ISU OUTLINE

ISU Outline

Introduction – This intriguing novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, is played out in a futuristic city that is plagued by a nuclear war. The main character in this novel is a tall, dark haired man named Guy Montag. Montag’s occupation is firefighting and unlike nowadays, fireman in this futuristic city burn books rather then put out fires. The reason they must destroy the books in the world is to hide what they contain from the people. The country where this is taking place is run by a totalitarian government which has chosen to use censorship as a reason to destroy anything they do not feel is right…………………………….………..Bradbury paints us a picture of pure irony throughout the life of Guy Montag, the major character in this book. Montag lives in a futuristic world where happiness is the central importance of every living person……………. "What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right? Haven't you heard about it all your life? I want to be happy, people say. Well, aren't they? Don't we keep them moving, don't we give them fun? That's all we live for, isn't it?  For pleasure, for titillation?" (65)……………… "We have mobilized a million men. Quick victory is ours if the war comes . . . .' 'Ten million men mobilized, but say one million. It's happier.' " (91). This quote shows that all people desire in live is happiness and they look for it in everything, including something as devastating as war………………….. Montag shows the irony in an average person’s search for happiness in this futuristic world through his career choice and lifestyle, fight against censorship, and his epic battle to bring back books to the world.

Reason #1 – Montag’s career and lifestyle

Evidence – Guy Montag is a man who enjoys his job  In the very beginning of the book, Bradbury describes the pleasure he gets in doing his job and what it means to him. "It was a pleasure to burn" (19). Montag wears a helmet that has a large number 451 on the front of it which represents the temperature at which paper burns. This number is huge to a fireman in this futuristic world because that is what they do, day in and day out.

-          He would feel the fiery smile still gripped by his face muscles, in the dark" (19). This shows that he is happy with his life at this point in time and enjoys what he does for a living.

-          Guy never looked at books on the job, he only burned them (in the beginning).

-          Clarisse, a young woman Montag meets on his way home from work, raises a point that she had once heard that fireman, once upon a time, would put out fires rather then start them.

-          Houses are fire proofed in the new world therefore books can burn, but the houses will not.

-          At the station there is a highly advanced weapon called the hound. It resembles a dog but is completely made of metal therefore very hard for book owners to damage.

-          Married to a woman named Mildred Montag.

-          Comes home one day to find that his wife had attempted suicide by taking a whole bottle of pills.

-          Montag believes that reading books make people unhappy and unsociable.

-          Montag says to Clarisse he has better things to do in his life then read books.

 

 

Reason #2 - fight against censorship

Evidence – Clarisse asks Montag a simple but penetrating question which is “Are you happy?" (24)

-          After Clarisse leaves, Montag asks himself if he really is happy and to that he answers "Happy! Of all the nonsense. Of course I'm happy. What does she think? I'm not? he [silently] asked" (24)

-          Bradbury reveals that Montag has a few hidden books around the house which he likes to glance through sometimes.

-          First book Bradbury explains Montag readings, reads “….whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life” (ironic because end of the book he does end up being a hero in his own life).

-          One Day Montag states that he is sick and must remain at home when he really is beginning to think he doesn’t want to be a fireman anymore.

-          Clarisse asks Montag why he chose to be a firefighter in the first place. He answers that he thought he was doing good in the world, but now he wonders if he is doing more harm then good by keeping books from people.

-          Montag ask Mildred “Where did we meet for the first time” she replies “I don’t know”. This gets Montag thinking that he doesn’t know his own wife and that he actually is unhappy.

-          On a day like any other, Montag and his crew get a call to check on a house that has been suspected for containing books. The firemen enter the building and begin interrogating. While searching the house, one of the firemen knocks through a glass pane on the wall to discover a hidden library. Beatty states that he has never seen so many books in one place all at the same time.

-          Montag sneeks a book from the library.

-          Beatty goes through a long explanation with Montag on how books are not worth reading and they are filled with lies and made up stories that will get someone nowhere.

-          When the firemen attempt to burn down the house containing the books the owner, an elderly lady, throws herself onto the blazing flames and dies with her books.

-          She says “I would rather die in the place were I started with my books then to keep living without them” (Need to find quote page)

-          After the fire, Montag questions himself as to why someone would give up their life just for a book. This gets him wondering what books really do contain and why are people so attached to them.

