fahrenheit

In the book Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury the role of Fireman is different than today’s. In the book Firemen start fires rather than put them out. The story takes place in the future, a future that is different than one might predict. People do not enjoy their free time the way they may like, no one reads as books are banned. It is believed the words in the books and the ideas of the books are poisoning peoples minds. People mostly watch television on televisions so large they take up entire walls. The main character Guy Montag is a fireman whose job is to find and burn all books and houses that have them. In this futuristic world there is no book owning or reading permitted. One day as Montag is walking home from work he encounters a girl named Clarisse, she is a seventeen year old girl who is not at all shy. She begins asking him all kinds of puzzling questions and feels comfortable enough to let him know all her just as wild opinions. She is a free spirit who wants to try new things and experience life to the fullest. “I rarely watch the parlor walls or go to races or fun parks, so I have lots of time for crazy thoughts”. Montag and Clarisse seem to connect as she opens his eyes on certain views and ultimately changes his actions. As the story unfolds and the week goes on Montag experiences some feelings of depression and some truly sad moments. He thinks about his marriage and recalls when his wife almost killed herself when she attempted to take an entire bottle of sleeping pills. Another sad experience is when Montag hears Clarisse has been hit by a car by someone speeding. As a result of his depression he turns to his stash of books that he has hidden, which he has stolen from the jobs he burns. Montag began skipping work until he began to miss work and his boss Fire Chief Beatty shows up to talk to Montag. He tells Montag it’s normal to be curious and want to read the books but it won’t be tolerated. He gives Montag advice on things to do to and finding something worthwhile in life to do. Montag takes the advice of Beatty and turns in the books to be burned as they should be. As Montag continues to be curious he visits a friend named Faber, who was an English Professor in hopes he will teach him to read. He pleads with him and says “Nobody listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me, I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read.” He also teaches him to remember books and quotes. Faber tells Montag “they say you retain knowledge even when you’re sleeping, if someone whispers in your ear”. Faber agrees to help Montag and they plot to destroy censorship after mass producing books and planting books in firemen’s homes. As he learns he decides to read a poem to his wife Mildred and her friends. As a result the friends become outraged and file a formal complaint against Montag for his poem reading. The next day Montag shows up to work at the fire station. The alarm goes off for a fire and its Montags house. His wife Mildred had betrayed him which he witnesses as he gets to the house he sees her getting in a cab leaving with her suitcase. Beatty orders Montag to burn his own house. “I want you to do this job all by your lonesome, Montag. Not with kerosene and a match, but peacework with a flamethrower. Your house, your clean up”. Montag refuses and uses the flamethrower to burn Beatty. The mechanical hound is after Montag and comes after him. He is bitten in the leg by the hound and is numbed up by the anesthetic that is released by the robot hound. He is able to walk off the numb feeling and burn the hound with the same flamethrower he burned Beatty with. He takes off on a mission to involve another fireman and plants books in his house and then calls anonymously from a pay phone. Montag continues to run and heads to Faber’s house. Faber tells him a new hound has been put on Montag’s trail as well as multiple helicopters and even a television crew. Faber tells him he will be seeing a printer in another town who will help with their mass production. Montag is concerned about the scent and teaches Faber how to remove it. Montag is able to escape after he goes to the river with some of Faber’s old clothes to remove the scent. Montag is able to escape. He finds a book loving group called the “the book people” lead by a guy named Granger. He follows the group and is given a job to memorize the book he hoped of called Eccleiastes. The story ends with enemy jets shooting down bombs attempting to burn the entire city and more. Montage and his group survive and look for other survivors with hopes of a new age with new ideas and new laws.