Fahrenheit 451: Summary - The Hearth and the Salamander

In Ray Bradbury's Fahrneheit 451, there are three sections, "the Hearth and the Salamander," "the Sieve and the Sand," and "Burning Bright," respectively in order. In the first part, "the Hearth and the Salamander," we meet this guy named Guy Montag. He is a firemanwith the number 451. In the first section, Guy really starts to question himself. He is not sure whether he likes the way he is living or not. But, I am getting ahead of myself. Guy's job is to track down illegal substances, in this case, books. He is to finds all the books and burn them. Very early in the story, Guy is walking home one day after a hard day at work when he comes around a corner to meet Clarisse. They talk for a little while, and she asks Guy, just as they are about to part for the night, if he is truly happy. This question startles Montag, as he is unsure of the answer and how he could answer it. Over the course of the next few days, they walk home together and chat, and Montag is still trying to find the answer to her question. Then, suddenly and mysteriously, Clarisse is not there on his way home from work. Later, he comes to find that she has been arrested, or possibly killed with her family for heresy and disrupting the flow of day to day life. A few more days go by, then Montag gets the call that will change his life irreversably. The firemen are told to go to a residence of an old woman who has been hiding books for some time, apparently. Just after the men soak her house in kerosene, the old woman takes out her own match and burns down her own house with her still inside. Shocked from the events of the last day, Montag does not go to work and is going to call in sick when Captain Beatty comes to his house. Beatty's pep talk he gives Montag (more of a pep speech) reveals the questionable side of Beatty that has always wanted to appear, and once he leaves, Montag shows his wife, Mildred, his secret stash of books he has collected over the past couple months, including his newest addition, the Bible, which he lifted from the old woman's house the last night. Mildred is taken aback by these extremely illegal hides, and she firmly tells Guy that she does not want them in her house. As this section of the book draws to a close, there is a strange character outside the door of the Montags' home, later revealed to be the firehouse "dog." The dog is actually a robot used to sniff out people who have been breaking the rules and kill them. Montag was clerly on the list because of his secret hiding spot of books. Together, the two frantically read as many pages of the books as they can, learning new things about everything, and taking in all sorts of knowledge.

Fahrenheit 451: Books

It is extremely mysterious why all books are illegal. The book gives a couple possibilities as to why the books have been banned. These possibilities are basically broken down into two groups. The first group includes a general lack of interest in reading the books. Apparently, there are these other things that are like condensed versions of actual books. They take most of the hassle out of reading because they are so short, but they still give all the main plot lines. They would probably make it easier to "read" a book because it is a short, quick overview of the same thing but without the general boring parts of books. I think I would like that, actually. Also, in a world of so many distractions, there is hardly any time to sit down and read a full book. The parlor, for example, in the Montags' home represents one of those distractions in Mildred's case. She spends as much time in that room as humanly possible, and she is always wanting to put in more, better stuff. Also, there are things like the radio, large, colorful advertisements, and bullet cars that speed everywhere and provide a fun time for the driver and passengers. However, all of the distractions are potentially dangerous. The cars could crash; the radio could polute the minds of the listeners; and the signs on the highway could draw the drivers' attention away from driving or make the driver think about it too much. Second, the books cause open hostility among the people and toward the higher control. The government is afraid that the people will read the books and start thinking in the ways of the books. These books could be slandering the government or the police or promoting the same factors, but they just do not want to take that risk of allowing the people to voice themselves through books. Who knows? Maybe someone will think too much about the books and go out into the world to find himself. Oh, wait, did that happen anyway?

Fahrenheit 451: Society's Effects on Montag

There are a couple of reasons why Guy is losing his mind. The first reason is because of Clarisse. She sees the world from a totally radical viewpoint. She sees the hidden beauties in everything like the clouds and the fresh air and even the actions of her fellow human beings, being good actions or actions that are potentially harmful, or even fatal, like what inevitably happens to her because of her love. Her world is full of love for everything, especially her family and the way she holds herself. She is excited to ask questions and expects to receive answers. These odd ways of life inspire Montag to think about what he is doing with his life. He realizes that there is really no meaning to why he is even a member of society. Montag is also confused by why the books are illegal. He is not entirely sure why his job is necessary, and since Clarisse inspired him to think about what he is doing, he is also inspired to think about what the firemen in general are doing. He wonders why the books are so "bad," and he even creates a stash of them for his own enjowment. Unfortunately, this interest in the books becomes too great to keep hidden, and he shows the stash to his wife, Mildred. Together, the blunder through the twenty or so books he has hidden as fast as possible because Beatty is right outside, and he will burn the books and their house if he finds them. Honestly, society puts all this pressure on Montag to find out what is inside the books because they are against the law. The human mind is amazing: as soon as something becomes different, it asks why it is now different. As soon as Montag finds out books had not always been illegal, he instantly wants to find out why they are now illegal. And what is the better place to start his search than at the source of the hostility? So, like a true idiot, Montag steals his first book and is sucked into the story of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 to await inevitable doom in the sands of time.

