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Having just read Fahrenheit 451 in my Language and Literature class, there is quite a lot on my mind regarding the novel. There are many concepts and ideas that Bradbury mentions and references throughout the three different sections, such as the main message, which is to value the power of thought and knowledge. Bradbury also places quite a lot of importance on the fact that censorship limits freedom of speech and thought to a great extent. However, one of these ideas that stuck out was the idea of morals. Having morals is essential to find yourself as a person, and there are many different debatable morals that characters have in this novel that not all readers may agree with.
During Part One of Fahrenheit 451, “The Hearth and the Salamander,” Montag’s love of burning books is shown in the very first few sentences of the book on page 1 when Bradbury states “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” Although Montag did not question his profession at the beginning of the novel, he would start to have second thoughts after he meets a girl named Clarisse, among other influences to his thoughts and morals. Montag does get angry with Clarisse at some points and questions her quite a lot because he is not used to people expressing their thoughts like this, whether they are negative or positive thoughts. One example of this is on page 21 when Clarisse states “That’s why I think it’s strange you’re a fireman, it just doesn’t seem right for you, somehow.” This agitates Montag, who then responds “You’d better run off to your appointment.” He has never had anybody question his profession, because firemen are largely respected in the city, and they have quite a lot of power.
Later in the novel, during Part Two, “The Sieve and the Sand,” Montag steals books from houses while he is burning them down, and reads them in his spare time. He picks up many ideas from literature, although is somewhat challenged because he has not read in quite a long time. He then remembers somebody that he ran into around a year ago in a city park. It was a man named Faber, who is a retired English professor that taught at a liberal arts college. Montag placed Faber on the investigation list but, surprisingly, did not turn him in. Montag calls Faber on a secondary phone, on page 71, asking him “How many copies of the bible are left in this country?” As would be expected, Faber got quite nervous, thinking that it was a trap. He hung up the phone after refusing to answer the question. Montag then decides to visit Faber’s house and brings with him one of the last remaining copies of the bible left in the United States. He is hoping that Faber can help him understand the messages and thoughts in books, and Faber tells him the three main things that are missing in society. One of the quotes from Faber in this instance that is very meaningful is when, on page 82, he tells Faber that “we do need a breather. We do need knowledge. And perhaps in a thousand years, we might pick cliffs to jump off. The books are to remind us what asses and fools we are.” I think this quote represents why Montag’s mindset and morals shift so quickly in the novel. He is a very curious person, and he needs a break from all of the censorship that is occurring in society. He needs real knowledge, and his morals shift from burning books to trying to preserve books.
Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that reminded me of many other novels, but it connected well with another dystopian novel, which is A Wrinkle In Time By Madeleine L'Engle. This is because the protagonists in each novel are trying to save something worth preserving, and have to deal with unnecessary censorship in society as they try to achieve this goal. In A Wrinkle In Time, there are many references that L’Engle uses that remind me of what Ray Bradbury does, which is to reference society in the real world in the book, and expressing their fears of the future.
Something else that the book reminded me of was the protests that are currently occurring in Hong Kong, the place that I call home. Thinking about this connection links to an even larger debatable concept, which is breaking the law or societal norms to achieve a larger goal. In the protests, Hong Kong citizens are breaking laws to fight for their freedom and to achieve their five demands. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag, Faber, and others are breaking the to preserve history and freedom of speech and thought.
This concept can be applied to so many different events and people, such as Colin Kaepernick or even Rosa Parks. Breaking the law is always questionable, but is doing so to achieve what you believe is right okay? This all links to Fahrenheit 451, and Montag’s morals. Montag thought that books were not valuable at the start of the novel, but would do quite a lot to protect them near the end of the novel. Montag himself seems to believe that breaking the law is justified to preserve books, history, ideas, concepts, and morals.
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