Narrative Structure of Fahrenheit 451
A good plot has many components that keeps the audience engaged. There is an opening situation where the main characters, time, and place are brought to our attention. That is followed by rising action where complications arise, leading to the crisis or the climax of the story. After the climax, the falling action phase is introduced and the story ends with a resolution or some sort of closure. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 follows this exact arrangement of events, which makes it a wonderful book to read.
In the exposition phase of the book, we are introduced to a world in the future about 500 years from now, and a fireman named Montag. There is no question that our main character Montag loves being a fireman. After all, “Kerosene…is nothing but perfume” to him (13). He had just burned a house down in the world where books are not welcome. In this “future”, the firemen are the ones starting fires. People do not think independently, or have meaningful debates. Instead they watch excessive television and listen to too much radio. Even though people seem to be ignorant, ware seems to be imminent. Furthermore, drug overdoses are …show more content…
Even though her questions are simple and innocent, they leave Montag confused about her behavior and his own life. More importantly, Clarisse asks a very important question from Montag...”Are you happy? (17)”
As action rises, Montag is faced with a series of events that gets him to think further about his life. His relationship with the wife seems distant at best. During this phase, Montag’s wife tries to kill herself using sleeping pills (and saved by the aforementioned stomach pump machines). In an equally horrific incident, a woman refuses to leave her beloved books and choses to die with them as her house burns down. To top it off, he finds that the one bright spot in his life, Clarisse has been killed by a speeding
A good plot has many components that keeps the audience engaged. There is an opening situation where the main characters, time, and place are brought to our attention. That is followed by rising action where complications arise, leading to the crisis or the climax of the story. After the climax, the falling action phase is introduced and the story ends with a resolution or some sort of closure. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 follows this exact arrangement of events, which makes it a wonderful book to read.
In the exposition phase of the book, we are introduced to a world in the future about 500 years from now, and a fireman named Montag. There is no question that our main character Montag loves being a fireman. After all, “Kerosene…is nothing but perfume” to him (13). He had just burned a house down in the world where books are not welcome. In this “future”, the firemen are the ones starting fires. People do not think independently, or have meaningful debates. Instead they watch excessive television and listen to too much radio. Even though people seem to be ignorant, ware seems to be imminent. Furthermore, drug overdoses are …show more content…
Even though her questions are simple and innocent, they leave Montag confused about her behavior and his own life. More importantly, Clarisse asks a very important question from Montag...”Are you happy? (17)”
As action rises, Montag is faced with a series of events that gets him to think further about his life. His relationship with the wife seems distant at best. During this phase, Montag’s wife tries to kill herself using sleeping pills (and saved by the aforementioned stomach pump machines). In an equally horrific incident, a woman refuses to leave her beloved books and choses to die with them as her house burns down. To top it off, he finds that the one bright spot in his life, Clarisse has been killed by a speeding