Fahrenheit 451: Guy Montag - Part II

Guy Montag has the normal life. He works regular hours at a regular job, and he provides money for his wife at home, Mildred. He does not question things and goes about his job as a good worker. All of this is true until the story begins. He meets this girl named Clarisse, and she changes his life so drastically. She does not just accept everything like the world has taught him his entire life, but she wants to know more about everything the world is teaching. She asks why things happen, and this confuses Montag. Montag starts to retract this "disease" that Clarisse has, and it turns his whole life upside down. It turns over everything he once thought to be true and definitive. And, it does a little more inside him than just mental confusion. It starts a chian reaction of physical confusion. He no longer knows if he fits in society. He thought he used to have a good life, but now he does not understand what he should be doing with his life. When Clarisse magically disappears, the chain reactions pick up at a rapid pace. He starts reading the books he is supposed to be burning. He is so lost in this world that he goes out into it to try to find himself in the sea of loss. Montag is a fireman, but he is not a fire puter-outer. Actually, he is a fire starter! His fireman's number is 451. That is why the book is called Fahrenheit 451. The fire is hot, thus the name "Fahrenheit." Montag realizes the trouble his life is full of, and his goal in the long-run is to fulfill some sort of goal. He is really unsure of what that goal could be, but he knows there has to be a goal somewhere out there for him to reach. He is excited to find it, bt along the way, there is much more confusion in his path that he must first overcome.

Fahrenheit 451: More Religion

The whole thing about fire can also be related to the Bible in very many ways. Fire has many meanings in Christianity, and it comes up in the stories of the Bible many times. There is the pagan burn in which the golden calf was made, and then there is also Moses' burning bush. Fire represents both heresy and the presence of a divine presence. This divine character should be strong and all-encompassing. Fire in Fahrneheit 451 also has multiple meanings that potentially turn over themselves. In the beginning, fire is the symbol of a smothered society, in which the public is blocked from the truth and many distractions clog the brains of the masses from seeing and thinking clearly and sanely. As it is, the people do not even know why they are not allowed to read books, or possess books, or even see books. However, as the novel progresses, Montag is able to turn the fire around on his oppressors, like Captain Beatty, and use it against them, unfortunately in ways to harm them. By ridding himself of the pressure society puts on him, he is able to win his freedom from the stranglehold of the police and his job. Finally, Bradbury uses language and imagery directly from the Bible to end the novel. In the last pages, as Montag and Granger's group walk up the river to find survivors after the bombing of the city, Montag desperately tries to remember passages from the Bible that would be appropriate for the situation they are in. He thinks of Ecclesiastes 3:1 that reads, "To everything there is a season," and he also thinks of Revelations 22:2, "And on either side of the river was there a tree of life, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nation." This second verse also suggests of the holy city of Heaven. Finally, the last line of the novel suggests a strong symbolic connection between the atomic killings in Montag's world the Apocalypse in the Bible.

Fahrenheit 451: Religion

So, first of all, I am really hating these blogs more and more with every one I do. It sucks because they are so long, and there are so many of them. I am almost to the breaking point, but, luckily, I am also almost done, sort of. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 contains numerous religious references. Professor Faber promotes a Christian sense of forgiveness for Montag. After Montag's turn against society, Faber reminds Montag that, since he was once a member of the following faithful, he should have a feeling of pity toward the people instead of being so angry at them. Faber believes this because the people really do not know as much as he or Montag know, and that should eventually lead to their downfall. They are going to be ignorant and left in the dark about what is actually going on around them, and Montag should feel sorry for them instead of being angry at them. The novel also references Jesus Christ's miracle at Canaa where he transformed regular water into fabulous wine. Faber makes two correlations: one is comparing himself to water, and the other is comparing Montag to fire. Montag is fire because of his job and the anger within him, and Faber is water because of his more mellow tendencies. Faber also tells that if the two were to merge into one, the fire and water would combine to make wine, sort of like in the biblical story. Jesus Christ's transformation of water into wine was one of the miracles he allegedly produced to instill his powers and prove his identity as the son of the Christian god. This miracle also proved his role as savior as a gift from the Christian god. Montag wishes to confirm his own self through such a process, but he is clearly unable to because of his lack of "god powers." Montag wishes to have a meaning to his life, but he is unsure of where he needs to start his search. He longs for a way out of the real life, so he starts in on books and a hopeful identity.

Fahrenheit 451: Clarisse McClellan

Only for the first few pages, there is this girl, Clarisse McClellan. She is very different than the other girls, or boys, or even people in general, that Montag has met. She is very, well, intriguing. In the first few pages, Montag is walking home after a day of work, and just as he is about to walk around a corner, he feels someone standing right there on the other side of the wall. As he goes around the corner, he feels a strange lack of presence, as if something was just waiting there a second ago. He looks around to find nothing there and continues on his way home. A day later, he comes to the same corner to have the same feeling, but this time when he rounds the corner, he meets a young girl, Clarisse. She is seventeen years old, and her family is much more open to differences than the world is allowing. She is very spontaneous and full of spunk for a late teenager. Clarisse McClellan sees the world as fun rather than time-consuming or laborous. She sees the world's potential beauty in the clouds and likes to be outside to breath the fresh, clean air. These actions are very strange for anyone in the novel. Most people look to stay out of trouble from the police, but Clarisse embraces it and spreads her joy into Montag's life. She asks questions and wants to know why things happen instead of how things happen. These odd traits are what attracts Montag's attention. He feels happy when they are talking with each other, instead of him talking to his wife or a friend. Even though her family is very much like her and unlike the rest of the world, they seem genuinely happy with how they are living. Then, mysteriously, the McClellans disappear, leaving Montag behind, extremely confused and wondering where they went. He finds out that she is most likely dead, along with her family.