ask such a question shows Montag’s interest to find out what is going on in the world he lives

Despite the firemen’s efforts to force books into irrelevancy, the opposite effect happened; books became even more valuable, to the point of risking oneself’s life to not save the books, but to die with them. Bradbury’s use of books represent two contradictory significances: damnation and salvation. On Montag’s first mission in the novel, he confronts a woman that continues to confuse Montag even further than he already was about to truth of a roles of the firemen, and the value of books: “She was only standing, weaving from side to side, her eyes fixed upon a nothingness in the wall, as if they had struck her a terrible blow upon the head” (cite). It is heavily implied in the novel that Montag has never felt the emotion of passion. Witnessing a scene such as this, Montag is in disbelief at the thought of a person sacrificing their life for worthless and blasphemous things such as a books. This is essentially the turning point in Montag’s mentality, for it is also implied that the old woman’s death is the first that Montag ever witnessed in his ten years of being a fireman. For his entire life, Montag had been taught to be turned away from books, and that the possession of books leads to death. This sacrificial act towards books is Montag’s first exposure to the fiery passion of martyrdom, and it confuses him. During his conversation with Millie, he tells her that “[people] need to be really bothered once in

On page 78, he wants Faber to teach him how to read saying “I want you to teach me to understand what I read”.(78) Montag starts to want to change. On page 84, he is talking to Faber about how much he wants change “I care so much I’m sick”. (84) This quote means that Montag wants change badly. He and Faber talked about how society is. Montag can’t believe how bad it is. Montag starts to fall in love with books. He just wants to read them. Captain Beatty gave Montag a speech about how books are evil, but Montag still wants to read and learn. Captain Beatty knows something is up and he suspects Montag has books that is why he says “I’d hate to think you are coming down with the author fever”. (105) Captain Beatty says that when the alarm goes off and Montag looks real nervous

When Montag reveals his secret stash of books in the attic, she nearly faints and tells him that he must burn them in the incinerator immediately. Throughout the novel, Montag struggles with individuality and making a difference despite dealing with his mind-blocked co-workers who quickly target him as the outsider and turn the Mechanical Hound loose on him. “There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing” (Bradbury 51). He develops a plan with Faber, a man who remembers what the world was like before firemen began burning books. This plan just might be the key to regaining the people’s rights and restoring books to their rightful place in society. Firemen eliminated the people’s ability to express one’s own opinion when they eradicated books and free knowledge from the world. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury explores this idea of censorship and the fact that it bans individuality and the ability to express one’s

When anxious from the confusion that he was getting from books, Montag met with Faber who wisely told him, “It’s not books you need, it’s some of the things that once were in books” (78). This explanation by Faber about the three things needed to fully understand books, gave Montag some confidence in his thought about acting against the government’s outlaw for books. The three concepts included, having quality information, time of leisure to digest the content, and then acting later upon the first two concepts. Using these key theories, he discovered why he had to be the one who had to stop all of the burning in the world when having time to observe and study himself and the world. This then renders that Faber educated Montag how to interpret books without confusion. Another instance where Faber influenced Montag to believe in his beliefs and carry out his actions to defy and change the customs of society, was when he gave a two-way working pager to Montag. He instructed him, “You’ll have to travel blind for awhile. "Here’s my arm to hold onto” (88). This action indicates that Faber really wanted to give Montag wisdom and a sense of himself when he was going to meet Captain Beatty at the firehouse. This action provided a new perspective of strength and security to

Rebellion can be an act of violence or resistance of formal rule. It is recognized through written letters, such as Martin Luther King Junior’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, or books like “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. Rebellion is a necessary response when there are heinous acts being expound in a tyranny. People don’t conform to society when they refuse to go along with the status quo. Rebelling against their societies status quo means there may be social structural issues as well as political ones. Independence is a desired outcome when a form of rebellion occurs, which is why many people create a rebellious

The professor showed Montag that books have details and meaning and are valuable. Through Montag’s encounters with the old woman and Faber, he realizes that all the time he spent burning books was wrong. This motivated him to try to change his life.