Fahrenheit 451

Benjamin Lopez

Professor A. Morris

English 110 Online

July 10, 2017

Fahrenheit 451

        The setting in Ray Bradbury’s story “Fahrenheit 451” plays an important role in the development of the characters. Fahrenheit 451 is the story of a 30-year-old fireman named Guy Montag who questions the government in a futuristic society where books are banned. Throughout the story, Montag begins encountering different situations which make him wonder about the origins and importance of books. Although Montag is the central character in the novel, Bradbury seems to give more importance in describing the world around him. The setting in Fahrenheit 451 demonstrates how certain aspects of society in the novel, such as government and technology, influence a character’s thoughts and behavior.

        Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a society in which the government has placed a law making all books illegal. The book starts with the significant quote “It was a pleasure to burn” (Bradbury 1), which at first makes the reader wonder what exactly is this character talking about? We later find out that Montag describes his feeling toward the burning of books. Individuals are prohibited from reading or having any kind of book, so if people are found with books, it is Montag’s job to burn those them. For Montag, burning books seems normal to him until she meets a young girl named Clarisse. As Clarisse and Montag introduce themselves, Clarisse asks Montag if firemen used to put out fires rather than start them. Montag then responds by saying, “No. Houses have always been fireproof, take my word for it” (Bradbury 6). Montag feels completely sure about what he believes in.

        Not only are books burned in the novel, but people are also considered crazy or abnormal if they have any type of conversation. Clarisse is one of those people who Montag believes is different from everyone else. Montag sees that Clarisse’s family have conversations and wonders why. Other than having conversations with Montag, Clarisse is a lover of life and nature. She pays attention to her surroundings and spends her time thinking. One day, before leaving for her appointment with the psychiatrist, Clarisse tells Montag that she thinks he is a strange fireman. She tells Montag that other firemen won’t talk to her or listen to her: “You’re peculiar yourself, Mr. Montag. Sometimes I even forget you’re a fireman” (Bradbury 21). Clarisse forces Montag to face his own individuality by making him see that he's not a typical fireman. Authorities make Clarisse see the psychiatrist because of her tendency toward independent thought. “I’ve got to go see my psychiatrist now. They make me go.” (Bradbury 20). Authorities in Fahrenheit 451 try to control and silence independent people like Clarisse.

        Technology is present in many ways in the novel Fahrenheit 451. One of them is the stomach pump which Montag describes it as a “snake”. When Montag arrives home in Part One of the novel, he finds her wife Mildred lying in bed unconscious. After noticing her state he decides to call to the emergency hospital. Two technicians arrive with machines—one to pump out Mildred's stomach, the other to replace her blood with fresh, clean blood. The pump is also equipped with an Eye, a device that allows the machine's operator to clean out of the melancholy from a patient. “They had two machines, really. One of them slid down into your stomach like a black cobra down an echoing well looking for all the old water and the old time gathered there” (Bradbury 12). The fact that technicians, rather than doctors, come to revive Mildred's indicates that suicide is very common in this society. The technicians use their machines to suck all the sadness out of a person and simply dispose of it like trash.

        Another type of technology is the mechanical hound. It used against people who are suspected with books. The mechanical hound is a robotic creature that can be programmed to track the scent of an animal or person, which it then kills with an injection of morphine or procaine. Despite being a fireman, Montag is afraid of the mechanical hound. When arriving at the fire station, he describes the mechanical hound with fear. “He saw the silver needle extend upon the air an inch, pull back, extend, pull back. The growl simmered in the beast and it looked at him” (Bradbury 23). In Part Three, Montag is pursued by the Mechanical Hound, and the chase is broadcast on live television. This transforms Montag from a human into a piece of prey, waiting to be sniffed out by the Hound. With the mechanical hound, the government is able to cause fear in people. It serves as a way to have control over people.