-          When Montag arrives home his wife is having a girls’ night. Angered by the way the ladies are talking about war and families, Montag grabs a book and begins reading a passage from it (which is highly illegal).

-          "He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness. He was not happy. He was not happy. He said the words to himself. He recognized this as the true state of affairs. He wore his happiness like a mask . . . ' " (26).

-          Motag has a really bad sleep one night where he dreams of books and the world they might contain inside of them.

-          Beatty Explains to Montag that what firemen do is right by saying "We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon." (65).

-          Montag replies to Beatty’s speech with "I'm so damned unhappy, I'm so mad, and I don't know why.' " (70)

 

Reason #3 - Epic battle to bring back books to the world

Evidence – Montags gets thought of quitting the fireman job and he tells Mildred all about this. Fearing that books are beginning to take over Montags life, Mildred puts in a suspicion tip that Montag is hiding books, without Montag knowing.

-          Montag goes to Clarisse’s house to find that it has been all boarded up and that all of the family members are gone. This gets Montag thinking what has happened to her and he later goes on a search to find her. When Montag eventually finds Clarisse she explains to him that she is going to hide with the “book people”, and how to get there. Book people are designated people that read a certain book and memorize it.  The reason for this is so they do not get arrested for carrying around books. Their plan is to eventually be able to tell the world their stories and reprint the magnificent books that once existed. Clarisse tells Montag that the way to the book people is to follow the river down stream until you hit the rusted iron railroads. Once on the railroads, keep walking and eventually you will encounter the people you are looking for.

-          Montag comes up with a plan to plant books throughout a bunch of firemen’s houses in order to get the people to believe the organization is a failure.

-          Montag tells Captain Beatty that he is resigning from his fireman’s job. Beatty convinces Montag to go on one last job before he quits. This final job lands him at his own house where Beatty tells him he has been caught for hiding books. Beatty gives Montag the duty of burning all the books in the house. Instead of burning just the books, Montag goes on to burn every belonging he has in his house. In a sort of taunting manner, Beatty asks Montag if reading all those books was truly worth it.  Montag takes this question really offensively and turns the flame thrower on Beatty, killing him in a matter of seconds.

-          After killing Beatty, Montag is wanted for murder so he runs off to the book peoples’ hide out.

-          Once Montag arrives at the camp, he is given the role to memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes. He visits Faber, who tells him that the value of books lies in the detailed awareness of life that they contain.

-          Montag visits an older man named Faber who is known for writing different books. Together they plan out a way to get books to the world.

-          Faber asks Montag “Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores.” (need to find location of this text)

-          Faber plans to get in touch with a printer where he can begin reproducing books which can eventually be distributed around the country.

-          War is finally declared one evening while Montag is with the book people. The enemies of this futuristic community proceed to drop a large nuclear bomb on the city were Mildred and the others are staying. This nuclear bomb completely wipes out the city and flattens everything.

-          Since Montag and the book people are a far enough distance away from the city, they feel the shock from the bomb but do not suffer significant injuries from it.

-          They head back to the city where they will begin to rebuild

 

Conclusion – Montag and the book peoples’ lives act the scenario similar to that of a phoenix. This is because they are now presented with the chance to rebuild the city from its ashes and bring back books.

-          “….whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life” turns out to be a very ironic quote because in the end Montag turns out to be the hero of his own life

-          The overall story is ironic because Montag starts off as a fireman who destroys books for a living. Montag eventually becomes fascinated by the books and decides to read one. The books captivate him and draw him into fighting against censorship and eventually into committing the crime of hiding books in his house. Once caught, Montag is forced to perform such actions as killing Beatty to avoid being placed in jail. The result from this action is Montag must run from the law and hide away with the book people. What makes the books ironic is that the city in the end is blown up so if Montag would have never picked up a book, he would have lost his life in the explosion. But since he wasn’t affected by the explosion he is given the opportunity to redeem his actions and help build a new world.

-          Restate Thesis

Many of the quotes have the wrong pages beside them so i have to find the right pages were the quotes are listed, many of the arguments are out of order so must be put in proper order to place into my essay and finally i changed my thesis slightly from one of my arguments being montags career choice to montags career choice and lifestyle