Theme Of Allusion In Fahrenheit 451

Improved Essays
Imagine yourself growing up in a world that was turned upside down. Everyone is behaving like it’s actually right to do the wrong things. But no one says anything because everyone is just following others or as people say “going with the flow.” No one has a say in what they think or how they feel, and this leads to the people acting quite similar. Ray Bradbury introduces this idea in his novel Fahrenheit 451. He forces his main character, Guy Montag, to realize that reality isn’t what everyone pictures it to be. Bradbury is trying to demonstrate that life isn’t a perfect world after all, and he accomplishes this goal through thoughtful use of allusion, character development, and conflict. Allusions are an essential part of Bradbury’s approach …show more content…
To start of, one major event that took place was the Red Scare. In history, the Red Scare occurred in 1919-1920 in the USA. During this time people began to question federal employees to determine if they were sufficiently loyal to the government. A man named Joseph McCarthy investigated allegations of subversive elements in the government and in the Hollywood Film industry. (History.com) McCarthy, an intimidating man, tried to search for traitors by accusing workers. The Red Scare could be related to Fahrenheit 451 because at the same time in both events, individuals began to question and have a different opinions. During the Red Scare, citizens thought some of the employees working for the government to be untrustworthy. Likewise, in the novel, Montag and Faber express their own opinions of their society. In both events, this caused conflict between the people. In addition, conflict began to arise when Montag started to realize how much of a follower Mildred is towards society. The epigraph states, “If they gave you ruled paper, write the other way.” Basically, what this means is that you don’t always have to follow what you’re told to do. Be unique, be yourself and don’t follow what others do just to satisfy them. Write what you want and not what you are supposed to. Similarly, in Fahrenheit 451 books are not allowed. Mildred being a follower goes by what society says, she thinks the books are meaningless. But people like Clarisse, Montag, and Faber see

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Bradbury, once again, uses Guy Montag to convey this theme. First of all, Montag begins to feel unfulfilled after his first meeting with Clarisse. As previously mentioned, at the end of their conversation, she asks Montag if he is happy. After further consideration, Montag comes to the conclusion that he is not happy and cannot understand why. Furthermore, Montag also begins to feel unfulfilled from his marriage.…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Harrison Ford once said, “We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” Guy Montag, protagonist of Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451, changes and grows significantly over the course of the novel due to his interactions with other characters. Only through the help of his peers and people he meets along the way, Guy Montag is given a chance to get a new perspective on a society where everything is normal instead of everything being backward. Ray Bradbury uses a variety of characters to facilitate Montag’s evolution from nonexistent, someone who is brainwashed and does not feel too someone who is existent, where he understands what 's going on around him.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Complacency has absorbed our society. People today have become numb to what is happening in the real-world and numb to what is happening in other people’s lives. Selfishness has taken us and we refuse to be bothered by any problem that is carried by another individual. Our society refuses to let anything disrupt our “perfect” life or what we think is a perfect life. Technology and social media has consumed us and our ability to connect with others, our ability to form real and meaningful relationships, and our ability to care about anybody other than ourselves.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After all these years of working, because one night, some woman and her books’”(49). This shows how blind Mildred is to the truth and how conformed she is to society 's ideals of book loathing even though she does not understand the truth books convey. Bradbury uses Mildred, to exhibit the truths and values society feeds people and expresses this through ignorant acts and selfish…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nonconformity is the refusal to obey society, being distinctive to oneself. To conform one must act in accordance with their society. In Fahrenheit 451, the society is made for there to be one type of person, which is a conformer. In this book, conformers are not to read books, nor to convey themselves, for it is offensive to others. Non-conformers homes and books are to be burnt, and the possessors of the books are to go to jail or to get killed.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In this journey we witness Montag realize the wrong he is doing to his fellow people and how he tries to make a difference. With the help of a friend he is eventually able to escape from the dystopian society that controls his world and watch as it is destroyed (Bradbury.) Throughout this adventure the reader is shown how the mythological theory holds true due to the characters’ roles, images throughout the story, and the situations faced. In the mythological theory Characters play one of the three major roles.…

