"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

Essay by Anonymous UserHigh School, 10th gradeA+, March 1996

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Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 was an interesting Science fiction thriller that provided an

odd view on the censorship of books. Not just some books, but all books. An entire distorted

culture and civilization where all books are prohibited. And the penalty for being caught with

books is that the books must be burned and in some cases the penalty may lead to death. In this

tale of censorship and self discovery, Bradbury leads the reader through a short period in the

life of the protagonist, Guy Montag. A firefighter struggling with his conscience to determine if

a society without books is right. Fahrenheit 451 has an entertaining theme and plot and a well

paced story line. This book combines catchy description and well thought out characters to put

together a gripping story that keeps the readers attention. It is interesting to see how a once

controversial topic could create such a dystopia in one place.

Fahrenheit 451 had many examples of good writing techniques that made it a good novel.

One technique that Bradbury did a good job of using was description. He described things

specifically using outstanding similes and personifications. One example is how he mentioned

the fire hose. He called it 'the great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world.'

(Bradbury 3) This made the reader not only visualize the hose but get a feel for the mood about

the firemen at that time. Another example of good description is how he described the physical

appearance of the firemen. 'Their charcoal hair and their soot-colored brows and their

bluish-ash-smeared cheeks where they had shaven close.' (32) The adjectives charcoal and

soot-colored describe the color of their hair but also are words that relate to their job as a

fireman. Finally, an excellent example of Bradbury's descriptive...