Fahrenhiet 451
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Ray Bradbury states “I think that science-fiction and fantasy offer the liveliest, freshest approaches to many of our problems today, and I always hope to write in this vivid and vigorous form, saying what I think about philosophy and sociology in our immediate future.” In this statement we see that Bradbury does not regard science fiction to be lightly entertaining and fun, but rather sees it as a powerful tool to state his concern for society and the path it is headed in. For Bradbury science fiction is his call to the world to recognize what our world is becoming, and his call to change.
For his writing of Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury has stated a social purpose. After reading this novel it is very clear to see that Bradbury has certainly used this novel as an opportunity to make a call for social change. In this novel, he brings forth the subject of censorship, and how it is affecting our human rights and freedom. His cause for this novel evokes the reader to sharply question where our society is headed as we take politically incorrect to an extreme. Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 forces us to envision a world that is so structured and censored fireman exist not to fight fires, but instead to burn books. Fahrenheit 451 is a horrific account of what could happen in an all too close future when society carries “political correctness” to its extreme.
One of the primary characters that the reader meets in Fahrenheit 451 is a young girl named Clarrise who has been raised to live the way things once were, in a time where people had true freedom. Because of Clarrises view of life she is branded as anti-social by her teachers and an outcast by her fellow classmates. Clarrise becomes acquainted with another main character named Guy Montag. Montag is a fireman who deep inside does not want to live a life without having to think. Montags inner thoughts become more and more a part of him as the book progresses and as his friendship with Clarisse deepens. Montag eventually becomes a freedom fighter of sorts when he begins to steal books and eventually joins a group of people who illegally hide and read books. Montags wife Mildred on the other hand prefers not to have to think, but rather to allow others to think for her to simply say “yes I agree.” Mildred is the epitome of laziness. One of the most complex characters in this book is the fire chief Beatty. Beatty is a man who once was educated