    • 2162 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mildred, the Mindless and Mislead In the book “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury every character plays a well thought out role in order to articulate lessons to the reader. Montag, at his most basic, represents nonconformity and depicts a heroic example of standing up for your beliefs. Adversely, Mildred, Montag’s wife, expresses conformity in spades and lives a life of meaninglessness. Mildred is important because she is a huge example of the danger in giving hollow stimuli dominate you life and acts as a catalyst for Montag’s enlightening.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Fahrenheit 451 takes place in a dystopian society where independent thought is discouraged. The most prevalent example of this is the main topic of the novel, burning books. The firefighters burn books because society is not allowed to read them. If people are not allowed to read books, they do not have documentation of history or other areas of the world and will have less reason to question the way they live.…

    • 1529 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Emma Sticklen Porter English 2, Pre-AP/GT-3 29 January 2018 Fahrenheit 451 Allusions Research 1. Allusion/Type : Juan Ramon Jimenez/ Literature A. Quote: “If they give you ruled paper, Write the other way” (Bradbury XVII). B. Explanation:…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 follows the story of protagonist Guy Montag, who experiences first hand both government and society’s strict conformity standards and speaks out against them as he gains knowledge. Bradbury explores his ideas around conformity, technology, censorship and similar themes that appeared post World War II through the science fiction genre. These dystopian texts explore such ideas, reflecting on past mistakes and the possible extended effects of the strict regulations placed upon individuality.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An allusion is an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses allusions often to peak interest, and also as an artistic device; specifically, he uses allusions to stimulate associations, foreshadow, and provide character insight. Bradbury is able to stimulate association with allusions. When Beatty finishes what the woman with the match was trying to say, “ ‘We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out’ ……

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Joseph Mccarthy Red Scare

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Red Scare (1919-20) was a time in American history that will not be forgotten. And also, the September 11th attacks will not be forgotten. Both events come in existence out of fear. Let’s start with The Red Scare. This pivotal time in America was home grown fear.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    After Mildred remembers to tell Montag about Clarisse’s disappearance, Montag pays closer attention to Mildred which shows her bland life style, “her hair burnt by chemicals to a brittle straw, her eyes with a kind of cataract unseen but suspect far behind the pupils, the reddened pouting lips, the body as thin as a praying mantis from dieting, and her flesh like white bacon” (45). The words used paints an unpleasant image as Mildred is described as a corpse with her “flesh like white bacon”. Montag’s description of Mildred shows society’s demand for artificially beautiful women which can be achieved through dying one’s hair with “chemicals” and “dieting”. With Mildred following society’s orders it highlights her adherence to rules even though it is molding her into the ideology of their society … Clarisse and Mildred’s differences are highlighted through the way they spend their time alone which influences Montag. While Clarisse refuses to comply with the ideologies forced upon her, contrastingly, Mildred lives a monotonous lifestyle, adhering to the standard of society.…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Mildred is a great example of the allegory of the cave, as well as one of the model citizens in the novel. She is one of the most ignorant characters readers see. She considered the characters in her TV show to be her real family, she believed that they were more important to her than her relationship with her husband, Guy Montag. She was willing to spend a very large amount of their income for a fourth television or parlour wall, when they had just got the third screen roughly one month before. Mildred’s overdose on her sleeping pills (p. 13-16) shows how deep she seems be in the cave, as the men who came to filter the toxicity of the pills out of her stomach and blood had said that they get nearly 10 calls every day about people overdosing…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The central conflict of Fahrenheit 451 can be seen through this passage, “No one wanted them back. No one missed them. And then the Government, seeing how advantageous it was to have people only reading about passionate lips and the fist in the stomach, circled the situation with your fire-eaters.” page 85. The central conflict that can be seen here is “Man vs. Society”.…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics