Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Essay -- Literature Fahrenheit 451 Book

Fahrenheit 451 There appears to be some writing on the note ... Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a science fiction novel that discusses and shows the life of a very controlled society. The society is not allowed to read books and is punished for doing so. The books are burned at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the temperature it takes book paper to burn (Bradbury 1). Although society today isn't like that as far as books are concerned, the author still shows some trends that are occurring today. Some of the characters in the novel are similar to people in today's society in the way they act towards society's views. The society in Fahrenheit 451 is similar to the society in "Those Who Walk Away From Omelas," a story by Ursula LeGuin. Although the novel and the short story have a completely different plot and narrative, the themes and moral issues are similar. The society in the novel is a very controlled society as far as values and beliefs are concerned. The government has set rules and regulations that books are not allowed and will be burned if they are being read or seen by anybody. Instead of the fire department putting out fires, they are actually the ones setting the books on fire. The beliefs are forced into people's heads by television or the radio that books are bad and should never be read. Most of the people in this society listen to whatever the government tells them and believe that books are not good and will alarm the fire department if anyone is going against the rules. The people of this society are stuck in this matrix, or belief system, and they have no choice to get out, similar to the movie "The Matrix." They have to obey all the rules of the matrix perfectly or else they will be the "outcas t" an... ... today's society are similar to some of the characters in the novel. Fahrenheit 451 can also be related to some stories in literature because of the issues and themes it discusses. Both today's society and the society in the novel have certain rules that the people in the matrices are supposed to follow but the rules in the novel are less common and their punishments tend to be stranger and harsher. Whether or not these rules and beliefs are morally right or fair is a different subject, however, it doesn't seem fair to make the laws so strict without any flexibility. When doing this, there tends to be more rebellion, which is seen in the novel Fahrenheit 451. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1953 Kennedy, X. J., Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eight Edition. New York: Longman, 2002