Ray Bradbury's "Farenheit 451",

Essay by David FinchJunior High, 8th gradeA+, November 1996

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Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 forces us to envision a world that is so structured and censored fireman exist not to fight fires ,for all buildings are fireproof, but instead to burn books.

Fahrenheit 451 is a horrific account of what could happen in an all too close future when society carries 'political correctness' to its extreme.

One of the primary characters that one meets in Fahrenheit 451 is a young girl named Clarrise has been raised to live the way things once were, in a time where people had true freedom Because of Clarrise's view of life she is branded as anti-social by her teachers and an outcast by her fellow classmates. Clarrise becomes acquainted with another main character named Guy Montag. Montag is a fireman who deep inside does not want to live a life without having to think. Montag's inner thoughts become more and more a part of him as the book progresses.

Montag eventually becomes a freedom fighter of sorts when he joins a group of people who illegally hide and read books. Montag's wife Mildred on the other hand prefers not to have to think, but rather to allow others to think for her to simply say 'yes I agree.' Mildred is the epitome of laziness. The most complex of all the characters is the fire chief Beatty. Beatty is a man who once was educated but has now turned his back on education and works to destroy it. Beatty knows what is in books but chooses not to care, not to do anything but help the destruction of books.

The loss of the characters freedom to read and to think was not an act that was forced on the people but, embraced by the people. The people loved the idea of...