Fahrenheit 451 question #8

In "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury, events in history are not really reflected well. The reasoning for this is because of the setting. This story takes place in the future in some futuristic American city. The book does not really specify. Since this is a futuristic setting, there are no historical events that we are familiar with that are reflected unlike in "The Moon is Down" by John Steinbeck where the book reflected events from World War II. The characters in the book kind of talk about their history a little so we kind of get glimpses at what their society used to be like. Examples of this would be when Clarisse talked about her family and their views, what Professor Faber tells Guy Montag, and then what they read in books. I think Ray Bradbury believed in the responsibilities that exist between a worker and his boss. In "Fahrenheit 451" this was the main character, Guy Montag, and his boss, Beatty. Beatty is the head of the fire department Montag works for. He is a moody character who burns books for a living even though he knows a lot of literature and has obviously read quite a few books in the past. The two of them seem almost friends at the beginning of the story but their relationship soon changes. When Beatty has a good idea that Montag has a library he confronts him about it and shows him compassion, but later when he discovers he still has them and has not burned them himself, he does not hesitate at all to destroy his house. I also think Bradbury believed in the responsibilities between men and women. In this book, Guy and Mildred were married, yet did not even love each other. They could not even remember where they had met. " 'Funny, how funny, not to remember where or when you met your husbannd'r wife' "(Bradbury, 43). Mildred also left Guy without thinking twice when his secret library was discovered. I am not sure what people or events might have influenced Bradbury while he was writing this, but I think the idea of an over controlling government and the effects of loss of freedom on a society influenced the book quite a bit.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Del Rey Book, 1991. Print.