Book Basics
AUTHOR Ray Bradbury
YEAR PUBLISHED 1953
GENRE Dystopian, Science Fiction
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR: Fahrenheit 451 is told from a
third-person limited perspective that conveys the thoughts
In Context
World War II
The politics of the period helped shape Fahrenheit 451. The
novel was written less than a decade after the end of World
War II in 1945. Before and during the war Germany's Nazi
regime waged a campaign of intense censorship that included
book burning and exerted broad control over media,
including radio, film, and print. The totalitarian government
Nuclear War
Science fiction in the 1950s often focused on the possibilities
and aftermath of nuclear war. Atomic bombs had been
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945, just
eight years before the publication of Fahrenheit 451. The
possibility of annihilation by nuclear weapons led to the Cold
War—a political standoff between the United States and the
Soviet Union, both of whom had nuclear capabilities—and
McCarthyism
Bradbury said he was not writing in direct response to
Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign.
However, McCarthy's activities coincided with the writing and
publication of the novel, and many aspects of the senator's
campaign dovetail with the novel's themes of censorship and
conformity. Beginning with a speech in 1950, McCarthy used
Americans' increasing fears of Soviet aggression to fuel an
anti- Communist campaign that targeted government
employees and public figures. He encouraged witnesses to
name other "Communists" to show that they were no longer
affiliated with the party, and his influence was so strong that
many politicians
Rise of Television
The narcotic influence of television is emphasized in
Fahrenheit 451. Television was invented in 1927, but
commercial television broadcasting only became available in
1947. Within a decade, the popularity of television exploded,
and it grew from a rarity to a common feature in many
American homes. TV Guide, for example, was the best-selling
magazine in the 1950s. Television quickly became a dominant
force in American culture, and it helped reshape America
from a collection of regional cultures to a more unified
Dystopian Fiction
Dystopian works constitute a genre within science fiction.
Presenting the world at its worst, these cautionary tales
portray the negative consequences of events, technologies,
and feelings of Guy Montag, a fireman whose view of society
undergoes a radical change.
TENSE: Fahrenheit 451 is narrated in the past tense.
ABOUT THE TITLE: The title Fahrenheit 451 refers to the
temperature at which the pages of a book catch fire.
of Soviet Russia under Joseph Stalin, who led its Community
Party from 1929 to 1953, spread propaganda and destroyed
and censored books to control information and eliminate
opposition.
created a state of tension between the countries that lasted
for decades. The possibility that life on Earth could come to
an end was a powerful stimulus to Ray Bradbury's
imagination. During the period in which Bradbury revised
"The Fireman," an earlier version of Fahrenheit 451, the
United States tested the hydrogen bomb (1952). The Soviets,
not to be outdone, exploded their version in 1953.
and media figures were unwilling to criticize him for fear of
becoming targets of "McCarthyism." McCarthy continued to
zealously pursue suspected Communists as chair of the
Senate Committee on Government Operations, a post he
assumed in 1953. His targets included the Voice of America, a
government-run overseas radio broadcasting program; the
State Department's international libraries, whose librarians
were forced to remove thousands of books from their
shelves; and the U.S. Army, against which his tactics were so
aggressive that popular opinion finally turned against him.
national culture. With television came more advertising, as
the ability of television to reach a mass audience created the
opportunity for businesses to persuade more people than
ever to buy their products. In Fahrenheit 451 a family's
affluence is measured by how many wall-sized screens
dominate the parlor. Television has destroyed the public's
interest in reading, and individual choice is eclipsed by social
conformity.
and ideological shifts that are initially accepted as beneficial
by characters in the texts. Earlier examples include Aldous
Huxley's Brave New World, which appeared in 1932, and
George Orwell's 1984, published in 1949. Both works imagine
worlds under dictatorships focused on repressing individual
Themes
Censorship and Technology
Book burning as a form of censorship took place in human
history long before Bradbury wrote his dystopian novel. The
fear of exposing people to information or sentiments that are
considered harmful or dangerous is associated with
repressive regimes. By controlling citizens' access to ideas,
governments can control the people's actions.
Book burning is only one kind of censorship in this novel. In
Fahrenheit 451 technology is also used by the government to
censor, and thereby control, the population. Television
numbs or distracts people, discouraging them from being
conscious of real-world events and preventing them from
Alienation and Connection
Dehumanization takes several forms in this novel. The
foundation of the society is a lack of human connection:
people are disconnected from themselves, their families,
others, and the world. In Montag's dystopian society real
human connections are replaced by false or shallow ones,
such as Mildred's fictional television family. Continual, mind-
numbing amusements, such as wall screen televisions and
ear-splitting subway advertisements, disconnect people from
their minds and bodies. As a result people are also
disconnected from knowledge, curiosity, and the ability to
think for themselves. Despite this situation, individuals find
ways to connect. Montag makes profound human
connections and is capable of empathy. He connects with
Clarisse, and his conversations with her change his life,
leading him to redefine himself and his world. Bradbury also
shows people connecting through books, which are portrayed
as the road to humanity. Montag reaches out to Faber in
order to better understand what he reads, and
Faber accompanies Montag through his journey toward
enlightenment, speaking to him through an audio capsule.
The relationship between books and humanity is underscored
by the group of "hobos" Montag meets late in the novel, each
The Power of Books
The burning of books, a metaphor for the censorship of
individual thought, is the heart of Fahrenheit 451. The novel
repeatedly emphasizes the importance and transformative
power of books: Books symbolize individuality and an escape
from mind control. It is therefore a crime to own books, and it
is the firemen's job to destroy them. Books transform Montag
from a conformist drone to a rebel and then to a leader.
Reading gives him the means for personal and social change.
Books open the heart, including to painful emotions or
difficult realities. Montag's exposure to books causes him to
question his life, and he ultimately loses his wife, his job, and
almost his life. Books connect humans to one another. For
example, books connect Montag to Faber and then to the
book lovers who memorize books. The inability of his wife, his
boss, and others in his society to understand the need for
books separates Montag from them. Books represent
humanity itself, as Montag begins to understand when he
realizes there is a human being behind
choice and expression.
having thoughts and personalities of their own. Media in the
form of Seashell Radios and television walls overwhelm the
senses and encourage people to connect with machines
rather than other people. In this novel, technological
advances always have a dark purpose. Some of Bradbury's
creations, such as the Mechanical Hound, are still ahead of
21st-century technology. Others, such as the wall-sized
television screens and the Seashell Radios, are eerie
premonitions of modern devices. All warn about the uses of
technology in the hands of an unscrupulous government.
of whom is a "living book" who has memorized a great work
to keep it alive.
Individuality and Conformity In Fahrenheit 451 individuality
is treated as a threat to government power, while conformity
is a means for the government to maintain power. Books are
a threat because they encourage people to consider ideas,
reflect on their lives, and question their culture. The
government prefers an obedient population that it defines
and controls through the use of mass media, rather than a
population of people who define themselves.
To keep people in line the government in Fahrenheit 451
encourages distractions that prevent people from thinking or
feeling, such as blaring advertisements and televisions that
surround people on all sides. The population is so
overstimulated, the people can barely think for themselves.
Montag says "of course" he is happy, when in fact he is
deeply troubled. Convinced to believe that he is happy, he
burns books believing it is for the social good.
Montag becomes a threat to his society because he wants to
read and learn. His desire to feel, change, and grow leads
Montag to question society's values and places him beyond
his society's control.
every book he burns, the book's creator. Books also
represent the ability to reimagine and rebuild civilization.